Microdosing—or taking a tiny portion of psychedelic drugs—has become a trendy (if not always strictly legal) way of consuming hallucinogens among tech bros and frazzled moms alike. Now, the practice is entering aesthetics. Doctors are administering facial injectables, Ozempic, and even acne pills in small amounts, aiming to deliver some of the benefits of full doses with fewer side effects. Keep reading to find out how doctors are microdosing Botox, filler, Accutane, and GLP-1 drugs.
Botox
A full vial of Botox might smooth out your face, but it could also fully relax your muscles, leaving you with a limited range of movement. Instead of making your forehead look like a placid pool with around 20 units of toxin, Anetta Reszko, MD, a dermatologist in New York, opts to keep it at low tide with 8 units. Fewer units will soften wrinkles and give you a lifted look, but you’ll still be able to raise your eyebrows. “People do want to have some expression,” Reszko says. Another way to microdose is with “Skin Botox,” a superficial injection technique that avoids the muscles, according to New York dermatologist David Kim, MD. Using this method, injectors hyperdilute Botox and inject pinprick amounts all over the skin. “The goal is to improve skin quality and pore size, and reduce redness and sweating,” Kim says, noting the result is glassy skin that lasts for three to four months.
Filler
Filler is designed to plump and define, making it more difficult than Botox to downsize and still see results. But you can turn to skin boosters, which contain smaller amounts of the hyaluronic acid used in fillers like Restylane and other enhancers. Rejuran is one brand popular in places like Korea; in the United States, we have SkinVive, an injectable microdroplet treatment made with diluted hyaluronic acid. “With traditional fillers, the goal is to contour and add volume,” Kim says. “[These] strictly improve skin quality, without changing the way you look.” The small amounts of hyaluronic acid infuse your skin with hydration, giving cheeks a glow for up to six months.
Accutane
Accutane can work wonders for acne, but people are often hesitant to take it because of its potential severe side effects—nosebleeds, hair loss, and birth defects, plus liver damage if mixed with alcohol. Instead of prescribing 80 milligrams per day, Kim microdoses some patients with 20 milligrams weekly for occasional acne. He says that by shrinking sebaceous glands, the treatment gives you the “Accutane glow.” “Celebrities in Korea take Accutane in a micro dosage to maintain their skin quality,” he says. Those who take it even at microdoses will still need to avoid pregnancy and alcohol and have blood panels done regularly.
GLP-1 Drugs
According to studies, a normal dosage of a GLP-1 drug can cause you to lose almost 6 percent of your body weight in three months. Some doctors say that a microdose—the lowest recommended dose is .25 milligrams, while a microdose is about .125 milligrams—could be a solution for someone who isn’t looking for that kind of serious weight loss. This tiny injection might help you dodge some of the unpleasant side effects of GLP-1s, like nausea, according to New York endocrinologist Caroline Messer, MD. More research is needed, but Messer is hopeful that small doses could one day improve rheumatoid arthritis and even decrease the risk of dementia, heart attacks, and strokes. “One of the major benefits of Ozempic is its anti-inflammatory effect,” she says. So even bite-size treatments just might deliver supersize results.
A version of this story appears in the May 2025 issue of ELLE.
