Introduction
BOTOX and Neuromodulators Introductions
Most people who come to me have been getting too much BOTOX for too long. My approach is the opposite: fewer units, placed with intent, so you look rested instead of treated. If you want a natural result from a facial plastic surgeon who injects his own patients, call my Houston office at (832) 930-7660 to set up a consultation.
Why I Use Less Product Than Your Last Injector
There is a habit in this industry of treating BOTOX like a volume business. More units, more areas, more revenue. The result is a face that does not move and a forehead that sits heavy over the brow. Patients tell me they look tired, or angry, or simply not like themselves.
I dose conservatively on purpose. In most cases I use noticeably fewer units than a patient is used to receiving, because the goal is to soften a line, not erase a muscle. Your face is supposed to move. Expression is what makes you look like you.
It is also safer arithmetic. If I under-dose you, I can add product at your two-week visit and we fix it that afternoon. If I over-dose you, we wait three months. One of those is a small adjustment. The other is a season of your life spent hiding from cameras.
Placement Over Volume
Where the product goes matters far more than how much of it there is.
The muscles of the face are layered, and they vary from person to person. Your frontalis is not shaped like anyone else’s. Your brow may be held up by one part of that muscle and pulled down by another. A standard injection grid ignores all of this and simply spreads units evenly across a region, hoping something works.
I do the opposite. I map your muscles while you make expressions in the mirror with me, then I choose a small number of specific points and inject at a specific depth. Fewer punctures, better placed. That precision is what lets me use less product and still get a clean result, and it is what protects the parts of the muscle that should keep working, like the outer brow that gives your eyes shape.
I Operate on These Muscles
I am a facial plastic surgeon. I spend my operating days beneath the skin, dissecting the exact anatomy I am injecting in clinic. I know how these muscles insert, how they layer, and how they change as a face ages, because I see them directly rather than reading about them.
That background changes what I recommend. Sometimes it means a lighter touch in an area another injector would load up. Sometimes it means telling you that BOTOX is not the answer at all, and that what is bothering you is skin laxity or lost volume that no neuromodulator will fix. I would rather send you home without a treatment than sell you one that cannot work.
I also inject my own patients. You will not meet me at the consultation and then be handed to someone else with a syringe.
What Neuromodulators Actually Do
Shallow facial lines like crow’s feet and forehead lines come from muscles that have contracted the same way for decades. Every smile, squint, and furrow folds the skin in the same place until the fold stays.
Neuromodulators are injectable medications that quiet the nerve signal to a targeted muscle. The muscle relaxes, the skin above it flattens, and the line softens.
BOTOX is the most established of these products and is FDA-approved. It is made from botulinum toxin type A, and in the small, diluted doses used for aesthetics it has one of the longest safety records in cosmetic medicine. It is also used to treat excessive sweating, migraine headaches, and a number of other medical conditions.
I use several different products and pick based on your anatomy and how quickly you want results, not based on what I happen to have in stock.
Who Is a Good Candidate
You are likely a good candidate if you:
- Want to soften crow’s feet, horizontal forehead lines, frown lines between the brows, bunny lines on the nose, or chin dimpling
- Want to relax vertical neck bands
- Are in good general health
- Are not allergic to any ingredient in the product
- Have no condition that makes treatment unsafe
You may not be a good candidate if your main concern is loose skin or lost volume. I will tell you that at the consultation rather than after you have paid for a treatment that will not deliver.
Your Consultation
At your visit in my Houston office, I will:
- Ask what bothers you when you look in the mirror
- Watch your face move, at rest and in expression, and map which muscles are doing what
- Review your medical history, medications, supplements, allergies, and past treatments, including how many units you have received before and how you felt about the result
- Recommend a specific product and a specific plan, including how many units and why
- Explain what this will and will not fix
- Walk you through preparation, the treatment itself, and aftercare
If a previous result left you heavy-browed or frozen, bring photos. That tells me a great deal about how your muscles responded and how to dose you differently.
The Day of Your Treatment
Treatment takes about 20 minutes.
I cleanse the skin and mark my injection points while you make expressions, so the plan is built on your face rather than on a template. Topical numbing is available, though most patients find they do not need it. I then place each injection at the mapped point and depth.
You will be able to go straight back to your day.
Aftercare
There is no downtime. You can return to your normal schedule immediately, which is why this is often called a lunchtime treatment.
Expect the possibility of mild swelling, redness, or a small bruise at the injection sites. An ice pack helps.
For the first day:
- Stay upright for at least three hours
- Skip saunas, hot tubs, and tanning beds for at least four hours
- Avoid heavy sun exposure and intense heat, which raise blood pressure and worsen bruising
- Avoid alcohol, blood thinners, and certain herbal supplements
- Do not press on or massage the treated areas for 24 hours
What Neuromodulators Cost in Houston
Price depends on the product chosen and the number of units used, along with the size and number of areas treated and the depth of the lines.
Because I dose conservatively, many patients spend less per visit here than they did with a previous injector. I do not set unit minimums and I do not push additional areas during your appointment.
I have partnered with PatientFi, Cherry, CareCredit, and Alphaeon Credit, which offer payment plans across a range of budgets.
About Dr. Anmol Chattha
I am a plastic surgeon specializing in facial aesthetics and rejuvenation, including non-surgical treatment. I earned my Medical Doctorate at Albany Medical College, completed a general surgery internship at Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and finished an integrated plastic surgery residency at the University of Chicago Hospitals.
I have authored articles in medical journals and lecture at industry conferences. My practice is built around restraint: results that read as rested and natural, never as work.
Take the First Step
Call (832) 930-7660 to arrange a consultation at my Houston office. If you have been over-treated before, or you have never been treated and want to start correctly, I would like to see you.