See, when applied to the scalp, Botox prevents sweating by blocking the neurotransmitters that connect to sweat glands. Even if you’re not a believer in the almighty blowout (or, like me, simply cannot motivate yourself to spend any more precious moments of life in a salon chair for anything or than cut or color job, even though the results are always worth it), scalp Botox can also say goodbye to other summer hair disasters like excessive frizz.
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But still, is it worth it? A sweat-free dome means sacrificing lots of cash and comfort. The process can cost up to $1,500 and because the entire scalp needs to be treated, it requires 150-200 shots over the course of 15-20 minutes, which can be painful. As dermatologist Dr. Neal Schultz told Yahoo, “If you just inject the frontal hairline, you’ll still sweat behind that area, [and] most likely sweat enough to mess up your hair. Scalp injections should hurt more than facial Botox injections because the scalp is thicker.” One way to look at this is that with such a quick procedure time, the pain will be over before you know it. Another way to see it is that your new sweat-free scalp just cost you about $100 per minute. (That sound you hear is your credit card shedding a single tear.)
Other doctors have insisted that the pain is no big deal. Dr. Dendy Engelman told the blog Byrdie, “I use a very small needle and try to inject into the hair follicle opening so injection pain is minimized. To date, everyone has tolerated the procedure beautifully.” With those conflicting responses, I’d probably err on the side of anticipating pain and back out, but braver souls than I will probably take Engelman’s word as the green light to go for it.
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The results of scalp Botox last for a solid 6 to 12 months, but is that still more affordable than compensating for your sweaty hair with a few extra $40-$50 blowouts each month? A rough glance at the numbers would make me think it’s not a worthy tradeoff, but the procedure would certainly save a patient hours upon hours of their time, and sometimes that’s worth more than cash.
The results of the treatment can vary from person to person — some patients see a complete disappearance of scalp sweat while others just see a decrease. And while the treatment may be relatively safe, it could also come with mild bruising and swelling (as well as the side effect risk that accompanies any Botox procedure).
Like any other choice in life, it’s all about priorities, and if killer hair makes you happy, Botox just may be the way to go.
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