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Bunny lines are the fine creases that fan out on the upper sides of your nose when you laugh, smile hard, or wrinkle your nose. Bunny lines Botox is a quick, small-dose treatment for them, and it’s one of the areas on MeliOra’s unit chart. Dr. Melanie Espinet, a board-certified family physician, places every injection herself. This guide covers what causes these lines, how the treatment works, how many units it takes, what it costs, and the risks worth knowing before you book. For the full menu, see Botox in Lutz, FL.
Bunny lines are fine diagonal or vertical wrinkles on the upper sides of the nose, between the inner corners of the eyes and the bridge. They show up with expressions like smiling, laughing, or scrunching your nose, which is where the name comes from: picture a rabbit twitching its nose. In some people they reach down toward the lower eyelids and cheeks.
The main driver is the transverse part of the nasalis, a thin muscle that runs across the nose. Nearby muscles help. One is the levator labii superioris alaeque nasi, a muscle with a long name that lifts the upper lip and the side of the nostril. Another is the inner edge of the orbicularis oculi, the ring of muscle around the eye. In some people, the procerus, the small muscle between the brows, joins in too. Recent anatomy research that combined dissection with ultrasound found something surprising: the patch of skin where the lines appear sits over a small area with no muscle directly under it. The lines form because the muscles around that patch pull on its edges.
Like other expression lines, bunny lines start out dynamic, which means they only appear when you move. After years of repeated folding, the skin there can thin, and the creases can start to linger when your face is at rest.
If you first noticed bunny lines after treating your crow’s feet, you’re not imagining it. Crow’s feet treatment relaxes the outer part of the muscle ring around the eye. International consensus guidance notes that the inner part of that muscle often works harder to make up for it, which can make bunny lines stand out more. The same guidance says that when bunny lines appear along with frown lines as you frown, the two areas should be treated together.
That’s why Dr. Espinet watches your whole upper face move, not just the spot you point to. If you’re planning Botox for crow’s feet or Botox for frown lines, ask her whether a few units for bunny lines belong in the same visit.
Botox products are botulinum toxins that block the release of acetylcholine, the chemical signal a nerve uses to tell a muscle to contract. With less signal, the muscle relaxes for a few months, and the skin above it stops folding as deeply. Our Botox brands, Jeuveau and Xeomin, both work this way.
At your visit, Dr. Espinet asks you to scrunch your nose, smile, and frown, so she can see which muscles pull hardest on your lines. Faces differ. In some people the nasalis does most of the work, while in others the lip-lifting muscle or the eye muscle plays a bigger part. Treatment is usually a few tiny injections on the upper sides of the nose. Recent anatomy research argues for aiming at the active muscles around the lines rather than straight into the crease, since the crease sits over tissue with little muscle. The injections themselves take only a few minutes.
No, and it’s worth knowing. Jeuveau is FDA-approved for frown lines only. Xeomin is FDA-approved for frown lines, forehead lines, and crow’s feet. Neither label includes the nose, so treating bunny lines is an off-label use. The FDA explains that doctors generally may prescribe an approved medicine for an unapproved use when they judge it medically appropriate, but that the FDA has not determined the medicine is safe and effective for that use. In plain terms, bunny line treatment is guided by anatomy research and expert consensus, not by a large FDA trial. Dr. Espinet tells you when an area is off-label, and what that means for you, before anything begins.
Bunny lines usually take 4 to 10 units of Botox in total. That’s the range on MeliOra’s Botox unit chart by area, and it’s one of the smallest doses on the menu. Where you land depends on how strongly you scrunch, how far the lines spread, and whether nearby areas are treated in the same visit.
| Treatment plan | Typical units (cost at $12/unit) |
|---|---|
| Bunny lines alone | 4 to 10 units ($48 to $120) |
| Bunny lines plus frown lines | 19 to 35 units ($228 to $420) |
| Bunny lines plus crow’s feet, both sides | 16 to 34 units ($192 to $408) |
| Frown lines alone, for comparison | 15 to 25 units ($180 to $300) |
These are planning ranges, not quotes. At $12/unit, 4 units comes to $48 and 10 units to $120. MeliOra prices Botox per unit with no travel fee, so you pay for the units in your plan, and you agree on the total before treatment. For per-unit pricing across every area, see what Botox costs in Lutz.
Units are also brand-specific. The Jeuveau and Xeomin labels both say their units can’t be compared to or converted into units of another botulinum toxin product. So a dose you read about for a different brand, or a number from a past treatment elsewhere, doesn’t carry over one to one. Bring that history anyway. Knowing the product, the units, and how long it lasted helps Dr. Espinet plan your dose.
Most people see results from Botox within 3 to 7 days, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, and the full effect usually takes about two weeks (see how long Botox takes to work for the day-by-day timeline). The AAD says the improvement lasts about 3 to 4 months, and sometimes longer. When movement returns, the lines return with it, and a repeat treatment keeps the result going. Neither of our Botox brands should be repeated more often than every three months, according to their labels.
| When | What you may notice |
|---|---|
| Right after | Little to see. A small bruise where the needle went in is possible. |
| Days 3 to 7 | Scrunching your nose starts to fold the skin less. |
| About 2 weeks | The full effect. This is the right time to judge your result. |
| Months 3 to 4 | Movement gradually returns, and the lines come back with it. |
Because Botox works by relaxing movement, it does the most for creases that appear when you scrunch. If a line stays visible when your face is completely still, ask Dr. Espinet what to expect before you book, so your expectations match what Botox can do.
Most side effects of Botox are mild and short-lived. In the Xeomin trials for the upper face, headache and bruising at the injection site were among the side effects reported, and a drooping brow was reported less often.
The nose has its own specific risk. One of the muscles behind bunny lines also helps lift your upper lip and the side of your nostril. If the medicine reaches it, or other nearby muscles, the result can be an uneven smile, an upper lip that sits a little lower, a drooping nostril edge, or a weak lower eyelid. These effects are temporary and fade as the treatment wears off. Small doses placed precisely lower the risk, which is why placement matters as much as the number of units.
Like all botulinum toxin products, Jeuveau and Xeomin carry a boxed warning that the effect can spread beyond the injection area. Get medical care right away if you have trouble swallowing, speaking, or breathing, or loss of strength or muscle weakness all over your body, after any Botox treatment. For the full picture, read our guide to Botox side effects.
The labels say not to treat if you’ve had an allergic reaction to any botulinum toxin product or have an infection where the injections would go, and they call for caution with neuromuscular conditions such as myasthenia gravis. Tell Dr. Espinet if you’re pregnant, planning a pregnancy, or breastfeeding. The Xeomin Medication Guide says it isn’t known whether Xeomin can harm an unborn baby or pass into breast milk.
For many people, yes, with honest expectations. It’s a small dose, so it adds little to a visit you may already be planning for your frown lines or crow’s feet. The evidence is thinner than it is for frown lines, though. Bunny line treatment rests mostly on anatomy research and expert consensus rather than large controlled trials, and the authors of a 2026 article on bunny line anatomy call for more prospective studies.
At MeliOra, Dr. Melanie Espinet does every assessment and every injection herself. Bunny lines are on MeliOra’s Botox chart, and she can talk through whether to treat them alongside your frown lines or crow’s feet, using Botox with Jeuveau or Xeomin at $12/unit. You agree on the product, the areas, the units, and your total before anything begins, and she records your dose so your next visit builds on real numbers.
Appointments come to you. Dr. Espinet brings Botox to your home or office in Lutz, Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Brandon, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and across Tampa Bay, with no travel fee, and select appointments are available at the Lutz office. See how mobile Botox in Tampa works, or book a Botox visit and bring your questions about bunny lines.
Bunny lines are fine diagonal or vertical creases on the upper sides of the nose that appear when you smile, laugh, or scrunch your nose. They come mainly from a small muscle across the nose called the nasalis, with help from the muscles that lift the upper lip and close the eye.
Bunny lines typically take 4 to 10 units of Botox in total. Dr. Espinet sets your dose after watching how you scrunch and smile, and your plan may differ when other areas are treated in the same visit.
At MeliOra, Botox for bunny lines typically costs $48 to $120, based on 4 to 10 units at $12/unit with Jeuveau or Xeomin. There’s no travel fee for house calls, and you confirm your units and total before treatment.
No, treating bunny lines is an off-label use. Jeuveau is FDA-approved for frown lines, and Xeomin for frown lines, forehead lines, and crow’s feet, but neither label includes the nose. Dr. Espinet explains what off-label means for you before treatment.
Expect about three to four months, and sometimes longer, based on the American Academy of Dermatology’s typical range for Botox on lines and wrinkles. That range isn’t specific to bunny lines. Most people see results within 3 to 7 days, with the full effect at about two weeks.
Bunny lines can become more noticeable after crow’s feet treatment, because the inner part of the muscle around the eye may work harder once the outer part is relaxed. Expert guidance also suggests treating bunny lines together with frown lines when both show up as you frown.
Yes, if the medicine reaches the nearby muscle that lifts the upper lip. Your smile can look uneven, or your upper lip can sit a little lower, until the effect wears off. Small, precisely placed doses lower that risk.
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