Dr. Alex Studying Botox in the Neck


Dr. Alex is excited to start a new clinical trial to determine the effects of Botox in the neck.

What is a clinical trial?

A clinical trial is a form of research where a medication or drug such as Botox is tested on a group of people before it is approved by the FDA to be used on the general public. These trials are performed to make sure the Botox treatment in the area is both safe and effective. Dr. Alex has been participating in clinical trials with his friend and colleague Dr. John Joseph of Clinical Trials of Beverly Hills. In the study on Botox in the neck, Dr. Alex will be acting as a blinded clinical evaluator. This means that he looks at patients and evaluates their neck to give them a score. This is done before and after the treatments to see if there is an improvement in the score.

What is Botox?

Botox is a purified protein used to treat wrinkles caused by facial expressions. Common areas treated with Botox include the horizontal forehead wrinkles you see on your upper forehead when you raise your eyebrows, the frown lines you see between your eyebrows when you frown, and the crow’s feet you see around your eyes when you smile or squint. Botox can also be used for non-cosmetic purposes such as TMJ pain, migraine headaches, and excessive sweating in the underarms, palms of the hands, or soles of the feet. There are many other areas where Botox can be used and the neck is one of them.

What are neck bands?

Neck bands are vertical bands in the neck that go from your jawline down to your collar bone. Neck bands are seen when you make certain expressions. An easy way to try to see your own neck bands is to try to show your lower teeth and say “eee.” Everyone is different, some people have one band per side, some have two or more, and some don’t have any. These bands are caused by the contraction of a muscle in your neck called the platysma. This neck muscle connects the skin in your lower face to your collar bone. When the muscle contracts, it pulls down on your lower face and up on your collar bone. The bands that you may see are the actual fibers of the muscle contracting. Sometimes the neck bands will get wider at the top just under the jawline, and in others it may now.

Why do neck bands need to be treated with Botox?

The appearance of the vertical neck bands often makes people look older. Treating neck bands with Botox can improve the appearance of your neck. Similar to muscles in the upper face, when the neck muscle contracts regularly, over time you can see wrinkles in the area. The wrinkles in your skin are perpendicular to the fibers of the muscle. In your neck, the muscle fibers go up and down. Therefore, the wrinkles are horizontal and go across your neck from one side to the other. These wrinkles are sometimes called necklace lines. Treating your neck muscle can often times improve your necklace lines. Another thing that can happen over time is that your neck muscle can get so strong that it pulls down on your lower face. This makes it harder to see your jawline and can make you look old or overweight. Botox can treat your neck muscle to prevent it from pulling down on your lower face. This will improve your jawline definition. Botox in the neck is a great treatment to combine with other treatments in the lower face and neck such as Voluma in your chin or jawline, Kybella under your chin, and laser skin tightening on the lower face and neck.

Treating Neck Bands with Botox

Treating the neck muscle with Botox is very similar to treating muscles on the face. Your neck muscle is right under the skin, so the Botox does not go deep at all. Many people are concerned that treatment of neck bands with Botox will hurt. However, with Dr. Alex’s painless injection technique, most people find it even more comfortable than treating their upper face with Botox. Your neck muscle is a thin, flat, and broad muscle that goes from the skin in your lower face all the way down to your collar bone, and from one side of your neck all the way to the other side. Therefore, a higher dose is needed to see good results. Dr. Alex finds that a dose of 60 units in this area works really well.

 Dr. Alex is excited to start the study on Botox for neck bands. When Botox is approved for treating neck bands, the manufacturer (Allergan) will be able to market it and educate more people about it.

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Dr. Alex has performed over 10,000 cosmetic treatments with many satisfied patients. Contact us to schedule an appointment for a free consultation with Dr. Alex in our Encino, CA office.

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