To Botox or Not to Botox: 3 Scenarios That Might Not Need Botox To Get the Best Results

It’s no secret that at Coco Med Spa, we take a whole face approach to all of our services. There are many occasions where clients come in with a desired result in mind and an idea of which service they think will help. However, sometimes after a consultation, our experts determine that a different treatment, or a combo of treatments, is needed to get them their desired outcome. This can occur with Botox, fillers, and other injectables as well! Today, we’ll share a few scenarios where we might introduce other treatments besides Botox to meet a desired result. Depending on the outcome that a client is looking for, we might very well decide to start with just Botox and come back later to decide if more is needed. Let’s get right into it.  

Scenario 1: A Sagging Jawline

Although many people assume that filler is the key to a defined jawline, it’s not always the case. A sagging jawline and heaviness in the lower face can be attributed to the muscles in the jawline area. Once addressed with Botox, filler might not be needed! If filler is still needed, then typically less filler is needed as a result of treating first with Botox. If additional results are still desired or a client isn’t open to filler after Botox, our next treatment recommendation is usually a SkinTyte laser treatment!

Scenario 2: Hyperactive Masseter 

Sometimes, clients who are experiencing temporal hollowing come in with an interest in temple filler. While there are some occasions where that service is appropriate, there are also many occasions where what the client is actually experiencing is an overactive masseter muscle in the lower face. For this, we skip the filler and administer Botox to the masseter muscle. 

What happens when Botox is injected into the masseter muscle?

It reduces movement in the masseter, reducing clenching pain, slimming the face over time, and improving the balance between the lower face and the temple area. Less movement in the masseter will also require the temporalis muscle to begin working more. This can help to correct temporal hollowing without adding volume with filler.  

Hyperactive Top Lip

Last but not least, we have the lips. It’s incredibly common for clients to immediately assume any correction or augmentation of the lips needs filler, but not in the case of a hyperactive top lip. With a hyperactive lip, the top lip curls under, making the lip seem to “disappear.” Rather than diving right into filler, we’ll use Botox or another neurotoxin in the area to do a lip flip service. After two weeks, the lip should be relaxed enough to evaluate if filler is even needed.

Sometimes, the amount of treatment a client is willing to commit to will also factor into the treatment that we recommend. With Botox, we like to say that more is more. While with filler, less is more, and less keeps your results natural. If someone is looking for a short-term result, we’ll likely recommend filler. Botox, on the other hand, is a longer-term commitment because it’s starting with treatment that doesn’t add to the face in the way filler does, allowing us to use less filler later on, if ever!

If you’re in St. Pete and are ready to find out which treatments, like filler or Botox, are right for you, please contact us to book today!