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Portrait at rest and mid-smile, the two positions a nasolabial fold has to be assessed in at Dear Clinic
Dear Clinic · Questions · Injectables
One question, two mechanisms · Cheongdam, Gangnam

Is Filler or Botox Better for Nasolabial Lines? The answer is in whether your fold shows at rest

Both injectables are on our own list, and only one of them acts on the structure that makes a nasolabial fold. This page explains which part of the fold each material can reach, what the combination looks like when both appear in a plan, and the risk each one carries.

HA filler from ₩130,000 (≈ $95) per cc Assessed at rest and in motion Open 365 days
Ask About Your Own Fold See the Mechanism Split
Direct answer

For the fold itself, hyaluronic acid is the matched tool

A nasolabial fold that is visible while your face is still is a structural finding: the mid-face has lost support and the crease has set into the skin. Hyaluronic acid can restore that support. Botulinum toxin acts on muscle contraction, so it addresses how much the fold deepens when you move, and it cannot fill a groove that is there at rest.

The test is simple enough to do in front of a mirror. Relax your face completely and look straight ahead. If the groove from the side of your nose toward the corner of your mouth is still there, a muscle relaxant will not remove it. If the groove only appears when you smile broadly and disappears the moment you stop, movement is contributing a great deal and the conversation changes.

Most faces sit somewhere between those two, which is why the assessment here records both positions. The treatment page for the fold itself, with protocol and recovery, is nasolabial fold filler; the toxin lines are set out on wrinkle botox.

A client leans into the EVE 3D skin analysis unit while the scan is reviewed on a tablet
The groove is graded from the 3D capture at rest, then checked again in motion, before either material is named.
The Mechanism Split

What builds a nasolabial fold, and which half each injectable can reach

A fold is one line in the mirror and two separate problems underneath it.

STATIC — 01

Support that has moved down the mid-face

Fat and soft tissue above the fold descend with age and sit against the fixed line where skin is bound down. The result is a step: fuller above, hollow below. This is volume and structure, and hyaluronic acid is the only material on this page that can address it.

STATIC — 02

A crease etched into the skin itself

Years of folding along the same line leave a fixed groove in the skin, visible at rest and in every photograph. Support placed underneath softens the shadow it casts. A relaxant has nothing to act on here, because nothing is contracting.

DYNAMIC — 03

Muscle pull that deepens the fold in motion

The muscles that raise the upper lip pull cheek tissue upward across the fold every time you smile or speak, which is why the line looks deeper in a photograph taken mid-laugh. Botulinum toxin acts precisely here, on contraction, and nowhere else.

So the question in the title has a structural answer. Two of the three drivers are present while your face is still, and neither responds to a muscle relaxant. That is the reason a fold enquiry at Dear Clinic is answered with a reading before it is answered with a product.

Why Toxin Alone Disappoints Here

The muscles that deepen your fold are the muscles that make your smile

The upper lip elevators do two jobs at once. They lift the corner of your mouth and the centre of your upper lip when you smile, and in doing so they push cheek tissue against the fold. Weaken them enough to flatten the fold and you have also weakened the smile they produce. The trade is visible to everyone who knows your face, and it is not a subtle effect.

That is why the published toxin lines here are written around areas where relaxation is the goal in itself. Our rate card lists wrinkle toxin by area, including the mouth corner, and a specialty-area line covering the salivary gland, the nostril, the temple, a gummy smile and the philtrum. The mouth corner is a real target with a real indication, and it sits beside the fold without being the fold. Lifting a downturned corner and filling a groove are two different requests.

Where someone arrives asking for toxin into the fold itself, we do not recommend it, and the reason is given plainly at the consultation. Asymmetry of the smile is the specific risk of placing dose into these elevators, and unlike a filler complication it cannot be reversed with an enzyme. It is waited out.

Matching Finding to Line

Which published line answers which nasolabial finding

Read the first column as the thing you can see in the mirror. Everything to the right of it follows from that.

What you seeWhat is actually happeningThe matched line at DearListed rate
A groove visible at rest, moderate depthMid-face support has descended and the crease is setHA filler, standard-area rate per cc — premium Korean gel, placed by the plan₩130,000 (≈ $95)
A groove at rest with thin, mobile overlying skinThe same finding where the gel has to integrate smoothly under a thin coverAn imported HA chosen for its rheology — see Restylane₩350,000 (≈ $250)
A deep groove with real volume loss above itA load-bearing correction, where most of the volume goes into the cheek and not the creaseA cohesive imported HA — see Juvederm₩400,000 (≈ $285)
Work that continues into a specialty areaThe plan crosses into an area the rate card lists separately, such as the marionette line or the lipSpecialty-area filler, any brand, quoted per cc₩500,000 (≈ $355)
Lines that appear only in motion, on other parts of the faceExpression lines driven by contraction, which is what a relaxant is forWrinkle toxin by area, Korean tier₩30,000 (≈ $20)
The same, on an imported tierThe identical indication with the imported product lineWrinkle toxin by area, imported tier₩150,000 (≈ $105)
A mouth corner that pulls downwardA specific muscle pulling the corner down, beside the fold and separate from itWrinkle toxin by area, Korean tier₩30,000 (≈ $20)
The same, on an imported tierThe identical indication with the imported product lineSpecialty-area toxin, imported tier₩400,000 (≈ $285)

Rates are published in KRW with an approximate USD figure beside them, and they are the same figures for visitors and residents. Filler is billed by the volume actually placed, so the total follows the plan and is agreed on screen before a syringe is opened. The whole card sits on the published price list, the gels themselves on the dermal filler category page, and the broader comparison of the two families on botox versus filler.

Dear 10 Selection, Dear Clinic October 2026 event (prices in Korean won, VAT excluded, identical for locals and international visitors): Ultherapy Prime 400 shots ₩1,320,000 · Ultherapy Prime 500 shots ₩1,650,000 · Ultherapy Prime 600 shots ₩1,980,000 · Thermage FLX 600 shots ₩1,900,000 · XERF 600 shots ₩1,600,000 · Dear Total Face Care: Ultherapy Prime 500 + Eye Thermage 450 + PN eye booster 1cc ₩3,700,000 · Thermage FLX 600 + PN booster HB 4cc + CaHA collagen booster 1 vial ₩3,400,000 · Ultherapy Prime 400 + PN healer 4cc (LDM and numbing included) ₩1,900,000 · Eye Thermage 450 + PDLLA eye booster 2cc ₩2,100,000
Dear 10 Selection · October lifting event — tap to book
 Dear 10 Selection, Dear Clinic October 2026 event (prices in Korean won, VAT excluded): Skin Revital Care: Potenza pumping + PDLLA skin booster 5cc ₩500,000 · PN booster HB 4cc ₩750,000 · PN healer 4cc + PN eye booster 2cc (LDM and numbing included) ₩850,000 · HA skin-quality booster 2cc ₩700,000 · RE2O 1 session ₩700,000 · Defined Volume Care: Eye Light 1cc + PN eye booster 1cc ₩1,050,000 · Chin filler 1cc + jawline filler 1cc ₩850,000 · PLLA collagen stimulator 2 vials ₩1,500,000 · Directors' Picks (Dr. Woojae Jung · Dr. Daeun Jung): Density Alpha 300 shots + PN booster HB 2cc (both cheeks) ₩1,100,000 · Potenza pumping + PDLLA skin booster 5cc, 3 sessions ₩1,150,000 · PN booster HB 4cc with PDLLA skin booster 2cc (both cheeks) ₩790,000 · Onda 80 kJ + Titanium 60 kJ ₩990,000
Dear 10 Selection · October skin revital & volume — tap to book
When Both Appear

What a combined plan around the fold actually consists of

Combining the two is common, and it almost never means putting both into the same groove.

Filler carries the fold, toxin works somewhere else. The usual combined plan corrects the nasolabial groove with hyaluronic acid and uses toxin on unrelated expression lines the same person also wants treated. Two requests, two materials, one appointment.
The mouth corner is its own decision. Where the corner pulls downward and drags the lower end of the fold with it, wrinkle toxin addresses the corner while the filler addresses the groove. The two are quoted separately because they are separate findings.
Order matters when both are booked. Assessment of a fold happens before any relaxant has changed how your face moves, and where both are planned your director sets the order and the interval and writes them down. A groove judged under the influence of a fresh toxin dose is a groove judged inaccurately.
Sometimes the answer is neither. Where the groove is shallow and shows only in raking light, or where the complaint is skin texture along the line, we would rather say so and treat nothing that day. A fold that bothers you only in one particular photograph is usually a lighting problem.
The Dear Method

Four steps that decide where a nasolabial correction is actually placed

Choosing hyaluronic acid settles the material question. It does not settle where the material goes, and that is the part that decides how the result looks.

STEP 01

Dear Shape — grade the groove against the whole mid-face

The fold is measured from the 3D capture at rest and in motion, and read together with cheek height and the position of the mouth corner. A groove is a symptom of a region, and the region is what gets planned.

STEP 02

Dear LayerFill — choose the plane for each portion of volume

Deep, mid and superficial planes behave differently under a fold. The load-bearing share goes deep where tissue is quiet; only what is needed goes close to the surface, because a superficial excess here reads as a ridge in daylight.

STEP 03

Dear BalanceControl — spread volume so no point does all the work

Dose is adjusted in increments as fine as 0.1 cc along the length of the groove, and both sides are compared as the work proceeds. Faces are asymmetric to start with, and matching them takes measurement.

STEP 04

Dear LineFit — finish at the mouth corner and then stop

The lower end of the fold meets the corner of the mouth, and overfilling that junction is what produces a heavy look. The finish point is decided against the corner, and the syringe is put down while there is still gel in it.

Risk, Named

The two materials carry two different kinds of risk

Filler, and the vessels under this fold. The mid-face carries named arteries directly beneath the nasolabial region, and gel entering one of them is the serious complication of this area: blanching of the skin, disproportionate pain, and in the published literature, cases of visual loss. It is rare, and it is the reason this injection is director-performed and never delegated.
Filler, and what can be undone. Hyaluronic acid has an enzyme that dissolves it, and a suspected vascular event is treated as an emergency with that enzyme. The same enzyme is what makes an overfilled or misplaced correction correctable, which is a genuine advantage of choosing HA for this region.
Toxin, and the smile. Dose placed into the upper lip elevators can leave an uneven smile, a lip that does not quite close, or difficulty with certain sounds. None of these is reversible on demand; they resolve as the effect wears off. This is the specific reason the fold itself is not a toxin target here.
Shared by both. Bruising, swelling, tenderness and small bumps at entry points are ordinary after either injection. Infection is uncommon and is reviewed by the director who injected. Comfort measures during the appointment are confirmed at your consultation.
Call, do not wait. Skin that goes white or dusky, pain out of proportion to the procedure, vision change, spreading swelling or a growing hard lump means contacting the clinic immediately, ahead of any booked review.
Before & After

A nasolabial correction photographed at Dear

Unretouched, treated at Dear Clinic and shown with consent.

Nasolabial fold filler case at Dear Clinic, the same patient photographed at rest before and after a hyaluronic acid correction
Nasolabial fold · hyaluronic acid · same person at rest under the same conditions, before and after a filler correction. Individual results may vary.

This is an unretouched before/after case of the same person under the same conditions, treated at Dear Clinic and shown with consent. Individual results may vary; no specific outcome is implied or promised.

The frame is taken at rest on purpose. A fold correction has to hold up in the position where the groove was actually graded, and a smiling after-photograph beside a neutral before-photograph is comparing two different faces.

Dear, Knowhow

Why this question gets a reading before it gets a product

01 — THE FULL ARSENAL

Both answers are already on our own rate card

Four hyaluronic acid lines and four toxin lines are published here, so nothing about the recommendation depends on which product we happen to stock. Where a fold needs a smaller correction than you came in asking for, saying so costs us revenue and nothing else.

02 — DIAGNOSIS FIRST

The fold is graded at rest and in motion

EVE Muse captures in 3D under five light sources with AI analysis, and the groove is scored still and moving. Two positions, one decision.

03 — DIRECTOR-PERFORMED

What runs beneath this fold decides who holds the needle

Named vessels sit directly under the injection field, so the anatomy, the plane and the increments are a director’s work. The doctor who graded your fold is the doctor who places the gel and the one who sees you at the review.

In the clinic

The devices and hands behind this treatment

The Chaeum Premium filler carton beside its pre-filled syringe, the standard-area hyaluronic acid line used for fold corrections at Dear Clinic
The standard-area gel line, billed by the volume actually placed along the groove
Director explaining a nasolabial fold plan on a tablet during consultation at Dear Clinic
The split between cheek and crease is agreed on screen before anything is opened
Medical Team

Five doctors, one standard

Director-performed treatment is a Dear promise — your procedure is planned and performed by the doctors below.

Dr. Jemin Kim — Medical Director and Founder, Dear Clinic
Dr. Jemin Kim
Yonsei University College of Medicine
Medical Director · Founder
Dr. Sanghyun Lee — Director, Dear Clinic
Dr. Sanghyun Lee
Seoul National University College of Medicine
Director
Board-certified · Family Medicine
Dr. Seonhaeng Lee — Director of Aesthetic Medicine, Dear Clinic
Dr. Seonhaeng Lee
Chosun University College of Medicine · Residency, Samsung Medical Center
Director, Aesthetic Medicine
Dr. Daeun Jung — Director, Dear Clinic
Dr. Daeun Jung
Ajou University College of Medicine
Director
Board-certified · Family Medicine
Dr. Woojae Jung — Director of Aesthetic Medicine, Dear Clinic
Dr. Woojae Jung
Seoul National University — B.S. in Medicine
Director, Aesthetic Medicine
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FAQ

Filler, botox and the nasolabial fold, question by question

Is filler or botox better for nasolabial lines?
For a fold that is visible at rest, hyaluronic acid filler is the matched tool, because the problem is lost support and a set crease. Botulinum toxin acts on muscle contraction, so it addresses how much the fold deepens in motion. Which one applies to you is decided by grading the fold still and moving.
Can botox get rid of my smile lines completely?
Not the part that shows at rest. A relaxant needs a contracting muscle to act on, and the static portion of a fold is volume and a fixed crease. Dose large enough to flatten the fold would also weaken the muscles that lift your upper lip, which changes the smile itself.
My fold only appears when I smile. What then?
That is the presentation where movement is doing most of the work, and it is worth saying so at the consultation. A dynamic-dominant fold is assessed on its own terms, and the plan may involve no filler at all. What we avoid is placing dose into the upper lip elevators for the sake of the groove.
Why is volume sometimes placed in the cheek instead of the fold?
Because the groove is often the consequence of support that has descended above it. Restoring the cheek can soften the fold without loading the crease itself, and the split between the two is set with you on screen after the 3D reading. It is also why a fold quote is written by volume placed.
How much does a nasolabial correction cost here?
Hyaluronic acid starts at ₩130,000 (≈ $95) per cc with our premium Korean gel, with ₩350,000 (≈ $250) and ₩400,000 (≈ $285) for imported lines, and ₩500,000 (≈ $355) where the plan crosses into a specialty area. Toxin is published separately at ₩30,000 (≈ $20) per area on the Korean tier. You are billed for what is actually placed.
Which is riskier for this area, filler or toxin?
They carry different risks. Filler near this fold sits close to named vessels, and gel entering one is the serious complication, with blanching, disproportionate pain and, in reported cases, visual loss. Toxin in the upper lip elevators risks an uneven smile. Filler complications have an enzyme that reverses them; a toxin effect is waited out.
Can I have both in the same appointment?
Often, when they answer different findings. The usual combined plan corrects the fold with hyaluronic acid and treats unrelated expression lines with toxin. The fold is graded before any relaxant has changed how your face moves, and where both are planned the order and interval are written down.
Is toxin ever used near the nasolabial fold at Dear Clinic?
Near it, for its own indications. The mouth corner is treated on the wrinkle toxin line by area, published at ₩30,000 (≈ $20) on the Korean tier and ₩150,000 (≈ $105) imported. A downturned mouth corner is a real target that sits beside the fold without being the fold.
What does the imported tier buy me?
A different product line at a different published rate, at ₩150,000 (≈ $105) per area for wrinkle work. It is not a stronger or safer category, and we do not present it as one. Which tier suits you is discussed at the consultation, and brand names are kept off this page for advertising-law reasons.
If I dislike the result, can it be removed?
Hyaluronic acid can be dissolved with an enzyme, which is one of the genuine advantages of choosing HA for this region. That option is part of why the material is used here at all. A toxin effect cannot be switched off; it wears off, and the timing of that is individual.
How long does a fold correction last?
No month figure is published here. Longevity depends on the plane the gel sits in, how much movement passes over it, your metabolism and how much was placed, so any single number quoted before an examination is a guess. Your director gives a conservative expectation and a review date instead.
I am visiting Seoul briefly. Can this be settled in one trip?
Usually. The 3D capture, the grading and the injection fit into a single appointment once suitability is confirmed, with the settling days after it worth planning around. We open weekdays 10:00 to 19:00 and 10:00 to 16:00 at weekends and public holidays, 365 days. Send your dates and we reply in English as soon as possible.
Consultation

Ask which half of your fold is actually treatable

Send a photograph at rest and one mid-smile. Answered in English as soon as possible.

Scientific Evidence

Published work behind the anatomy, the gel properties and the two risk profiles

Six indexed entries are listed below: two on the vascular anatomy and assessment of the injection field, one on the physical properties that separate hyaluronic acid products, one literature review of visual loss after facial filler, one on the enzyme used to dissolve hyaluronic acid, and one on the pharmaceutical properties of botulinum toxin type A products.

Each is given as title, journal and year with a verifiable DOI. No outcome figure from any of them is reproduced here, and none is evidence of a result in your own face.

  1. Scheuer J, et al. Anatomy of the Facial Danger Zones: Maximizing Safety during Soft-Tissue Filler Injections. Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. 2017. doi:10.1097/prs.0000000000002913
  2. de Maio M, et al. Facial Assessment and Injection Guide for Botulinum Toxin and Injectable Hyaluronic Acid Fillers: Focus on the Upper Face. Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. 2017. doi:10.1097/prs.0000000000003544
  3. Fagien S, et al. Rheologic and Physicochemical Properties Used to Differentiate Injectable Hyaluronic Acid Filler Products. Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. 2019. doi:10.1097/prs.0000000000005429
  4. Kato J, et al. Visual loss after aesthetic facial filler injection: a literature review on an ophthalmologic issue. Arquivos Brasileiros de Oftalmologia. 2022. doi:10.5935/0004-2749.20220048
  5. Baker A. The use of hyaluronidase in aesthetic medicine: a literature review. Journal of Aesthetic Nursing. 2016. doi:10.12968/joan.2016.5.3.129
  6. Frevert J. Pharmaceutical, Biological, and Clinical Properties of Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A Products. Drugs in R&D. 2015. doi:10.1007/s40268-014-0077-1

References are provided for information — outcomes vary by individual and are assessed at your diagnosis.

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