Is It Normal for the Forehead to Bulge Slightly After Botox Treatment, or is This Residual Swelling? (Photos)

Ruca, I think you have had a bit too much Botox to the central forehead. Your brows have dropped significantly in the center (due to complete central frontalis paralysis), and your intact lateral frontalis activity allows the lateral brows to still be pulled upwards, giving you the "Spock brows" your photos show clearly. The swelling should already be gone by now, but your (central) frontalis will be paralyzed for 2-6 months. I suspect what you described as central forehead bulging was simply the lateral frontalis activity (on each side of the paralyzed central frontalis) "framing" the inactive area.

You will certainly have flat forehead for a while, but IMHO, this may be a bit too much Botox to your central forehead. As others have suggested, you may need a tiny bit of additional Botox to the lateral brows to "calm things down" and drop the sides of your brows a bit. Then, next time, ask for a bit less centrally and keep a bit of muscle tone here to elevate the brows and avoid the sad, pensive, or "Spock" brows. Best wishes!

Swelling after Botox on the forehead, is usually minimal and centers around the needle insertions but it is very rare to swell a lot. Some factors for increased swelling may be more trauma, more dilution volume, technique, or your personal immune system's reaction (some people have excessive swelling to slight stimuli, dermatographia, pressure urticaria) but swelling goes away.  If too much of the forehead is treated, then the "mask"-like forehead can take four months to return to normal.

Hello,

Depending on the dilution of botox used, one can have residual swelling for a short time.  Your forehead looks fairly still in your photos except for the lateral brow where no botox was placed.  Several possible explanations for your experience could be: mild bleeding with swelling, residual swelling that will resolve, relaxation of the muscles into a more expanded position making forehead look fuller, etc.  I would just give it time to see what happens.  After 7-10 days you should have better idea of your look and can adjust the lateral brows if needed.

Good luck,

Dr. Shah