Help, advice for frozen smile. Will it ever be normal again? (Photo)

Botox isn't permanent and will wear off in 3-4 months. In the mean-time, Venus Legacy treatments may help soften results and give more movement. See an expert. Best, Dr. Emer

Thank you for your question and photograph.  Botox cosmetic provides temporary relaxation to injected muscles.  Your situation is not permanent and you can expect to see your normal smile in about 3-4 months. Until then, I recommend exercising the affected muscles regularly.   I wish you good luck.

It is true that this will wear off.  While the weakness does not appear too profound in this photo, there is something you need to know about this complication.  It is profoundly dysphoric.  The crowsfeet treatment got away from your doc and has drifted into the smile muscle.  The complication affects your sense of well being out of proportion to what is seen in the face.  This has to do with emotional feedback from the face.  It really mess with you.  It can cause a clinical depression in my opinion.  It does recover but it can really affect your sense of well being in the mean time.  I personally have seen this.  Working with a neuropsychatrist while recovering can be helpful.  This can take 4 to 6 months to fully recover.  Don't double down with other services.

Thanks for sharing your picture and experience, 

It sounds like the botox diffused to affect one of the smiling muscles. This obviously causes a weak smile (in your case on your left side). 

It will wear off in 2-3mo - some of my patients in the past hate the asymmetry and one option is to treat the normal side with just a small amount of neuromodulator to decrease the asymmetry (but this will start the clock over again on the good side). 



Hope this helps and hang in there!



Dr. Robb

The good news is that the Botox will wear off over about a 3 month period.  If the muscles that are affecting your smile have had less Botox it may wear off sooner.  Unfortunately, there is on way to speed this process up.  I would address this with the doctor.  Perhaps this will limit this problem for you or other patients in the future.  I would recommend letting the doctor see this effect while it is still noted.

Thank you for sharing your question and photograph.  I am sorry to hear of your Botox related issues and it appears, based on your picture, that the neurologist may have placed Botox too low on your cheek.  This resulted in weakening/paralysis of the muscles responsible for lifting the left side of your upper lip.  Though I understand how distressing this can be, it will resolve spontaneously and without permanent damage.  It may take up to 3-4 months, however. 

Thank you for your question. Botox works by blocking signals from the nerves to the muscles. The injected muscle then can no longer contract, which causes the wrinkles to relax and soften. What you are experiencing is not permanent and will resolve when the Botox wears off in 3-4 months. This was caused by the zygomaticus muscle being affected by the Botox. I recommend you see an expert injector for all future injections. Best of Luck!

Your neurologist probably injected areas of your facial muscle which caused your lip to droop. It will take 3-4 months to improve.

Botox (like Xeomin and Dysport) is a medication injected into target muscles of the face to selectively relax them for fewer/softer wrinkles.One safety feature with these medications is the temporary effect. After 3 months, the effect is gone and your face will return to the same muscle function that you had before your injection. Safety comes first. 

It is not a permanent problem. This was caused by the zygomaticus muscle being affected by the Botox. It will all resolve within about 4 months.