How To Smooth Out Forehead Lines

What are Forehead Lines?

The smooth skin on your forehead between and above the eyebrows is known as the glabella. The muscles in the forehead move the glabella as you make facial expressions, eventually leading to lines and wrinkles.

Wrinkles and lines in the skin on the forehead can occur vertically or horizontally. Horizontal forehead lines are called glabellar lines. Forehead Vertical lines are more commonly known as frown lines or the “elevens” since they’re the 2 lines that appear between your eyes when frowning, though they can occur as the result of a variety of facial expressions, not simply frowning!

What Causes Forehead Lines?

While forehead lines are normal, there are a variety of things that contribute to the deepening of forehead lines. Genetics, skin tightness, and face shape all impact them, but some things can make the lines on your forehead worse. These include:

Sun Exposure

Exposure to the harmful UVA and UVB rays from the sun damage the skin cells and impedes the production of collagen, which contributes to the premature signs of age so many try to avoid. The more you expose your skin to the harmful rays of the sun, the more likely you are to develop fine lines and wrinkles. That’s why it’s important to protect your skin when you’re outside.

Facial Movements

You can’t avoid moving your face – humans are emotional creatures after all! But these facial movements do contribute to deeper wrinkles like the ones seen in the forehead. As you age, your skin produces less collagen and elastin, two things that help to keep permanent lines in the skin at bay. As your body loses this ability, then repeated facial movements cause lines on the forehead to appear but not go away.

Aging

When the body produces less collagen and elastin, your skin simply doesn’t bounce back nor have the fullness that it once did. The loss of collagen, which helps the skin stay firm and strong, as well as the loss of elastin that helps your skin to retain its elasticity, causes sagging in the skin which leads to deeper lines and wrinkles. Aging is a natural process, but there are things you can do to fight back against the toll Mother Nature takes on the skin.

Can You Avoid Forehead Lines?

You can start prevention strategies early to help you avoid forehead lines before they start to appear. You may be genetically predisposed to these types of lines. In this case, you should make sure to:

• Eat a healthy diet rich in antioxidants
• Use sunscreen daily, especially on the face
• Drink plenty of water each day
• Avoid smoking cigarettes
• Wear sunglasses
• Sleep on your back or with a specialized pillow on your side
• Apply moisturizer to your face each day

Of course, you can always try to limit the number of facial expressions you make. This may or may not be possible, but simple fixes such as getting your prescription updated in your glasses or contacts so you don’t squint as much can really help.

At-Home Treatments for Forehead Lines

There are several things you can do at home to help prevent and reduce forehead lines.

Facial Serums

The right daily skincare routine can make a big difference when it comes to fine lines and wrinkles, even in the forehead. You want to ensure your routine involves a good facial serum.

Serums can help with forehead lines because they deliver a concentrated punch of ingredients that help to fight lines and wrinkles.

These ingredients can help to stimulate collagen production in your skin as well, something that contributes to facial lines and wrinkles as you get older. Look for serums with one of these main ingredients (or a combination of a few) to help fight forehead lines and wrinkles:

• Retinol
• Vitamin C
• Antioxidants
• Hyaluronic Acid
• Peptides
• Niacinamide

It can take time to see results from using a serum, so don’t give up if you don’t see results right away.

Facial Moisturizers

Another crucial component of a skincare routine to fight lines and wrinkles is moisturizers. Daily moisturizers and night creams can help to keep the skin hydrated, which then works to help the skin hold its shape and be more resilient as time goes on. Look for antioxidant-rich moisturizers with Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and even more exotic ingredients such as green tea extract to help.

Products with Hyaluronic Acid

As mentioned, you can find serums with hyaluronic acid to help with forehead lines, but serums aren’t the only products that contain this line-fighting ingredient.

Hyaluronic acid can hold 10,000 times its weight in water and helps the skin to retain moisture, plumping the skin and reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles over time. It also helps to reinforce your skin’s natural moisture barrier, helping it to look and feel smoother.

Products with Peptides

Another ingredient you often find in cleansers, moisturizers, and serums are peptides. Peptides help to stimulate cell turnover, making your skin look smoother and brighter. On their own, peptides will not make lines or wrinkles go away, but they can help to boost collagen production and increase the tolerance of your facial skin as it’s stretched by daily activities.

Medical Treatments for Forehead Lines

Since it’s the muscles in the forehead that are primarily responsible for forehead lines, the treatments most effective in combating them target the muscles.

Treatment for Horizontal Forehead Lines

Botox and Dysport are both great tools in helping to reduce the look of forehead lines. They are FDA approved purified proteins that help to relax the muscles that can contribute to lines in the face such as horizontal forehead lines and frown lines.

The amount and placement of Botox in the forehead can be tailored to fit individual needs based on anatomy and the results desired. An individually appropriate amount of Botox injected in the forehead helps to smooth the forehead. It can also result in stationary, lowered, elevated, or naturally moving eyebrows.

Botox results are noticeable in about seven days, where Dysport injections, while similar to Botox, may react with the muscle faster. Often, Dysport results are noticeable about two days earlier than Botox and can last three to six months.

We do not recommend fillers in this part of the face due to the vital arteries present in this area. Check out our blog where you can learn more about Newtox.

Treatment for Vertical Forehead Lines

The lines that develop between the eyebrows, called frown lines, are caused by the contraction of the muscles that help you to squint, frown, or concentrate. As time goes on, the lines and grooves remain even when you’re not frowning, but it’s a simple issue to correct.

Botox or Dysport are injected in small amounts to relax overactive muscles to help reduce or even eliminate the lines and wrinkles. This results in a relaxed-looking brow.

The results you get from Botox are noticeable after about seven days. If lines are pronounced and deep, it may take several Botox treatments at 3-month intervals for up to a year to decrease the lines. Dysport injections can be done every three to six months as well, but duration and result can vary by patient.

We do not recommend fillers because of the crucial arteries in this area.

Treatment for Other Vertical Forehead Lines

While frown lines are between the eyebrows, other vertical lines can pop up on the forehead as the result of side sleeping. When you sleep on your side, your skin is compressed, resulting in a rippling effect across the skin on the forehead for several hours each night.

If you’re a side sleeper but want to combat the forehead lines that can result from it, then you may want to consider a specialized pillow called the Juverest. It’s a special foam sleeping pillow that is shaped like a “C” to prevent skin from being pushed to the side when you sleep at night, protecting the skin from the lines that can result.

Do Something About Forehead Lines

Forehead lines are a part of the natural aging process, but you don’t have to deal with them unchecked if you don’t want to. It’s never too early to begin fighting against forehead lines! At Cosmetic Injectables Center, we’re committed to helping you find the right solutions to reduce and correct forehead lines to help you have healthy, glowing, and youthful skin. If you’re interested in what options are available to you, then talk to the experts at Cosmetic Injectables Center today.

Check out our blog where you can read more about the Dysport vs Botox.