BOTOX

Everyone seems to know about Botox.  It temporarily paralyzes the muscles that create frown lines, forehead lines, squint lines, and upper lip lines (yes, Botox can be used for upper lip lines).  I charge $10 per unit.  Frown lines average 22.5 units, squint lines 9 units, upper lip 3 to 6 units.  Forehead lines are variable, usually not over 10 units.  The usual interval between Botox treatments is four months.  It really can’t be longer for squint lines or upper lip lines, since treatments of these areas are incomplete.  For frown lines, once the lines have gone away (typically a year of treatments) it is often possible to go six months between treatments.

With regards to upper lip lines, it can be very helpful to also use Juvederm, which stretches out the lip horizontally, lessening the lines.  It also stiffens the upper lip slightly.  However, the “smoker’s lines” are created by puckering during speech, and the most important part of treatment is to weaken the pucker muscles with Botox.  For information on Juvederm, see Fillers.