Here’s Why You Should Focus on the Midface for Anti-Aging
Most first-timers try Botox between the brows or across the forehead and then wonder why they still look like they’re aging. But contrary to popular belief, facial aging doesn’t start with your forehead; it starts with your midface.
As cheek volume shifts, fat pads get thinner and bone subtly resorbs over time, allowing gravity to take over. That’s when corners of the mouth look shadowy, the chin gets pebbly, and early jowling shows up. Essentially, the jawline starts to look tired.
Believe it or not, the fix isn’t to stuff the smile lines. Chasing those lines with product, especially around the mouth, often just adds weight in the very area gravity is already winning. This is where strategy matters. Lift and support up first, and then finesse what’s left.
The Midface Rules Aging (and Your Lines Aren’t the Real Problem)
The goal is to support the cheeks and relax the muscles that pull your lower face down.
Supporting the cheeks with a subtle amount of injectable hyaluronic acid offers really lovely midface volume that supports the structure of the jawline.
From there, there are many different ways to address your lower face to treat everything from a sagging chin to an uneven smile—even gummy smiles can be altered, adjusting the muscles that pull the lips too high.
Lower-Face Botox: Relax the Pull, Reveal the Lift
Your lower face has a network of small, precise muscles that influence expression and contour. Carefully relaxing a few key players reduces downward pull so your natural lift shows through.
Muscles we often treat (and why):
DAO (depressor anguli oris): This muscle pulls the corners of the mouth down. Softening it helps the mouth rest in a more neutral, pleasant position without freezing your smile. (No more “RBF.”)
Mentalis (chin): Eases that dimpled, ‘cobblestone’ texture and reduces lower-lip tension that tugs the mouth downward.
Platysmal bands (jaw/neck): Part of a “Nefertiti lift” approach, this calms the vertical bands and can make the jawline appear cleaner, reducing that constant downward drag from the neck.
Lift, Moisture, Balance: The Art of Modern Hyaluronic Acid
A lot of people are shying away from traditional fillers because they were overdone and not done well.
But there are new products on the market, like Evolysse, an injectable hyaluronic acid, that are incredibly exciting to work with and are wonderful alternatives.
Injecting hyaluronic acid not only promotes your own hyaluronic acid formation, but brings moisture to the areas where it’s injected, inducing plumping. It is incredibly versatile and one of the softest, most delicate injectables on the market.
What sets Evolysse apart?
Hydrophilic by design: HA attracts water, bringing moisture where you need it for a gentle, healthy-looking plump.
Ultra-smooth profile: Crafted for delicate areas so results read as skinlike rather than puffy.
Placed with purpose: In the cheeks, we typically go deep to bone for structural support. This approach keeps the product where it belongs and away from most of the vasculature that lives in mid-tissues.
Safety, always:
Experienced injectors use careful mapping and aspiration (a quick pull-back on the syringe to ensure they’re not in a blood vessel) before depositing product. In aesthetics, slow is smooth and smooth is safe.
How it feels and looks:
Expect subtlety. Most clients describe it as looking rested, lighter around the mouth, and more “snatched” along the jaw.
Why skill matters more than quantity:
These are tiny muscles with important jobs. Precision anatomy, measured dosing, and conservative mapping are everything. You’re investing in training and judgment, not just a product.
The Biggest Myth: “Just Fill the Smile Lines”
It’s tempting to aim straight at what you see in the mirror. But starting by filling the nasolabial folds or marionette areas can add bulk to the lowest part of the face and create a heavy, downward look.
A smarter sequence:
Re-support the midface (cheeks) to restore youthful scaffolding.
Relax the downward pull with targeted hyaluronic acid injections (DAOs, mentalis, platysmal bands).
Refine remaining lines later. And often with far less product than you would have needed initially.
This order respects facial biomechanics and typically yields the most natural, balanced outcome.
A Real-World Example: Full-Face Rebalancing
One of our favorite outcomes started with a client who felt her features looked “tired” despite trying forehead Botox. We rebuilt support with injectable HA in the cheeks, refined her lower-face pull with Botox (DAOs + mentalis + along the jawline bands), and finished with a light lip enhancement for proportion.
The result was gorgeous and rebalanced: attention moved from a prominent nasal bridge to the eyes and cheeks, the jawline looked tidier, and her expression rested softly at the corners of the mouth.
Lighting can vary in before/afters, and that’s okay. What to look for is structure and harmony: where the eye goes, how the midface holds the features, and whether the lower face looks lighter.
What to Expect: Cost, Comfort, and Timing
Investment mindset:
We encourage you to move away from the “price per unit” or “price per syringe” mentality. Those numbers don’t reflect planning, precision, or safety. You’re paying for a trained professional who understands anatomy, listens to your goals, and treats conservatively with the option to fine-tune.
Comfort & downtime:
Most patients describe lower-face Botox and cheek HA as quick, tolerable treatments with minimal downtime. Tiny pinpoints or tenderness are possible and fade quickly.
Timeline & longevity:
Lower-face Botox: commonly lasts ~3–4 months.
Cheek HA: often longer-lasting, depending on product and placement.
We like to stage treatments thoughtfully, invite you to live in the result for a few weeks, then adjust if needed. Conservative first passes help keep results natural.
Safety standards we follow:
Anatomy-led mapping, aspiration with HA injections, measured dosing, and a conservative philosophy. We can always add, but overcorrection is harder to unwind.
Quick FAQs
How many units do I need in the lower face?
It depends on your anatomy, muscle strength, and goals. We dose conservatively and adjust.
Will I look frozen?
No. The aim is to soften downward pull while preserving natural expression.
Do I still need anything around the mouth after cheeks and lower-face Botox?
Sometimes a small touch-up helps, but many clients need far less once structure and pull are addressed.
Is cheek HA safe?
In trained hands with proper depth and aspiration, risks are minimized. We’ll review your medical history and map a plan that puts safety first.
How soon will I see results?
Botox typically starts to work within a few days and settles by two weeks. HA support is visible right away and continues to integrate.
The Takeaway
When it comes to anti-aging, a natural-looking refresh respects the sequence: restore midface support, relax the downward pull of the lower face, then fine-tune lines if needed. That’s how you end up looking like a rested, balanced, and confident version of yourself.
Ready to see what this could look like on your face?
Book a personalized assessment. We’ll map your anatomy, tailor a conservative plan, and talk through timing, comfort, and budget.
