How many units of Botox you need depends on the area. The FDA label sets BOTOX Cosmetic at 20 to 64 units for the upper face: 20 for frown lines, 24 for crow’s feet, 40 for forehead plus frown lines, and 64 for all three. At $12 per unit, 20 units is $240. Your nurse adjusts from there.
Botox $7.77 per unit with membership ($24.99/month), or $12 per unit without it.
Written by Kiara DeWitt, BSN, RN
Medically reviewed by Dr. Josh Allen, D.O., Medical Director
Medical disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Unit counts shown are FDA label doses, not a treatment plan. Only a licensed provider can determine your dose.
A unit is a measure of Botox’s biological activity, not its volume. According to the BOTOX Cosmetic prescribing information, it comes as a dry powder in single-dose vials of 50 units or 100 units.
Before treatment, the vial is mixed with sterile saline. The label directs 2.5 mL of saline for a 100-unit vial, or 1.25 mL for a 50-unit vial, so that every 0.1 mL holds 4 units. The liquid only carries the units; adding saline doesn’t change how many units are in the vial.
One more point matters if you’ve had other neurotoxins. The label states that Botox units are specific to its own product and testing method, and cannot be compared to or converted into units of any other botulinum toxin product. A unit of Botox isn’t the same as a unit of another brand, so unit counts don’t carry over between them.
BOTOX Cosmetic is FDA-approved for four areas in adults: frown lines, crow’s feet, forehead lines, and platysma (neck) bands. The label doses are 20 units for frown lines, 24 for crow’s feet, 40 for forehead lines with frown lines, and 64 for all three upper-face areas. Neck bands take 26 to 36 units, depending on how many bands you have.
| Treatment area | Label dose |
|---|---|
| Frown lines (glabellar lines, the “11s”) | 20 units |
| Crow’s feet (lateral canthal lines) | 24 units (12 per side) |
| Forehead lines, treated with frown lines | 40 units (20 + 20) |
| Crow’s feet plus frown lines | 44 units |
| Forehead, frown lines, and crow’s feet | 64 units |
| Neck bands (platysma), by band count | 26, 31, or 36 units |
| Severe underarm sweating (BOTOX label) | 50 units per underarm |
The underarm dose comes from the separate BOTOX prescribing information, which covers severe underarm sweating when topical treatments haven’t worked. The other doses are from the BOTOX Cosmetic label.
The label dose for crow’s feet is 24 units in total: 4 units at each of 3 points per side, or 12 units per side. When crow’s feet and frown lines are treated at the same visit, the label total is 44 units.
The label pairs forehead treatment with frown-line treatment, 20 units each, for 40 units in total. The reason is safety: treating both together helps lower the risk of a dropped brow (brow ptosis). Add crow’s feet and the label total is 64 units.
Frown lines take 20 units on the label, given as 4 units at each of 5 points between and just above the brows.
For platysma bands, the label dose depends on how many vertical bands you have: 26 units for one band on each side, 31 units for one band on one side and two on the other, or 36 units for two bands on each side.
Your nurse injector uses these doses as a starting point and adjusts after watching how your muscles move.
Some popular treatment areas aren’t on the BOTOX Cosmetic label, so there’s no FDA dose for them. These are off-label uses, not FDA-approved ones. The label warns that serious adverse reactions have been reported when Botox is used for unapproved uses, and that safety and effectiveness for those uses haven’t been established.
For these areas there is no label dose to quote, so your nurse injector sets the dose at your assessment, based on your muscles and your goals.
Often, yes, especially for frown lines. In a 2005 dose-ranging trial by Carruthers and Carruthers, 80 men with frown lines received 20, 40, 60, or 80 units. The 40, 60, and 80-unit doses were consistently more effective than 20 units, with longer duration, higher peak response, and greater improvement from baseline. The authors concluded that men with frown lines benefit from starting doses of at least 40 units.
The BOTOX Cosmetic label points the same way. In exploratory analyses of its frown-line trials, which used the 20-unit label dose, 59 percent of men responded at day 30 on the investigator’s assessment, compared with 85 percent of women.
Doses above 20 units for frown lines are above the label dose. Your nurse injector decides whether a higher dose fits your muscles and goals.
At InjectCo, Botox is $12 per unit, so your total is units × $12. Here’s what the label doses cost:
| Label dose | Units | Cost at $12 per unit |
|---|---|---|
| Frown lines | 20 | $240 |
| Crow’s feet | 24 | $288 |
| Neck bands (one band each side) | 26 | $312 |
| Neck bands (one and two bands) | 31 | $372 |
| Neck bands (two bands each side) | 36 | $432 |
| Forehead plus frown lines | 40 | $480 |
| Crow’s feet plus frown lines | 44 | $528 |
| Forehead, frown lines, and crow’s feet | 64 | $768 |
To build your own estimate, try our Botox and filler calculator, or see Botox cost in Texas for what a first visit typically totals.
The label sets clear limits. It says not to exceed the maximum recommended cumulative dose in a treatment session for any indication. It also notes that the safety and effectiveness of dosing more often than every 3 months haven’t been clinically evaluated.
The label adds that treatment more often or at higher doses may lead to more antibody formation, which can make Botox less effective over time, and that this may be minimized by using the lowest effective dose at the longest feasible intervals.
In the label’s clinical trials, the most common side effects were:
Seek medical care right away if you have trouble swallowing, speaking, or breathing after any Botox treatment. For more, read about Botox side effects.
The label puts the effect for frown lines at about 3 to 4 months. In its clinical trials, frown-line severity was reduced for up to 120 days compared with placebo. Muscle movement returns gradually as the effect wears off.
Botox at InjectCo
$7.77 per unit with membership ($24.99/month), or $12 per unit without it
Price Line Link (on “membership”):
Button Text: Explore Botox
For treatment details and what a visit includes, see Botox at InjectCo.
One area on the label: frown lines between the brows, given at 5 injection points. It isn’t enough on its own for the label doses of two areas, such as forehead plus frown lines at 40 units.
Not for the upper face. Forty units is the label dose for forehead lines treated with frown lines, and the label’s highest upper-face total is 64 units for three areas.
It’s below the label total. The label dose for frown lines, crow’s feet, and forehead lines together is 64 units. Your nurse injector can tell you what fits your muscles and goals.
50 or 100. BOTOX Cosmetic comes in single-dose vials of 50 units or 100 units, and each vial is mixed with saline so that 0.1 mL holds 4 units.
No. The BOTOX Cosmetic label states that its units cannot be compared to or converted into units of any other botulinum toxin product.
Usually every 3 to 4 months. The label notes that the safety and effectiveness of dosing more often than every 3 months haven’t been clinically evaluated, and it puts the effect for frown lines at about 3 to 4 months.
Often 40 or more for frown lines. In a 2005 trial of 80 men, 40, 60, and 80 units worked better than 20 units, and the authors concluded men benefit from starting at 40 units or more. That’s above the 20-unit label dose, so your nurse injector decides.
The FDA label gives clear starting points: 20 units for frown lines, 24 for crow’s feet, 40 for forehead with frown lines, and 64 for all three. At $12 per unit, those come to $240, $288, $480, and $768. Areas like the lip flip and masseter are off-label, so your nurse sets the dose at your visit.
Nurse-led clinics across Texas
Botox $12 per unit
Dr. Josh Allen, D.O., is InjectCo’s Medical Director. He oversees the clinical standards behind every treatment InjectCo offers and supports its nurse injectors across all nine Texas locations. He earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency in emergency medicine with Texas A&M.
