Can ‘Blowout Botox’ Save My Frizzy Hair?

If you’re someone who spends an hour blowing out your hair perfectly smooth just to see it start puffing up and frizzing the second you sweat even the smallest amount, we feel your frustration. It’s not your hair (well, it’s not only your hair) and it’s not your blow-dry skills. It’s your scalp sweating, or hyperhidrosis (excess sweating). And it’s a huge pain. 

Thanks to all the beauty advancements out there, though, there’s actually a potential solution for scalp sweating, and it comes in the form of Botulinum toxin. “We now know that the popular neurotoxins like Botox, Dysport, and Daxxify can be injected to stop the sweat glands from sweating,” explains Kristin Gunn, celebrity cosmetic injector and owner of Halcyon Skincare and Beaux Medspa. The drug halts or lessens sweating — temporarily — by blocking the nerve signals that activate the sweat glands. “It also helps slow oil production, which helps the face with acne, and the scalp with greasy hair,” she adds. 

With a less sweaty scalp, your smooth blowout will last longer without getting frizzy, puffy, and/or curly throughout the day. This is especially helpful for those who get keratin treatments or a silk press. If you spend all that money on a smoothing treatment, you want it to last as long as possible. Botulinum toxin may help with hair loss, too, thanks to the increased blood flow to the follicle.

Injecting Botox into sweat glands has been FDA approved for hyperhidrosis in the underarms, but it hasn’t been approved for sweating in other areas. That means if your injector decides to go forward with a “Botox blowout,” it is technically off-label, and there may be risks. “Allergic reactions are rare, but it’s important to fill your provider in on your complete medical history,” Gunn notes, adding that “this treatment is typically very well tolerated.”

Your injector will typically inject Botox to only the sides of your scalp, though in some cases they may go all the way across your scalp and head, according to Gunn. “To do the entire scalp,” she says, “you need about 100 units of Botox, or one bottle.” That can get pricey ($1,000 to $2,000, on average) and you’ll have to do it two to three times per year. But when you think about all the hours you’ll save by not having to redo your hair — not to mention the comfort of a nonsweaty scalp — it just might be worth it.