Microbotox is not a smaller dose of regular Botox. It is the same product delivered to a different depth, for a different purpose. That difference is the entire treatment, so it is worth two minutes of reading before you book it anywhere.
Same product, different layer
Standard neuromodulator treatment goes deep, into the belly of a muscle, to stop that muscle moving. Microbotox goes shallow. Very small amounts, heavily diluted, delivered as a spread of tiny intradermal droplets into the skin itself rather than the muscle underneath.
At that depth it is not chasing your expressions. It reaches the structures that sit in the dermis, including the sweat and oil glands and the fine superficial muscle fibres that attach to skin. The result people are usually after is less oil through the day, pores that look smaller because they are less full, and a smoother light reflection off the skin. Movement is left alone.
What it does and does not do to pores
It is worth being precise, because this is where the marketing gets loose. Microbotox does not shrink a pore. Pore size is largely structural and inherited. What it does is reduce how much oil is sitting in and around the opening, and oil is a major reason a pore reads as large in the mirror and in photographs. Less output, less visible opening. Stop treatment and the glands go back to their baseline behaviour.
So the honest framing is a temporary change in how oily your skin behaves, not a permanent change in your skin’s architecture. Anyone selling it as permanent pore reduction is describing something the treatment cannot do.
How it compares to the other options we offer
Oil and pore concerns can be approached several ways, and they are not interchangeable.
- Microbotox reduces oil production for a few months. Fastest visible change in shine. No downtime. Repeats required.
- Aerolase targets the sebaceous glands and inflammation with laser energy. Better when oil comes with active breakouts or redness rather than shine alone.
- Microneedling works on texture and remodelling over a course. Slower, but it addresses the surface itself rather than the oil sitting on it.
- Topical routine. Unglamorous, and still the foundation. A retinoid does more for pore appearance over a year than any single appointment.
From our injection team: microbotox is the one people book when they are photographed a lot and tired of shine by lunchtime. It is genuinely good at that. It is not a substitute for a routine, and we will say so.
The appointment
Dozens of very shallow micro-injections across the treated zone, most often forehead, nose and cheeks, sometimes the neck. It takes longer than a standard appointment because of the number of entry points. Expect small transient bumps that settle within an hour or two, and possible pinpoint redness for the rest of the day. Makeup the next morning is fine.
Onset is gradual rather than sudden, generally over one to two weeks, and the oil-control effect commonly runs three to four months. Because the doses are so shallow and so dilute, the risk of affecting expression is low, but it is not zero, which is why depth control matters and why this is a poor candidate for a rushed appointment.
Who it suits, and who it does not
It suits people whose main complaint is shine and pore visibility on otherwise healthy skin. It suits people with oily skin who dislike how makeup breaks down through the day. It is a poor fit if you have active inflammatory acne that needs treating first, if your skin is dry or dehydrated rather than oily, or if you are hoping for a permanent structural change to pore size.
Questions
Will my face still move normally?
Yes. That is the point of the technique. The product stays in the skin layer rather than reaching the muscles that create expression.
Can I have it with regular Botox at the same visit?
Commonly, yes. They target different depths and different problems, and combining them is a normal plan rather than an upsell.
How long does it last?
Usually three to four months for the oil control, which is shorter than standard treatment because of how dilute it is.
Cost?
It uses more product spread over a wider area than a single-area treatment, so it costs more than a small dose and less than a full-face plan. Current pricing sits on the Toronto price index, and you get an exact quote at consultation.
If you are not sure whether your issue is oil, texture or routine, book the free consultation and we will tell you which of the four options above is actually going to move the needle for you. Book online or call 416-923-1200.