Short version: if your bunny lines showed up after you started Botox, that is not bad luck. It is a predictable side effect of treating the muscles next door, and it is fixable in about four units.
Why bunny lines usually appear after Botox, not before
Bunny lines are the diagonal creases that fan across the bridge of the nose when you scrunch. They come from the nasalis muscle. Plenty of people have them naturally. But a large share of the people asking us about them only noticed them after a few rounds of forehead and frown-line treatment, and there is a mechanical reason for that.
When you relax the glabella, the muscles that used to do the heavy lifting of a squint or a frown stop pulling. The face still wants to make the expression. So recruitment shifts outward and downward to whatever is still mobile, and the nasalis is right there. The lines were always available to you. They just became the path of least resistance.
This is why bunny lines are the classic sign of an incomplete treatment plan rather than a bad one. Nothing went wrong. The map was drawn one muscle too small.
What we look at before dosing
We ask you to scrunch, then to frown, then to smile hard, and we watch the order things fire in. Three findings change the plan:
- Lines only on scrunch, none at rest. Straightforward dynamic case. Toxin alone.
- Lines still visible at rest. The crease has been folded into the skin over years. Toxin softens the movement but will not iron the etched line out on its own.
- Strong pull toward the inner eye. Placement has to move away from the levator complex, or you risk affecting the lip lift on that side.
Dose, placement and the one real risk
This is a small treatment. A few units per side, placed high and lateral on the nasal sidewall, staying well clear of the levator labii superioris alaeque nasi. That muscle name matters because it is the reason bunny lines are a precision job rather than a casual add-on. Drift downward and you can weaken the muscle that lifts the upper lip and nostril, which shows up as an uneven smile for a few weeks.
From our injection team: bunny lines are where you can tell how carefully someone injects. It is four units. It is also four units placed within a few millimetres of a muscle you absolutely do not want to touch.
Onset is the usual two weeks. It fades on the same timeline as the rest of your upper face, which is convenient, because it means bunny lines can simply be folded into your existing appointment rather than becoming a separate visit.
When toxin is the wrong answer
If the line sits there while your face is completely still, you are looking at a static crease. Relaxing the muscle stops it deepening and softens it over successive rounds, but the existing groove needs something that addresses the skin itself. That is a conversation about resurfacing or, occasionally, a very small amount of filler. We would rather tell you that at consultation than take your money twice.
Common questions
Will treating bunny lines change my smile?
Not when it is placed correctly. The risk sits in going too low or too medial. Ask your injector where they are placing relative to the levator, and if the answer is vague, that tells you something.
Can I have this done at the same appointment as my forehead?
Yes, and it is usually the sensible way to do it. Treating the upper face and leaving the nose untouched is exactly what creates the problem in the first place.
How much does it cost?
It is priced per unit and it is a small number of units, so it is one of the least expensive things on the menu. Current per-unit pricing is on our Toronto price index.
If your bunny lines arrived after you started treatment elsewhere, bring that up at your free consultation. It usually means the rest of the plan needs a look too. Book online or call 416-923-1200.
Related: frown lines and forehead treatment, the two areas that most often push movement down into the nose.