A new trend for a contoured, slimmer jaw has hit the beauty bandwagon. Popularly known as Masseter Botox or jaw botox, the series of injections helps relax and reduce the size of the masseter muscle, located at the jawline. Some people are born with a bigger masseter muscle, which can make their lower face look broader, at times more than their upper face, making it look asymmetric or squarish. In others, the constant grinding of the teeth results in bulking up the muscle, also causing the jawline to look wider and causing headaches, migraines, and jaw pain.
Forty-seven-year-old Anupama B, a human resource professional, woke up every morning to the sound of clenching her teeth. “It was not just annoying but also painful,” she says. “My jaw would hurt, and I suffered from frequent headaches too,” she adds. A health expert suggested that she take botulin toxin injections into her masseter muscle. The result was almost instantaneous. The pain disappeared. She does not grind her teeth any longer, and her face has slimmed as well. “It feels nice to start the day not being irritated at yourself,” says Anupama.
Dermatologist Jaishree Sharad explains that while the masseter muscle is used for chewing, we don’t need a bulked-up muscle for the function. In many people, in fact, the enlargement of the muscle can cause TMJ pain. Temporomandibular joint pain refers to discomfort or tenderness in the jaw joint and surrounding muscles, which causes jaw pain. It can affect chewing, speaking, and, sometimes, breathing. The cause here too is grinding the teeth while sleeping, chewing gum, and exercising while lifting weights, which in turn makes the muscle bulky.
The botulin toxin, or the masseter Botox or jaw Botox, essentially reduces the size of the muscle in six weeks. This automatically refines one’s jawline. Some people, however, take it solely to get a more refined jawline or a symmetric face. Its effects, however, are not permanent. The muscle grows back in size. So, the injections must be taken at regular intervals, as determined by the doctor. While the aftercare is limited, patients are asked to not exercise for six weeks after the injection has been given.
Sales representative Snehal Gore, 27, can’t stop looking at herself in the mirror. “My face has never looked so symmetric,” she says. “I love it when my colleagues tell me that my jawline is so much more defined now,” she adds. She has always had a bulkier lower face, which she says looked asymmetric, and hence opted for this treatment two years ago. “I am very happy with the result,” she says.
Some people also take it just on the bulkier side of the face. The injections help reduce the size of the masseter only on the side where required. The procedure is non-surgical. A dermatologist numbs the lower face with a numbing cream and then injects botulin with a very thin needle. The entire procedure takes about 20 minutes and can cost up to `500 to `1,200, depending on the experience of the doctor. “In most cases, patients hardly feel any discomfort,” says Sonali Tankara, head dermatologist of Reaviva Holistic Health.
But some experts warn that the treatment can also cause drooping eyelids, crooked smiles, or drooling. Tread with caution, as they say.