How Many Units of Botox® Do I Need?
How many Botox® units will I need? This is perhaps the number one question we receive and with good reason! Botox treatments are priced and administered by unit and knowing how many units you will need helps you plan accordingly. The answer? Well, it’s different for everybody.
There are three primary factors that impact each treatment: metabolism, muscle strength, and your end goal.
Believe it or not, your metabolism impacts how long your Botox treatment will last and how much Botox you will need to achieve your goals. The metabolism is responsible for processing substances we put into our body and breaking down neurotoxic proteins (such as Botox) much like how it breaks down the food we eat. A faster metabolism will require more frequent touch-ups to maintain your desired goal.
Neurotoxins are applied to the facial muscles to address fine lines and wrinkles, so it makes sense that muscle strength is a factor in how many units are needed. Some muscles are stronger for everyone; for example, forehead muscles require more units in general. Then you have your unique muscle strength which differs from the person next to you and you can see how estimating units needed for a treatment gets a little tricky.
Finally, the most important impact on the number of units needed for a treatment depends on your end goal. If you are looking to make some subtle changes in smoothing out some fine lines or reducing forehead wrinkles, you will need less Botox than someone who is looking to eradicate deep Glabella 11s or neck bands.
Here are the average units needed per facial area:
Forehead Lines: 10 to 20 Units
Brow Lift: 5 to 10 Units
Glabellar Lines (Also Known as “Frown Lines” or “11 Lines”): 16 to 20 Units
Crow’s Feet: 5 to 15 Units Per Side
Bunny Lines (Lines on the Nose): 5 to 10 Units
Masseters (Jaw and Cheekbone Muscles): 25 to 50 Units Per Side
Smile Lift /Lip Flip (Corners of the Mouth): 4 to 6 Units
Chin: 4 to 8 Units
Neck Bands: 25 to 50 Units
The most accurate way for us to estimate the number of units you will need for a Botox treatment is for you to come in for a consultation where we can discuss your goals and review your muscle structure.
