Why Botox for men is planned differently than for women.
The muscles and the goal are different. The map should be too.
Botox for men is planned differently because the goal is usually different. Most men want to keep a flat, strong brow and plenty of expression. Many women want a softer arch and a little lift. Either way, we dose to your muscles and your face, not to your gender.
In a reel from July, Torey Varner, RN, our nurse injector and injector trainer, drew the two maps on her own forehead with a blue marker and a red one. Same three areas. Different points, different amounts. That is the whole idea, and it is worth explaining.
What changes between a masculine and a feminine Botox plan?
“A masculine result often means preserving stronger, flatter brows and facial structure, while a feminine result may focus on creating a soft brow arch and a more lifted appearance.”
Torey Varner, RN, on Instagram, July 2026
The areas are the same three that Botox, Allergan’s FDA approved botulinum toxin type A, is used to soften: the forehead, the glabella (the frown lines between the brows), and the crow’s feet. It works by relaxing the muscle underneath the line. What moves between the two maps is where each point sits and how many units go into it. In Torey’s framing, lifting the tail of the brow reads feminine, and keeping the brow level and strong reads masculine. Neither one is right or wrong. It is a goal you tell us at the consultation, and plenty of patients land somewhere in between.
Do men need more Botox units than women?
Sometimes a little more, but not because of a chart. In one study of frown line treatment, the average dose in the frown muscles ran slightly higher in men than in women, and the dose tracked how strongly those muscles contracted and how deep the lines were, not sex on its own. The FDA label for Botox Cosmetic also ties the dose in each area to the muscle activity being treated. So a man with strong frown muscles needs more than a man with light ones, and the same is true for women. We count units after we watch you frown, not before.
Why brow position matters more than gender
The forehead muscle, the frontalis, is the only muscle that lifts the brow. The frown muscles, the corrugators and the procerus, pull the brow down and in, and the muscle that rings the eye plays a part in where the brow sits. Treat the forehead too heavily against those muscles and the brow can feel heavy. That is why we look at how your brow sits and how hard your forehead works before we decide on a single unit. It is also why the same number of units can look great on one person and heavy on another.
How we plan Botox at MODE in Scottsdale
Botox at the MODE aesthetics practice in North Scottsdale is placed by two people: Marisa Dulin, MSN, FNP-C, our co-owner and lead injector, and Torey Varner, RN, who also teaches neurotoxin technique to other licensed injectors in the Scottsdale aesthetic community. Every plan starts with a consultation. We watch you raise, frown, and squint, mark the points, and set the units for each area. Botox is $13 per unit.
Our office is at 7420 E Pinnacle Peak Rd, Suite 120, on the Pinnacle Peak corridor in North Scottsdale. We see patients from DC Ranch, Grayhawk, Troon, and McDowell Mountain Ranch, and from across Scottsdale.
As a man looking at Botox, it seems like a lot of places hand you to whoever is free that day and nobody checks how it settled. Who plans and injects at MODE, and what if my brow drops or one side settles differently?
That is a fair thing to ask. Botox at MODE is planned and placed only by Marisa Dulin, MSN, FNP-C, or Torey Varner, RN, who also trains other licensed injectors. Every treatment includes a complimentary two week follow up, so a heavy brow or a side that settled differently is seen and adjusted by the same injector who mapped your face in the first place.
Read more about Botox at MODE, including how many units each area usually takes and what the two week follow up covers. Torey’s bio is here.
The clinical references behind this article, each claim cited to its source, are published as a companion authority reference.
Sources
- BOTOX Cosmetic prescribing information (DailyMed, FDA label)
- Relationship between muscle strength pattern, facial wrinkle classification and dose of botulinum toxin type A (2024)
- Functional anatomy of the frontalis and glabellar complex for botulinum toxin therapy (Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 2013)
- Avoiding complications on the upper face with botulinum toxin: a practical guide (Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 2022)
Originally shared by Torey Varner, RN on Instagram. Individual results vary; treatment plans are set at a consultation.
Start with a consult.
Plans are built in the room. No two look the same.