The one-sentence rule
Botox relaxes muscles. Filler restores volume. That is the whole distinction, and almost every “which should I get” question resolves once you know which problem you actually have.
If a line only appears when you make an expression — frowning, raising your brows, squinting — it is a dynamic line, and a neuromodulator like Botox or Jeuveau is the tool. If you have lost fullness, or a line or hollow is visible even when your face is completely at rest, that is a volume problem, and filler is the answer.
What Botox does best
Neuromodulators shine on the upper face: forehead lines, the frown “11s,” and crow’s feet. By gently limiting the muscle movement that folds the skin, they smooth existing dynamic lines and slow new ones from etching in. They also handle a gummy smile, chin dimpling, and — in larger doses — masseter treatment to slim the jaw and ease clenching.
What Botox cannot do is add fullness or fix a line that sits in the skin at rest. Ask it to do filler’s job and you will be underwhelmed.
What filler does best
Dermal filler replaces volume and rebuilds structure. Lips are the best-known use, but the higher-impact work is often in the midface and lower face: cheeks that have flattened, a chin that has lost projection, a jawline that has softened, or the deep folds that volume loss creates around the mouth. Restoring support in those areas frequently does more for a refreshed look than treating the lips alone.
Because we use hyaluronic-acid fillers, results are adjustable and even reversible — a safety net that lets us build conservatively and add later if you want more.
When the answer is both
Plenty of patients benefit from a combination, and the two actually complement each other. A common example: softening the frown lines with a neuromodulator while restoring cheek volume with filler addresses both the movement and the structure driving an aged appearance. Treating one without the other can leave the result looking half-finished.
This is exactly what a consultation is for. Rather than picking a treatment off a menu, a provider looks at your face at rest and in motion and maps the smallest combination that gets you where you want to go.
Medically reviewed by Richard Maxwell, MD, Medical Director at Elements Med Lounge. Last reviewed May 2026. This article is educational and not a substitute for a personal consultation.