If you scrunch your nose when you smile, laugh, or concentrate, you may see fine diagonal creases on the upper sides of the nose. Those are “bunny lines,” formed by repetitive contraction of the nasalis muscle. On some faces, they’re subtle and charming; on others, they cast a shadow that distracts from the eyes and midface. Treating them well is part anatomy lesson, part restraint, and part judgment. I have corrected hundreds of sets of bunny lines with Botox over the years, and the most consistent takeaway is this: small doses matter, and the rest of the face needs to be considered before any needle touches skin.
What counts as a bunny line
Bunny lines run obliquely from the bridge of the nose toward the inner eye. They appear when you smile, laugh, or sniff, and in some people they linger at rest. The main driver is the nasalis muscle, particularly the transverse portion that compresses the nasal bridge. For many patients, bunny lines become more noticeable after treating other areas, like the glabella. When frown lines are softened with botoxforfrownlines, the nasalis sometimes overcompensates during expression, and those diagonal creases show up stronger. That interaction is why an injector should always assess dynamic expression across the midface, not just the immediate wrinkle.
Bunny lines can start as faint etchings in your late 20s or early 30s, often in expressive faces or in people with thinner skin. By the 40s and 50s, repetition and collagen loss can deepen them. Sun exposure, smoking, and habitual facial movements accelerate the process. Patients with allergies or chronic congestion who crinkle their noses frequently tend to present earlier.
Why a tiny dose goes a long way
The nasalis is small. Overtreating it risks a heavy or flattened midface, a frozen smile, or worse, unwanted diffusion that changes how the smile lifts near the nostrils. The art is to soften, not silence, the muscle. For most patients, that means a total of 2 to 6 units of botoxinjections split across two to four micro-points per side. Some clinicians prefer to start even more conservatively with a test dose and reassess at two weeks, especially when the patient is new to botoxforbunnylines.
I have learned to ask patients to exaggerate their scrunch before placing a single drop. Watching the pattern in action tells you where the skin folds and which fibers dominate. Occasionally, one side contracts more than the other, and it’s better to place asymmetric dosing than to blindly mirror both sides. You can always add a unit. Taking it away is far trickier.
Mapping the anatomy with your eyes and fingertips
The safest and most consistent injection points sit over the thickest portion of the nasal sidewall, a fingerbreadth or two below the medial canthus and away from the angular vessels near the corner of the eye. You want to be superficial, just under the skin, with tiny blebs rather than deep boluses. If you see blanching, you’re too superficial. If you feel resistance and the skin tents nicely, you are usually in the right plane for a subtle intramuscular effect.
I avoid injections near the nasal ala because diffusion there risks altering the nostril flare and changing the smile. I also avoid chasing lines too high on the bridge where the skin is thin and the risk of visible irregularities increases. A good rule is to aim where you can clearly see and feel the thickest crinkle when the patient smiles or sniffs.
The cascade effect of treating other areas
Treating the glabella with botoxforfrownlines or the forehead with botoxforforeheadwrinkles often changes how the nasalis behaves. When the corrugators and procerus relax, the face reroutes expression through remaining muscles, sometimes the nasalis. Patients who never noticed bunny lines may develop them after a few cycles of treatment elsewhere. Planning for that possibility is smart, especially if the patient is considering botoxforcrow’sfeet, botoxforbrowlift, or botoxforsmilelines at the same visit. Addressing bunny lines with a light, anticipatory dose can prevent the sudden appearance of new wrinkles after other areas smooth out.
In reverse, overtreating bunny lines can push expression into the levator labii superioris alaeque nasi, which might lead to subtle changes in the upper lip lift on smiling. That is rare at the low doses used for bunny lines, but it underscores the importance of staying conservative.
The experience in the chair
A well-run appointment starts with your natural expressions. I ask patients to smile big, sniff, and laugh. I look at resting photos for baseline documentation, then record expressions again to track changes over time. The skin is cleaned, makeup removed from the nasal sidewalls, and a topical anesthetic rarely needed. The poke is quick. Most people describe the sensation as a light pinch that lasts two seconds.
You might see tiny bumps in the skin that fade in 10 to 20 minutes. Minor redness goes away that day. Bruising is unusual but can happen, especially if you take fish oil, aspirin, or other blood thinners. I usually recommend avoiding vigorous exercise for four to six hours and skipping facials or nose massages for a day. With such small volumes, diffusion is limited, but seated, gentle aftercare helps.
Results begin in three to five days and peak at around two weeks. A planned check at the two-week mark is invaluable for dialing in that last unit if needed. Good injectors treat to effect, not to a fixed number.
Natural-looking is the point
Patients often tell me they want to keep their smile but lose the harsh crinkle. That is the right goal. Bunny lines should soften, not disappear completely. If you try to flatten them entirely, you risk an odd stillness around the bridge of the nose that draws just as much attention as the lines did. When done right, friends notice you look rested, not “done.”
Photography helps here. Side-by-side images at rest and at maximum smile make subtle changes obvious. The best result is the one you don’t notice in a single glance because the eye travels easily to the eyes and the center of the face without getting snagged on etched diagonals.
When lines have etched in
Once lines carve into the dermis, botoxforbunnylines will stop the muscle from stamping them deeper, but it may not erase them. Etched lines may need a combination approach. I like pairing low-dose botoxforbunnylines with fractional resurfacing or light microneedling in a staged plan, or very carefully placed microdroplets of hyaluronic acid. Fillers in this region must be used judiciously; the nasal sidewall is vascular, and too much filler risks contour irregularities or, in worst cases, vascular compromise. Light-touch resurfacing paired with botox often delivers a smoother canvas without volume risks.
If skin quality is poor from sun or smoking, add topical retinoids, vitamin C serums, and photoprotection. These are not instant fixes, but over months they improve tone and help lines fade. Think of botoxinjections as the brake and skin care as the bodywork that gradually restores the surface.
Who is a good candidate
Good candidates are men and women who see diagonal nasal sidewall creases when they smile or scrunch and want them to relax, not vanish. The best results come in people willing to start conservatively and return for a tweak at two weeks. Patients with very thin skin, marked asymmetry, or a history of unusual diffusion responses should be treated especially carefully.
Certain scenarios call for deferring or adjusting treatment. If you have an active sinus infection with significant nasal swelling, wait. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, hold off. If you have a neuromuscular disorder, discuss with your physician before proceeding. If you have a history of surgical or filler work in the nose, map the anatomy and scar lines thoroughly because scar tissue can alter both injection planes and diffusion.
How bunny line treatment interacts with other aesthetic goals
Many patients come in for botoxforforeheadlines or botoxforcrow’sfeet, then spot bunny lines in the mirror after those areas settle. Treating all three regions can create a unified, refreshed upper face, but it requires careful dose planning. The more zones you treat, the more you must respect balance. A slightly “too strong” bunny line correction in isolation might look fine, but paired with a smooth glabella and relaxed crow’s feet, it could read as oddly static. I often cut the initial bunny line dose by a unit or two when we’re treating the forehead and eyes at the same session, then adjust at review.
In some faces, light botoxforbrowlift can open the eye and distract from bunny lines, making them a less dominant feature. For patients concerned about perioral areas, like botoxforliplines or botoxforsmilelines, treat those regions first and reassess bunny lines next visit. One change can shift your perception of another.
Cost, value, and expectations
The botoxcost for bunny lines is modest compared with larger zones. Clinics price either per unit or per area. In practices that charge per unit, expect somewhere in the range of a handful of units total, which often puts you well below what you would spend on a forehead or crow’s feet session. In per-area clinics, bunny lines are often bundled into an “add-on” fee. The value comes not from the number of units, but from the expertise to avoid side effects and under- or over-correction.
Longevity runs about three to four months for most people, sometimes as short as eight weeks in fast metabolizers, sometimes up to five months in those with slower turnover. Small muscles with small doses can wear off slightly faster than larger muscle treatments like botoxformasseterreduction or botoxforjawlineslimming, simply because the dose ceiling is low and the movement pattern frequent.
Side effects and how to avoid them
With correct technique and conservative dosing, side effects are uncommon. Ann Arbor botox treatments The most frequent is a small bruise. A transient headache can occur. The bigger risks are functional or aesthetic changes. If toxin diffuses too low or lateral, you might see altered nostril flare or a slight change in the way the upper lip elevates on smile. Keeping injections superficial and central on the sidewall reduces that risk. If a patient is sensitive to even tiny changes, err even more conservative. You can always add at the two-week review.
Allergic reactions are rare. As with any botoxinjections, avoid injection when skin is infected or inflamed. If you have a big event, schedule your treatment two to three weeks ahead, so you have time to fine-tune and any small bruise has time to resolve.
Finding the right injector
Experience with small-muscle dosing matters. Ask how often the practitioner treats bunny lines, how they handle asymmetry, and whether they plan a two-week review. If you are searching phrases like botoxnearme, look for clinics that photograph expressions and talk about the nasalis, not just “nose wrinkles.” A light hand is a tell. If someone insists that more units always equal better results, keep looking. You are not trying to immobilize your face.
Board-certified dermatologists, facial plastic surgeons, and skilled nurse injectors under physician guidance tend to have the most consistent outcomes. A good practitioner will ask about your previous botoxexperience, how your body metabolizes treatments, and whether you have had botoxforgummysmile or prior nasal surgery. Those details change the plan.
Real-world nuances I’ve learned the hard way
Two small anecdotes illustrate why restraint wins. First, a patient in her early 30s with faint bunny lines wanted “no lines, please.” We used 3 units per side, which completely erased the scrunch. She returned unhappy, saying her smile looked odd. Reducing dose isn’t possible after the fact, so we had to wait for the effect to fade. Since then, I always explain that a softening is the goal, and I start lower at 1 to 2 units per side. Patient satisfaction is consistently higher.
Second, a man in his 40s had been getting regular botoxforfrownlines elsewhere and newly noticed deepening bunny lines. He asked for aggressive treatment, but his nasal sidewalls were already slightly hollow from weight loss. A gentler plan with 1 unit per side plus a light fractional laser session two months later achieved a better aesthetic than toxin alone. If we had blanketed the nasalis, his midface might have read sunken.
What if bunny lines aren’t your only concern
Faces rarely present a single issue. If you also struggle with forehead lines, crow’s feet, or a downturned mouth, a comprehensive plan can help. Small, coordinated doses across zones can look more natural than a strong correction in one place. For example, softening crow’s feet with botoxforcrow’sfeet plus a microdose for bunny lines often creates a clean eye frame. If clenching or jaw width is a concern, botoxforbruxism or botoxformasseterreduction can refine the lower face without touching the nasalis, which maintains balance. If you sweat heavily, botoxforunderarmsweating or botoxforexcessivesweating addresses function, not just form.
For functional indications like botoxformigraines or botoxfortmj, your injector must consider overlapping injection maps and cumulative dosing. Most people tolerate multi-area strategies well, but the practitioner should stage sessions or adjust units to stay within safe totals and preserve natural expression.
A simple decision guide
If you are unsure whether to treat, look in a mirror and give yourself three faces: relaxed, half-smile, and full scrunch. If the diagonal lines only appear at a hard scrunch you rarely make in public, you might not need treatment. If they show with a regular smile and linger at rest, a microdose will likely make you happier with photos and day-to-day expression. If etched lines remain after relaxing the nasalis, plan a staged approach with skin treatments.
Below is a practical, compact checklist I share with new patients considering botoxforbunnylines.
- Do the lines appear with a normal smile, not just a forced scrunch? Are you open to a low starting dose with a two-week review rather than a one-and-done? Have you recently treated other zones like glabella or crow’s feet that might shift your expressions? Do you have upcoming events, allowing at least two weeks to settle and fine-tune? Are you aligned with softening rather than erasing movement?
What your next appointment might look like
A typical first session runs 15 to 20 minutes. After photos and mapping, I clean the skin with an antiseptic swipe. With you seated, I ask you to smile and scrunch, then place microdroplets superficially on each sidewall. We apply gentle pressure with gauze for a few seconds. You can drive home or return to work right away. I ask you to avoid rubbing the area, skip intense workouts for a few hours, and delay facials for a day. Most patients see early effect by day three, which makes the second week perfect for follow-up.
At that review, if lines remain more active on one side, adding 0.5 to 1 unit can even things out. If movement is fully suppressed and you dislike the look, we document and lower the dose next cycle. That feedback loop matters. Over time, many patients settle on the smallest number of units that gives them the look they want for three to four months.
How bunny lines fit in the bigger picture of facial aging
The nose sits at the center of the face, so even small changes there influence overall harmony. Softening bunny lines can subtly brighten the midface and pull visual attention toward the eyes. In older patients with multiple concerns, combining microdoses in the upper face with skin treatments and selective volume support elsewhere often gives the most value. None of this requires heavy-handed work. Precision wins.
For people curious about additional uses of botoxinjections, there are well-established treatments for botoxforforeheadlines, botoxforcrow’sfeet, botoxforsmilelines, botoxfornecklines, botoxforplatysmalbands, and botoxforchindimpling. Functional uses include botoxforhyperhidrosis, botoxforoveractivebladder, botoxformigraines, and botoxfortmj. Each area has its own dosing logic and risk profile. What binds them together is the principle of targeted modulation rather than blanket paralysis.
The bottom line
Bunny lines respond beautifully to small, thoughtful doses delivered in the right plane. You do not need many units, you do need a clinician who respects anatomy and restraint. Expect a quick visit, minimal downtime, and results that settle over two weeks. Plan to start low, revisit for a tiny refinement, then repeat every three to four months as needed. If etched lines persist, pair toxin with skin quality work rather than chasing them with more units.
If you are searching for botoxnearme and weighing options, focus less on discounts and more on a provider who shows you before and afters of expressions, talks about nasalis dynamics, and invites you back for fine-tuning. That combination is the surest path to a natural, rested look where eyes shine, smiles read genuine, and the diagonals along the nasal sidewall quietly fade into the background.