- The chin can develop an excessively dimpled, pebbly or orange peel (peau d’orange) look.
- The orange peel (peau d’orange) appearance of the chin gets worse whenever the Mentalis muscle (chin muscle) contracts. The two Mentalis muscles are highlighted in the image below.
Technique
- The patient sits back on a bed with the backrest up.
- The area is cleaned.
- The skin overlying the muscles to be injected is marked out with a skin marker.
- Care is taken not to inject too laterally (to the sides), to avoid weakening the Depressor Labii Inferioris muscle.
- Care must also be taken not to inject too superiorly (closer to the lip) to avoid weakening the Orbicularis Oris muscle that surround the mouth.
- The muscles are injected. It takes about 30 seconds.
- Light pressure is applied to the area to prevent bruising.
- The skin marker marks are wiped off.
Botox dosage for Mentalis muscle injection (highlighted in the image above) for orange peel chin:
- in females: 2 units per muscle
- in males: 3-5 units per muscle
Aftercare:
- Slight bruising can occur, but can be concealed with make-up. It resolves in a few days.
- The effect will kick in after 3-10 days and last between 2 and 7 months, depending on the Botox dosage used and the patients physiology. Some patients dissolve Botox faster than other patients.
- First time patients will sometimes be requested to return after 2-3 weeks for a check-up and top-up if required.
- Most patients have the injections repeated once or twice a year.