Facial Injections: Info, Prices, Photos, Reviews, Q&A

Sometimes you do need to relax the whole forehead just to treat glabellar lines, as more than one set of muscles can be involved in frowning, which is what causes the 11s.

If you feel uncertain about the recommendation, call your dermatologist to ask for a clarification and/or see a few other board-certified dermatologists to find out if they concur. (Margaret Weiss, MD, Baltimore Dermatologic Surgeon)

Of course you can have injections into the glabella (area bwn brows) for the 11 lines, without agreeing to the whole forehead.

However, bear in mind that you may be left with very smooth skin in the middle of your forehead around the 11 lines, making the lines in the upper and lateral forhead appear more noticeable (this can be awkward in some people).

You could always go back to have the forehead done later. There is no rush. (Estee Williams, MD, New York Dermatologist)

No, you may treat the “11” lines of your forehead without needing to treat the entire forehead. (Douglas Taranow, DO, FACOS, New York Plastic Surgeon)

You do not “have” to have both these areas treated. Every person is different as to how they use the muscles regarding facial expression and the lines and wrinkles that result from this.

Built into this is what lines and wrinkles actually bother the individual person.

Botox will work just fine to manage your 11’s if you solely treat them. If you find the need to add forehead treatments to your regimen you can do that any time moving forward. (Paul Pietro, MD, Greenville Physician)

No , you do not have to do the forehead, but if you just treat the glabellar lines, or the “11” , what you will most likely see is that the forehead will pull your eyebrow higher, and your forehead lines will dominate your upper 1/3 of your face with wrinkles, which will not look very attractive.

I would suggest do the 11’s, wait 2 weeks and take a look at your forehead with your eyebrows up. And if you don’t like what you see, you can go back and have your doctor put some more in your forehead. (Erik Suh, MD, Bellevue Family Physician)

In general the vertical lines in the forehead above your nose, can be treated on it’s own without treating the rest of the forehead. However , it is important to realize that the muscles that cause the 11 lines, also pull the eyebrows and forehead down.

Therefore, sometimes if you treat the 11’s without treating other portions of the forehead, the eyebrows may peak causing an overy raised eyebrow or even the Dr. Spock look. It is important to discuss this with an experienced injector.

You should also discuss other possible options to treat forehead lines such as dermal fillers or even surgery. (David Schlessinger, MD, Long Island Oculoplastic Surgeon)

Botox treatment for 11 lines

The “11’s” (corrugators) can be treated with Botox without treating the forehead. The muscles that cause the “11’s” are different than the muscles that lift the eyebrows (frontalis), thus these two areas can be treated independently. (Hardik Soni, MD (not currently practicing), Summit Emergency Medicine Physician)

Treating the forehead with or without the 11’s

As you might suspect there are several groups of muscles that create the various ‘lines’ that can form on your forehead. Treating the “11’s” alone with Botox should not require treating the entire forehead, but it is possible that your doctor had a particular reason including the presence of other lines or possibly improving muscle balance for suggesting treating the entire forehead. (Isaac Starker, MD, Morristown Plastic Surgeon)

Treating the 11’s with Botox

The muscles that cause the vertical lines between the brows (the 11″s) are different than the muscles that raise the brows and cause vertical lines on the forehead. Each treatment should be customized but many patients have the 11’s treated without any other forehead treatment. (Marc Cohen, MD, Philadelphia Oculoplastic Surgeon)

The 11’s can be eliminated without treating the forehead. I think the overall look is better by treating the glabella and forehead together but not necessary for the 11’s. (Alim R. Devani, MD, FRCPC, Calgary Dermatologist)

Treating the 11 Lines with Botox

It is definitely possible to treat the 11 lines between the eyebrows without treating the entire forehead. In fact, Botox is only FDA-approved for treating frown lines between the brows (as well as the crow’s feet), and usage in the forehead is technically “off-label.”

That said, I often recommend treating both the forehead and the area between the brows for a more natural look – sometimes it can look odd to have totally smooth skin between the brows but still have horizontal expression lines on the forehead. (Faiyaaz Kalimullah, MD, FAAD, Chicago Dermatologic Surgeon)

You can certainly do just the 11 lines between the eyebrows without doing the entire forehead. It gives a nice relaxed appearance to the frown that many people have. If a person wanted to do the forehead, then the 11 lines should be done at the same time because the muscles that form the 11 lines pull the forehead down and you wouldn’t want that to happen.

But doing only the 11 lines is fine. (Andrew Miller, MD, Edison Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Botox for frown lines or “11’s” can usually be treated without the forehead but individual patients vary

Treating the glabellar lines or 11’s is usually treatable with Botox without the entire forehead. That is actually the first area that was FDA approved for cosmetic Botox. In this case the horizontal lines will persist. (Steven J. Pearlman, MD, New York Facial Plastic Surgeon)

No, you don’t need the entire forehead treated with Botox

You don’t need the entire forehead treated with Botox. The decision on how to treat with Botox (or Dysport) is based on many factors, including patient anatomy and preference. Many patients treat the “11” in between the eyebrows alone with excellent results. (Houtan Chaboki, MD, Washington DC Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Botox areas of treatment

The glabella area (where the “11 lines” occur) can be treated without injecting the horizontal forehead lines. In fact, for several years, treatment of this glabellar area was the only “on label” indication for Botox cosmetic injections. (Roby F. Hayes, MD, Portland Physician)

Botox for the 11’s – Glabella lines

Strictly speaking you can definitely do just the 11’s/glabella area. However, you may also need your forehead injected to have the best cosmetic results. (Michele S. Green, MD, New York Dermatologist)

Botox Can Be Used Separately For “Eleven Lines,” “Forehead Worry Lines,” & “Crow’s Feet”

I have been injecting Botox for aesthetic reasons since 1991, when it was first used almost exclusively for the “eleven lines” (scowl, frown). Since then, its uses burgeoned to include worry lines across the forehead, crow’s feet lines to the sides of the eyes, raising the lateral eyebrows, shrinking masseter muscles, the Nefertiti Lift, and even softening ropey neck cords and smoothing crinkly, crepeyness of the decollete.

The point is that Botox may be used for all of the above or any of the above, either alone or in any combination. So, the short answer to your question is that of course Botox may be used alone for your eleven lines and it is entirely incorrect that the forehead must be done when the eleven lines are.

You would do well to seek a second opinion from a board certified aesthetic physician with experience and expertise in the proper uses of Botox (and its competitors Dysport and Xeomin). (Nelson Lee Novick, MD, New York Dermatologic Surgeon)

You can certainly have the glabellar complex treated without injecting the forehead. (Melvin Elson, MD, Nashville Dermatologist)

You can have the “11” lines treated without doing your entire forehead. (Steven Wallach, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)

Technically speaking, it is certainly possible to treat the muscles that cause 11 lines independently of the rest of the forehead. In some cases however your injector may be recommending treating the forehead to avoid a situation where part of the area is treated and other parts are obviously not. (Ivan Vrcek, MD, Dallas Oculoplastic Surgeon)

Botox for 11 lines and forehead

The muscles that cause the “11” lines are called the corrugators. These muscles can be relaxed with Botox or Dysport without targeting the eyebrow lifting muscles (the frontalis) in your forehead. (Brett S. Kotlus, MD, MS, New York Oculoplastic Surgeon)

Botox injections for the 11’s

The 11’s ( frowns) can be treated separately from the forehead as they are two different group of muscles, but most of the time they are treated together for a more natural and harmonious result. (Alain Michon, MD, Ottawa Physician)

Botox brow alone vs brow and forehead….

While the brow and forehead can most definitely be treated separately, this areas work in concert and often times if you treat one and not the other it can lead to unnatural results. That being said there are many cases where we only treat one vs the other depending upon the patients facial features, anatomy, etc.

It is why you need an individualized treatment rather than a cookie cutter approach. (Matthew Elias, DO, FAAD, Fort Lauderdale Dermatologic Surgeon)

The best advice you can receive is from an in-person consultation. The glabella region (the 11s) can definitely be treated as an isolated area without injecting the forehead in the right patient. It all depends on how your forehead looks and what your goals are. (Richard G. Reish, MD, FACS, New York Plastic Surgeon)

The muscles that create the 11 lines are your depressors pulling the brows together and down. The forehead pulls them up. If you inject just the 11 area you will obtain a widening and lifting of the brows and a decrease in the 11 lines.

However the forehead will still move and make lines so you wont get the full effect of line loss. (Glenn Messina, MD, Commack Physician)

Can I treat my 11s without treating my full forehead?

My guess is that there’s a bit of miscommunication here. The 11s may certainly be treated independently of treating the full forehead. But a full treatment will yield somewhat longer lasting and better looking results because when you limit movement of one set of muscles, sometimes others will overcompensate for that and

1.either look a little odd, or 2. make the results of your treated area go away faster. “This answer has been solicited without seeing this patient and cannot be held as true medical advice, but only opinion. (F. Victor Rueckl, MD, Las Vegas Dermatologist)

Yes, it is possible and common to treat the frown lines with Botox without treating the forehead lines. (Shaun Patel, MD, Miami Physician)

11 lines are often treated without the forehead. But depending on your Anatomy occasionally is better to do the 11 lines and the forehead at the same time. I would recommend you try doing your 11 lines first if something looks funny may need more Botox in the forehead to soften it up.

Most importantly that you work with any experienced injector and someone you can work with if you have a problem. (Michael Constantin Gartner, DO, Paramus Plastic Surgeon)

My derm told me that in order to do the 11 lines in between my eyebrows I’d have to do my entire forehead. Is that true?

Not always. However, by not doing the forehead, there might be some compensatory muscle movement on your forehead. This usually is noticed by the patients as “new” wrinkles. This is why I suggest the entire upper face be treated together for most patients for best outcomes. (Aldo Guerra, MD, Scottsdale Plastic Surgeon)

You should probably get some in the forehead if you’re doing the crows feet area to offset the eyebrow lift effect of a crows feet injection but you can do the 11 lines alone without any effect on the brow position. (Jeffrey Lee, MD, Quincy General Surgeon)

The 11’s lines are created when the depressor muscle of the medial eyebrows contracts. The forehead lines and wrinkles are created by a different muscle called the frontalis.

I often have patients who desire to soften the frown lines between their eyebrows while leaving their forehead alone. Find an injector who truly listens to your worries. You should be able to request Botox treatment for the areas of your face that are most concerning to you. (Remus Repta, MD, Scottsdale Plastic Surgeon)

Botox Injections for the Glabellar Region

The glabellar complex is responsible for the 11 frown lines. This can be treated without needing to treat the whole forehead. Some may recommend both areas to maintain some balance between the elevator and depressor muscles.

This is more important if you were considering just having the forehead treated rather than the frown lines. If you only had the brow treated there may be a drop in the brow. If you only had the 11s treated you may see a lifting effect. (Reza Nassab, FRCS (Plast), Manchester Plastic Surgeon)

Botox areas

They can be treated independently . When treating the glabellar , sometimes in some candidates it is best to treat the frontalis in conjunction to avoid any obvious facial changes or wrinkles on untreated area more apparent.

You can start with treating just the glabellar , and if needed or desired always treat the frontalis at a later date. (Drew Varano, MD, Washington DC Physician)