My favorite spot in my weekly hot yoga class is right in front of a full-length mirror. Having an unobstructed view of my body allows me to make tiny adjustments. Lately, though, I’ve zeroed in on my shoulders, where my trapezius muscle looks bulkier and more sloped than ever. Yoga poses like Dolphin can help loosen the trap muscle — but maybe not enough for me, since I spent much of the pandemic hunched over my laptop. Body Botox, the latest aesthetic trend, can help.
“Body Botox is the next frontier,” he says Lara Devgan, MD, a plastic surgeon in New York. He explains that the neurotoxin botulinum toxin type A (which extends to other brands like Dysport and Xeomin) can help streamline and release hyperactive muscles and treat minor muscle soreness in certain off-label uses. Trapezius Botox, colloquially called “traptox” or “Barbie Botox” (referring to the doll’s angular shoulder line), is one of the most common forms of this neurotoxin-fueled muscle-slimming treatment.
With traptox, a small amount of neurotoxin is injected between the neck and shoulders, according to the New York plastic surgeon Melissa Doft, MD. He says traptox doesn’t just help tone the trapezius muscle — it also relaxes it, which can help you stand more upright. The result is a more elongated swan-like neck (like Barbie’s), or one that is closer to a beauty standard that Koreans have called “90-degree shoulders.” (K-pop fans have praised their idols, such as Blackpink’s Jennie, for having shoulders that form a sharp right angle with their necks.)
Botox does something that is difficult to treat through exercise: it acts as a quick fix to slim down strained muscles, which Devgan likens to putting on a “chemical plaster.” “The idea is that during Botox, we don’t cause the same nerve signals to fire and increase muscle, so you lose weight in a controlled way,” he says. It can also be used to tone the gastrocnemius muscles in the calves, smooth the platysma bands to help relieve “tech neck” and relieve overactive masseters in the jaw. New York plastic surgeon Ramtin Kassir, MD, uses it to relieve deep muscle knots located via ultrasound. Neurotoxins are also known for their ability to reduce excessive sweating, or hyperhidrosis, when injected into the skin rather than into a muscle.
Ellen Marmur, MD, a New York dermatologist, cautions that Botox should never be injected into core muscles, such as the abs or buttocks. It is important to see someone who is not only knowledgeable about neurotoxins, but also experienced in anatomy, such as a dermatologist or plastic surgeon. They can tell you if you’re a candidate for body Botox and ensure proper placement if you go ahead. David Kim, MDa dermatologist from New York, notes that while there aren’t many complications associated with body Botox – it’s best to start with a small dose and work your way up.
Big, strong muscles shouldn’t be frowned upon—building strength is vital to overall health, flexibility, and posture. It is what allows me to do yoga in the first place. Think of body Botox not as a tool to shrink healthy muscles, but as a way to help address imbalances and anything else that causes pain or poor posture. It is similar to very good tailoring, says Devgan. A few small injections in targeted areas can help streamline the anatomy. “You see that with the fashion, the clothing line and the cut, and the reason everyone is obsessed with Khaite now,” he says. “These little ones [details] in line, form and function make a big difference.”
A version of this story appears in the May 2024 issue of ELLE.