There’s nothing new about “Baby Botox”. It is a term that keeps falling in and out of fashion every few years. However, over the last few months its been enjoying something of a revival. There are some fanatical reviews about “Baby Botox” and a lot of push to show its superiority in terms of results compared with traditional Botox. As always though the truth is a little more nuanced. With all that’s out there, we thought we’d clear up a few facts and myths about “Baby Botox”.

As you probably know, Botox is the name of the oldest and most famous brand of Botulinum toxin. This is a muscle-relaxing injectable that smoothes out unwanted lines and wrinkles in about 7-10 days. What has made it popular is that this is a quick and painless(ish) procedure with no downtime. Of course, it’s temporary and can be a little pricey, but then again so is a lot of skincare and at least Botox guarantees results if used appropriately. It’s for these reasons that over the last couple of decades both men and women of all ages have turned to Botox. The only problem is that Botox continues to have a bit of an image problem if you will. We’ve all seen pictures of celebs and public figures who have looked frozen, unnatural, or even scary. The listless stares, the impossibly angles brows and even worse an angry face void of any expression. In short the stigmata of bad Botox. Since good Botox is subtle and even unnoticeable, it’s easy to understand why people might think that the bad results are the norm.

What is Baby Botox?

“Baby Botox” is a term used by clinics and practitioners to soften and improve this reputation. The idea being that reducing the dose of Botox avoids that frozen stare or “hollow doll” appearance. Gathering by the increased media use of the phrase and the fact that its currently trending, “Baby Botox” looks like its caught everyone’s imagination. There is one problem though. Whilst most places consider “Baby Botox” as a dose that is 1/4-1/2 of the manufacturer’s recommended guide, there is no medical or standard definition. Simply put, it is just a marketing term devoid of any practical meaning.

Baby Botox Vs Botox

The reason Botox has a bad reputation is because of unskilled or inexperienced injectors using either too much or injecting in the wrong place. As such that has led to people having poor aesthetic results or worse still getting side effects such as droopy eyelids or asymmetry. The truth is Botox injection is both a science and an art. It requires a thorough understanding of the anatomy of the face and also an assessment of each person’s individual face shape, muscle size, and goals. There as never been a one size fits all approach to achieving good results with this treatment. The dose of Botox used and the injection points should always be tailored to each client.

As such, the term “Baby Botox” is both problematic and misleading. Although it sounds reassuring it could still lead to an overdone result in someone with fine facial features or a highly unsatisfactory outcome in someone with larger muscles. It also doesn’t diminish the risk of side effects since even a small dose injected in the wrong place can cause harm. What it does do is raise awareness that some of the problems we are seeing is due to a heavy-handed use of this treatment. sadly though it doesn’t address the underlying issue which is that a sophisticated bespoke approach is needed to administer Botox injections.

What can I do instead of baby Botox?

So you can probably guess we aren’t fans of the term “Baby Botox”. This is mainly because of its more of a marketing term that does not have any clinical meaning. However, what we are big on is the idea of tailoring Botox treatments to each individual face. This helps achieve natural-looking results. That means only using the amount of product needed to produce a subtle but noticeable effect. It also means tailoring injection sites and dose to each person’s anatomy. In addition follow up should be provided to top up Botox if needed rather than risk over-treating. In fact, it really doesn’t matter what the treatment is. Whatever you choose to have, our advice is the same. Make sure that it’s tailored to your face and your needs.