Botox vs. Filler:
Which Do You Need?

Botox relaxes. Filler restores.

If you remember one thing, remember this: Botox softens the lines your face makes when it moves, and dermal filler replaces the volume your face loses over time. Most of the confusion between them disappears once you know which problem you are solving.

Botox (and similar neurotoxins like Dysport and Xeomin) is injected into specific muscles to relax them. When those muscles stop pulling, the skin above them stops creasing. That is why it works on dynamic lines, the ones that appear when you raise your brows, frown, or smile.

Dermal filler is a soft gel, usually hyaluronic acid, that is placed under the skin to add volume back where age, weight change, or genetics have thinned it. That is why it works on volume loss: flatter cheeks, thinner lips, hollows under the eyes, and the folds that deepen around the mouth.

How to tell which you need

Try this in the mirror. Make an expression, then relax your face. If a line is only there when you move and smooths out at rest, it is dynamic, and Botox is usually the answer. If a line or hollow is there even when your face is completely relaxed, that is a volume issue, and filler is usually the answer. Deep lines that are part movement and part volume sometimes call for a little of both.

Our promise either way

We will tell you honestly which option fits, and we will not sell you the one you do not need. The aim is always a natural-looking result you approve before we begin, never a frozen or overfilled look.