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SeoulSkin Guides · Botox and lifting

Can Botox lift my face?

Clients often ask whether toxin can lift a sagging jaw, jowls, cheeks or neck. The honest answer: a little, in a few places, usually not where people hope. We have done more than 1,600 brow lifts, 1,000 mouth-corner (DAO) treatments and 800 Nefertiti lifts with Xeomin. This guide starts from what we tell clients in those visits, checked against the published research and 11 videos from five Korean dermatologists. A note on names: Botox is a brand. SeoulSkin uses Xeomin, a botulinum toxin that works the same way.

The short answer

  • Toxin lifts only by relaxing muscles that pull down, so the muscles that pull up win. That works at the outer brow, the mouth corners and the jawline.
  • The lift is small. Studies measure about 1 mm at the brow, and jawline results range from visible to none.
  • Toxin cannot lift jowls, loose skin, lost volume, deep smile lines or horizontal neck lines. Those are not muscle problems.
  • For real sagging, the options are energy-based tightening such as Ultherapy (offered at our Koreatown clinic), filler (not offered at SeoulSkin) or surgery.

How toxin creates lift at all

Botulinum toxin does one thing: it stops a muscle from contracting for a few months. It does not tighten skin or add volume. So it can only make an area look lifted when a muscle is pulling that area down.

Your face has muscles that pull up and muscles that pull down, and they balance each other. Relax a downward puller and the upward muscles get the upper hand. The Korean dermatologists we reviewed describe this as rebalancing muscles, not lifting tissue.

Outer brow

The outer part of the eye muscle (orbicularis oculi) pulls the tail of the brow down. A few units under the outer brow let the forehead muscle raise it slightly. This overlaps with crow’s feet treatment.

Mouth corners

The depressor anguli oris (DAO) pulls the corners of the mouth down. Relaxing it softens a sad or stern resting look. The corner rarely rises much at rest; the change shows more when you smile.

Jawline

The platysma is a thin sheet of muscle running from the collarbone up to the jaw. When it is strong, it blurs the jawline and shows as vertical neck bands. The Nefertiti lift places small doses along the jaw and the bands so it pulls down less.

How much lift to expect

Less than most people picture. In a small study of toxin aimed at the brow, 5 of 7 women gained 1 to 3 mm, the average was 1 mm, and 2 saw no change. Enough to look more rested, not enough to look different.

The jawline evidence is mixed. In the trials behind Botox Cosmetic’s FDA approval for platysma bands, about 4 in 10 treated people improved by two grades on the trial’s severity scale at day 14, versus about 2 in 100 on placebo, and treated people rated their jawline as more defined. But a 2026 split-face study, where one untreated side served as the control, found clear improvement in neck bands and no measurable change in jowls or jawline contour. Only about a third would repeat it for the jawline. An earlier study found the same: bands improved, jowls only trended better.

The people who respond most clearly have a strong platysma, bands that show when they clench, and skin that is still firm. The effect fades gradually over about 3 to 4 months. Our Nefertiti clients who come back typically return about 4 months later.

As of November 2026, Xeomin is FDA-approved for frown lines, forehead lines and crow’s feet. Using it to lift the brow, relax the platysma or DAO, or slim the masseter is off-label. The platysma approval belongs to Botox Cosmetic, and units of different toxins do not convert one to one.

What toxin cannot lift, and why

Most sagging is not a muscle problem, so toxin has nothing to work on in these cases.

Masseter toxin is the treatment clients most often mistake for lifting, and with more than 2,000 done it is one of our most common. It shrinks the chewing muscle at the back of the jaw, so the lower face looks narrower from the front. It changes width, not sag. Several Korean dermatologists add a caution: when the masseter shrinks, the skin over it loses some support, and people who already have some laxity can see their jowls look heavier.

Jowls

Jowls form when the cheek fat slides down and stops at a ligament along the jaw. That is fat and loose tissue. The Korean doctors were direct: mouth-corner toxin does not lift jowls.

Loose skin on the face or neck

Skin sags when collagen and the supporting layers under it weaken with age. Relaxing a muscle does not rebuild them.

Deep smile lines

Nasolabial folds come mostly from volume loss and laxity in the midface. Toxin near the smile muscles can also change your smile, so it is used very carefully there, if at all.

Horizontal neck lines and a double chin

Horizontal neck lines are skin creases, and fat under the chin is not muscle. Platysma toxin targets the vertical bands. The approval trials measured bands and jawline, not horizontal lines.

What Korean dermatologists mean by 보톡스 리프팅

In Korea, 보톡스 리프팅 (Botox lifting) and 스킨보톡스 리프팅 (skin Botox lifting) are common and inexpensive. They usually mean toxin in the downward-pulling muscles above (DAO, chin, platysma), or very diluted toxin placed shallowly in the skin along the hairline and jawline.

The doctors agree it works by rebalancing muscles, that the result is natural and modest, and that it cannot fix fat sagging or lost firmness. One explained that each doctor places skin botox differently: some concentrate on the outer edges of the face for lift, others on the cheeks for pores and oil. Where they differ is emphasis. One called platysma toxin the heart of toxin lifting, while the 2026 split-face study found little jawline change from it.

Research on the shallow technique is thin. One small study with no separate control group reported softer jowls and neck volume after it, using total doses well above a typical face treatment.

When the honest answer is something else

Ultherapy: focused ultrasound heats the deep supporting layer under the skin, and the body builds collagen over 2 to 3 months. It is FDA-cleared to lift the brow and lax tissue under the chin and on the neck. In one study, a single treatment raised the brow 1.7 mm on average at 90 days. A published review says plainly that results are not equivalent to a facelift. It is also commonly used along the jowl and cheek, which goes beyond the cleared wording. We offer it at our Koreatown clinic only.

Filler and collagen-stimulating injections: when the problem is lost volume (hollow cheeks, deep smile lines, a small chin), Korean dermatologists add volume, which also props up the tissue around it. SeoulSkin does not offer filler or injectable boosters. Rejuran with microneedling improves skin quality, not lift.

Surgery: for heavy sagging, a facelift or neck lift is the most direct fix. It is a big decision, and aging continues afterward. We do not offer surgery; see a board-certified facial plastic surgeon.

Before any toxin: treatment is not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding, because there is not enough safety data. The Xeomin label warns that injections on both sides of the neck raise the risk of swallowing problems. Get medical help right away if you have trouble swallowing, breathing or speaking after treatment.

What our clients ask in the treatment room

Real questions from our clients, and our answers.

“I’m starting to feel like this area is looking a little bulldoggy, droopy.”
That droop along the jaw is usually jowling: fat and loose tissue, not muscle. Toxin cannot lift it. Energy-based tightening such as Ultherapy is the closer fit, with results building over 2 to 3 months.
“My face is sagging and my jawline is not very defined. Is there something that could help me lift up my face?”
First we separate the two. If a strong platysma blurs your jawline, a Nefertiti lift can sharpen it a little. If the skin itself is loose, toxin will not do much, and Ultherapy or a surgical consult is the honest path.
“For the Nefertiti neck, would that get rid of the double chin, or what does it really do?”
It relaxes the platysma along the jaw and neck so it pulls down less. It reliably softens vertical neck bands; the jawline change is subtle and varies. It does not remove fat under the chin.
“Do you think the platysma bands would help at all with the lines on my neck?”
Not with horizontal lines. Those are skin creases, and platysma toxin targets the vertical bands. Fine early lines may soften a little with skin botox; deeper ones need skin tightening.
“Anything else we can do with these smile lines, or just the DAO?”
DAO toxin softens downturned corners but does not touch the smile line itself. Smile lines come from volume loss and laxity, which filler or tightening address. We do not offer filler; Ultherapy is our option for laxity.
“If I do my crow’s feet, is it a little bit of a lift, like a brow lift?”
A small one, yes. The outer eye muscle pulls the brow tail down, so relaxing it lets the brow rise, usually around 1 mm. Too much toxin in the lower forehead works against that, so your provider balances the two.
“I want it slimmer, and more lifted.”
Masseter toxin can make the lower face narrower if the muscle is large. It does not lift. If you already have some laxity, a smaller masseter can make jowls look heavier, so your provider checks skin firmness first.
“My friend did a consult for the Nefertiti and they didn’t recommend it for her. Are there good candidates and bad candidates?”
Yes. It suits people with a strong platysma, visible neck bands and skin that is still firm. With loose skin or fat under the chin, the result is often too subtle to be worth it.

What toxin can and cannot do for lifting

Match your goal to what actually causes it. Unit counts are the middle dose in our own records, and prices follow from them. They are not a quote; your provider sets the dose in person.

What you wantCan toxin help?At SeoulSkin
A slightly higher outer browYes, a little. About 1 mm on averageBrow Lift, typically 4 units, $24
Softer downturned mouth cornersPartly. Less downward pull, most visible when you smileDAO, typically 8 units, $48
Softer neck bands, a crisper jawlineBands, usually. Jawline, subtle and variableNefertiti Lift, typically 20 units, $120
A narrower lower faceYes, if the masseter is large. Width, not liftMasseter, typically 50 units, $300
Lifted jowls or loose skin under the chinNo. This is fat and lax tissueUltherapy, lower face 300 shots $990 (Koreatown)
Tighter neck skinNoUltherapy, neck 300 shots $990 (Koreatown)
Fewer fine horizontal neck linesNot muscle toxin. Skin botox may soften early lines a littleSkin botox (Dermatoxin), typically $300
Shallower smile lines, fuller cheeksNo. This is volume lossFiller: Not offered
A major lift for heavy saggingNoSurgery: Not offered

The visit fee is $100, waived when your treatment total is $500 or more. Ultherapy is available at our Koreatown clinic only.

Hear it from the doctors

The videos are in Korean. Turn on captions and choose auto-translate to English.

Skin King Jeong-yun 피부왕 정윤 · 174K subscribers

Lower-face toxin weakens the muscles that pull down (the DAO, the chin and the platysma) so the lifting muscles win. The doctor treats their own jawline this way, but says fat sagging and lost firmness are beyond toxin, and the mouth area needs small, careful doses.

Dr. Sung Hyun-chul 피부는 성현철 · 255K subscribers

Calls the platysma the key to toxin lifting, because it connects to the muscles that pull the lower face down. Also warns that mouth-corner toxin does not raise sagging jowls, and that masseter toxin placed too high can hollow the cheeks.

Dr. Filler 닥터필러 · 175K subscribers

Masseter toxin slims the jaw, but when the muscle shrinks, the skin over it can drop. People who already show early laxity may have to choose between a slimmer face and a firmer one, or pair it with a tightening treatment.

Sources

Last reviewed November 2026. This page combines what we see in our own treatment rooms with public videos and published research. It is not medical advice, and none of the outside doctors or authors cited is affiliated with or endorses SeoulSkin.

More guides

Not sure if it is muscle or sagging?

Your provider can tell in a few minutes by watching you clench and smile and checking how firm your skin is. If toxin will not help, we will say so and tell you what might.

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