Skin botox: what it does for pores and texture, and who it suits

What is skin botox, and how is it different from regular botox?

Maybe your makeup won't sit, your pores look bigger in every photo, and your skin looks rough even when it feels clean. Skin botox is one of the treatments I use for exactly that. It's also one of the most misunderstood, because people assume it will freeze their face.

I'm Dr. Won Sin Lee, a board-certified dermatologist trained at Asan Medical Center in Seoul, where I also serve as an adjunct professor of dermatology. Here I'll explain what skin botox does, what it doesn't, and how I decide whether it fits a face.

Regular botox is injected deep into a muscle to relax it, which is how forehead or frown lines soften. Skin botox, sometimes called dermatoxin or microdroplet botox, uses diluted toxin injected shallowly into the dermis instead, in many tiny points across the surface.

Because it sits in the skin rather than the muscle, skin botox doesn't stiffen your expression the way muscle botox can. That's why it can be spread across the whole central face without the frozen look people fear.

What does skin botox do for textured skin and pores?

Each pore has a tiny muscle beside it, the arrector pili. Skin botox relaxes it, so enlarged pores look tighter. The same injection also tends to pull the surface a little tauter, so textured skin reads smoother.

• Pores: tightened and refined, especially on the front cheeks and around the nose
• Oiliness: excess shine is reduced, so makeup lasts better
• Fine lines: shallow creases on the surface are smoothed
• Flushing: it may also help redness, by suppressing small nerves around blood vessels

One honest caveat: pores can't be removed, and they shouldn't be. They're the normal outlet for sebum, which protects the skin. The goal is pores that look smaller and a surface that looks even, not skin without pores.

Because the effect is on the surface, people usually notice it as an overall impression. The central face looks smoother, photos look kinder, and foundation stops settling into pores.

Where is skin botox injected, and how does it feel?

I mainly treat the central face: the front cheeks and the area around the nose, where pores and oil are most visible. If fine lines bother you, I may add the forehead or around the eyes.

The injections are shallow and closely spaced, so you'll see small marks on the treated area for a short time. The dermatologist decides the dose for each area at the consultation. We use only US FDA-approved type A toxin, with genuine product and quantity guaranteed, as described on our botulinum toxin page.

At WELLS, a board-certified dermatologist handles the consultation, diagnosis and treatment. I'd rather spend the consultation finding out which of your concerns is most urgent than sell you a fixed menu.

Skin botox or a Rejuran skin booster: which does your skin need?

This is the question I'm asked most. The answer depends on whether your problem is on the surface or underneath.

• Rough texture, visible pores, shine: skin botox works on the surface
• Dull, dry-looking skin even though texture is fine: this usually means the skin lacks moisture inside, which is a job for a Rejuran skin booster
• Both at once: combine them

A Rejuran skin booster such as Rejuran HB+ works on regeneration, hydration and elasticity from within. It adds hyaluronic acid to the polynucleotide, so hydration improves and a dull tone can look brighter. Skin botox alone tightens the surface but doesn't solve inner dryness.

For the full picture of how Rejuran works, what it costs and who it suits, see Rejuran skin booster: what it does, who it suits, and the price.

Rejuran Tox: skin botox and Rejuran HB+ in one visit

Both skin botox and Rejuran are placed in the dermis, so they can be done in the same session. At WELLS we call that combination Rejuran Tox: Rejuran HB+ 3 cc and skin botox 3 cc, in one visit.

Rejuran rebuilds from inside, and skin botox refines the surface. Together they target fine lines, pores and texture in a single protocol, with one round of injections instead of two.

Both toxins are genuine and dosed by the dermatologist, so tell us your preference. The price of skin botox on its own is confirmed at consultation, because it depends on the areas and dose.

How to get Korean glass skin: where skin botox fits

Glass skin is really three things at once: a smooth surface, good hydration and even tone. Skin botox covers only the first. That's why people who ask me how to get Korean glass skin usually need a combination, not a single injection.

Home care still matters. Cleanse properly at the end of every day, avoid oil-heavy cosmetics that can block pores, and have acne treated early instead of squeezing it. Squeezing damages the tissue around the pore and can make it larger.

If pores are already stretched from ageing or old acne, home care alone has limits. Collagen-building treatments help there, such as the fractional picosecond laser described on our pore reduction page.

When skin botox is not the right answer

Skin botox won't lift sagging skin, fill hollows or erase a deep, fixed wrinkle. If your pores look bigger mainly because the skin has lost firmness, they're stretched by laxity, and a lifting or collagen treatment will do more.

The same goes for deep expression lines. Muscle botox in the forehead, between the brows and around the eyes works best before lines become fixed, which is why I suggest it regularly from the thirties. Once a line is etched in at rest, neither kind of botox will fully erase it.

Even a fast-acting treatment can backfire if it doesn't suit your current skin. I'd rather tell you honestly that another option fits better. If you're comparing brands or muscle botox prices, I cover that in Korean botox in Seoul: brands, price and how a visit works.

Consultations at WELLS are available in English. We're on the 8th floor of the Apgujeong Building, a five-minute walk from Apgujeong Station Exit 3.

Results and recovery vary by individual. Every treatment carries possible side effects, which are explained at the consultation. Prices are in Korean won, excluding 10% VAT, and confirmed at your consultation. This article is general information from the clinic, not a diagnosis.

Written by

Dr. Won Sin Lee

Medical Director · WELLS Clinic, Apgujeong

• Board-certified dermatologist in Korea; trained at Asan Medical Center in Seoul
• Dermatology residency, Asan Medical Center; board certification in dermatology in Korea
• Adjunct professor, Department of Dermatology, Asan Medical Center
• Former director, Bokji Dermatology Clinic, Korean Leprosy Welfare Association
• Commendation for Outstanding Service as a Public Health Physician

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