Botoxin Seoul, Korea: Xeomin & Allergan

Botulinum toxin is a purified protein that blocks the chemical signal a nerve sends to a muscle or a sweat gland. Injected in small doses, it relaxes the treated muscle for a period of months and then wears off as the nerve endings recover. The same action is used in two quite different ways on this page.

On the face, a relaxed muscle stops creasing the skin above it, which softens forehead lines, frown lines between the brows and crow's feet. In larger muscles the aim is shape. The masseter, the chewing muscle at the angle of the jaw, can thicken and square off the lower face; when it is relaxed for several months it tends to shrink, and the jawline can look narrower. A cohort study described toxin for jaw contouring as simple with a fast return to daily life, while stressing that the injector needs to know the facial muscles and the right indications (Kim, 2005). The trapezius along the neck and shoulders and the calf muscles are treated on the same principle with larger doses.

Sweating is the third use. Toxin placed in the skin of the underarms, palms or soles reduces the output of the sweat glands there.

Toxin works on muscle and sweat glands only. Skin that has loosened, lines that stay deep with the face fully at rest, and width that comes from jaw bone or fat respond little, and the conditions in the right-hand column are reasons to wait or to skip it.

The price list offers three toxin lines for every area. A Korean-made botulinum toxin is the lower-priced line. Xeomin is incobotulinumtoxinA, a toxin made without the complexing proteins that surround the active molecule in some other products. Allergan's line is onabotulinumtoxinA, the product sold under the Botox name. For trapezius, calves and hyperhidrosis a fourth line, Dysport, is listed as well. Each brand is a separate item at a separate price, and the choice is yours once the area is agreed.

The brands share the same active substance type, botulinum toxin type A, and research on them is reassuring for cosmetic use. A systematic review found short-term safety for aesthetic toxin treatment across the three commercial products studied (Cavallini, 2014), and a phase 3 trial on frown lines found incobotulinumtoxinA performed no worse than onabotulinumtoxinA, with both well tolerated (Sattler, 2010). Units are not interchangeable from one brand to another, so a dose is always read together with its product.

Face areas are priced per area group. Body areas are priced by a fixed dose printed on the price list: 100 units for the trapezius, 200 units for the calves and 100 units for underarm or for hand and foot sweating. The large muscles need these bigger doses because there is more muscle to relax. For the shoulders, an ultrasound-guided five-point injection pattern was reported to work on trapezius hypertrophy in a small study (Chen, 2021).

For underarm sweating the evidence is stronger: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found toxin safe and effective for primary axillary hyperhidrosis, with high patient satisfaction (Naumann, 2001).

Two things set the price of a toxin treatment here: the area and the toxin line. Areas are grouped the way the clinic's price list groups them, so forehead, crow's feet and the frown area between the brows share one price, and the masseter shares a line with the salivary glands and the temporalis (the muscle at the side of the head). The trapezius, calves and sweating zones carry the unit dose next to their name.

Every amount shown is before VAT. Korea's 10% VAT is added at checkout, and each card prints the VAT-inclusive figure under the base price so you can total several areas yourself. If you plan more than one area in a visit, ask for a single itemized quote that lists each area and its brand.

Toxin injections are quick, yet the side effects depend on which muscle is treated. The known ones are:

• Bruising, redness or small bumps at the needle points for a few days.
• Uneven results, where one side relaxes more than the other.
• A heavy or drooping brow or eyelid after forehead and frown-line injection, when toxin affects a nearby muscle; this wears off with the toxin.
• Tired jaw muscles when chewing hard food after masseter injection.
• Neck or shoulder fatigue, or a weaker feeling when lifting, after trapezius injection.
• Leg fatigue on stairs or long walks after calf injection.
• Headache, or rarely an allergic reaction.

The effect is temporary by design. A prospective study on masseter hypertrophy found toxin a safe option, while noting the change may be temporary and repeat injections can be needed to keep it (To, 2001). Large doses repeated close together are generally avoided, because the body can form antibodies that blunt later treatments.

The before-and-after photos above were taken at the clinic after frown-line injection; results vary from person to person.

Contact the clinic promptly if you notice trouble swallowing, speaking or breathing, or weakness spreading beyond the treated area.