Changes in Forehead Botox Treatment Methods

Changes in Forehead Botox Treatment Methods

From ‘Botox that freezes muscles’ to ‘Botox that controls the wrinkle-forming environment’

1️⃣ Not all forehead muscles are shaped the same?

Many people think of forehead wrinkles in a one-size-fits-all manner,

but in reality, everyone has a different muscle shape, usage pattern, and eyebrow position.

According to the

‘Consensus Guide on Botulinum Toxin for Upper Facial Lines’ published by the SAMCEP Society,

forehead wrinkles are not simply a matter of ‘having wrinkles or not.’

The thickness and width of the frontalis muscle,

the baseline position of the eyebrows (high / low),

the degree of reliance on forehead muscles when opening the eyes,

and the presence of left-right asymmetry all require completely different approaches.

👉 Injecting Botox in the exact same locations and doses for every forehead is no longer recommended.

Especially for those who heavily use their forehead muscles to open their eyes,

the traditional method of strongly freezing the entire forehead

can cause eyebrow drooping, difficulty opening the eyes, and a sleepy appearance.

2️⃣ Baby Botox & The Minimal Dose Trend

Recently, the ‘Baby Botox’ method has become highly preferred. It preserves natural movements when raising the eyebrows or frowning,

while only softening the wrinkles.

A small amount of Botox is

injected at a shallow depth

selectively only in the necessary areas.

3️⃣ Skin Botox (Dermotoxin)

While traditional forehead Botox mainly involved deep injections into the muscle layer,

nowadays, ‘Skin Botox,’ which is injected shallowly into the dermal layer, is widely utilized.

Skin Botox

is based on the concept of gently regulating the surface environment where wrinkles form,

rather than strongly paralyzing the muscles.

4️⃣ Wrinkle Botox vs. Skin Botox: What is the difference?

🔹 Wrinkle Botox (Intramuscular Botox)

Concept

Injected directly into the frontalis muscle

Inhibits muscle contraction → Reduces wrinkles

Pros

Effective for deep, distinct expression lines

Immediate wrinkle improvement

Cons

Heavy feeling when opening eyes

Eyebrow drooping

Sleepy appearance, unnatural facial expressions

📌 One-line Summary

👉 Smooths wrinkles well, but carries risks regarding facial expressions and eye shape.

🔹 Skin Botox (Intradermal / Microbotox)

Concept

Small amounts injected at multiple points into the dermal layer

Controls the wrinkle-forming environment rather than paralyzing muscles

Theoretical Background

Wrinkles are not solely caused by muscles;

micro muscle fibers,

nerve endings,

skin tension,

and sweat/sebaceous glands are all complexly involved.

Pros

Almost no discomfort when opening eyes

Lower risk of eyebrow drooping ↓

Preserves facial expressions

Improves fine lines + skin texture + radiance

Cons

Limited standalone effect on deep wrinkles

Requires high procedural technique

📌 One-line Summary

👉 Natural and safe, but limited for deep wrinkles.

5️⃣ Focused Treatment on the Upper Forehead

If Botox is excessively injected across the entire forehead, especially the lower part,

brow ptosis (drooping eyebrows) can occur.

Therefore, the recent trend is

✔ injecting mainly into the upper forehead,

✔ protecting the eyebrows and eye shape,

✔ while only smoothing out the wrinkles.

6️⃣ Forehead Filler + Botox Combination Treatment

If the forehead lacks volume,

Botox alone cannot completely resolve wrinkles.

Filling the volume with a minimal amount of filler

and controlling expression lines with Botox

→ restores volume to the upper forehead,

softening the appearance of a protruding brow bone.

7️⃣ Eyebrow Lift Effect

By applying this method,

✔ you can prevent eyebrow drooping

✔ and instead create a Botox lifting effect

that makes the eyebrows look slightly lifted.

📌 Summary of Actual Clinical Applications

✨ One-line Summary

For forehead Botox, it is now

less about ‘how strongly to paralyze’

👉 and more about ‘how naturally to control wrinkles.’