Many people are surprised to find that forehead wrinkles appear earlier than expected. This usually begins with the expression lines that naturally occur when you raise your eyebrows taking longer to disappear, until they stop disappearing altogether. So what causes forehead wrinkles to appear early? Is it normal to have forehead wrinkles at 25? Can you get rid of them?
Here is everything you need to know if you are experiencing forehead wrinkles at 25…
What Causes Forehead Wrinkles and Is It Common to Have Forehead Wrinkles at 25?
Forehead wrinkles are naturally caused by the repetitive movement of the brows during normal facial expressions and movements. Over time, this movement causes the tissue beneath the expression lines to thin which results in wrinkles remaining even when we are not performing facial expressions [1].
Research suggests that, with natural aging, wrinkles appear on the forehead before other areas of the face, although they don’t tend to appear before the age of 40 [2].
However, other research, that happened to include people with prematurely aged skin (from sun-damage and heavy smoking), found that forehead wrinkles were present in 12% of 20-year-olds and 36% of 30-year-olds [3].
So, while it’s not necessarily the norm, it’s not uncommon to have forehead wrinkles at 25.
Wrinkles that appear at this age are likely down to a combination of genetics and strong brow muscles, both of which are largely out of your control. However, lifestyle factors may have made the situation worse.
How to Get Rid Of Forehead Wrinkles at 25 & How To Prevent Forehead Wrinkles Altogether.
1. Wear Sunscreen Everyday
Up to 90% of premature skin aging is due to the damage caused by UV radiation from the sun, particularly UVA radiation. UVA rays are constant all year round, even on cloudy and rainy days, and, over time, cause the destruction of collagen and elastin within the skin.
The good news is that daily and correct sunscreen use can prevent the majority of this damage. In fact, research has found that those who wore a broad-spectrum sunscreen daily for four-years appeared younger than their counterparts who used sunscreen as and when they felt it was necessary. In fact, the researchers noted that their skin did not appear to age at all in that four-year period [4].
So, while daily sunscreen use is not going to turn back the clocks on any existing forehead wrinkles, it will help to prevent them from getting worse.
2. Use an Antioxidant Serum
It is not the UV radiation itself that breaks down collagen and elastin, but the free radicals that are produced when UVA rays are absorbed by the skin. Free radicals are unstable molecules with missing electrons that try to steal electrons from the healthy molecules within your skin. This causes a chain reaction which ultimately leads to cellular damage.
Antioxidants are molecules that have a spare electron which they are able to donate to the free radical in order to stabilize it and prevent it from damaging healthy molecules. Unfortunately, sunscreen can only prevent roughly 55% [5] of free radical production. For this reason, a lot of sunscreens now contain added antioxidants to improve protection.
However, including an antioxidant serum in your skincare routine is usually more effective than relying on the antioxidants in sunscreen alone. They often work well when combined together, for example; vitamin C and vitamin E, or green tea and caffeine.
3. Use a Retinoid
The word ‘retinoid’ is a catch-all term for vitamin A derivatives that can increase skin cell turnover and boost collagen and elastin production, as well as acting as an antioxidant. Research has found that retinoids can actually help undo a lot of sun damage, which means that they can help prevent and treat forehead wrinkles at 25.
4. Regularly Exfoliate
While retinoids increase the rate of skin cell turnover by increasing the speed that new skin cells are created and transported to the surface of the skin in order to be shed, they do not actually have an ‘exfoliating’ effect. Combining retinoids with chemical exfoliants, such as AHAs or BHAs, can dramatically enhance their effects.
By exfoliating away dead skin cells from the surface of the skin, they can reveal smoother and more radiant skin and make forehead wrinkles appear less pronounced. In addition, chemical exfoliants, particularly AHAs can boost collagen production. Gentle physical exfoliation can also help in a similar way.
5. Moisturize/Hydrate Skin
When your skin is dehydrated, it can make even the smallest of blemishes appear more noticeable which means that forehead wrinkles at 25 may be partially caused by dehydrated skin. Have you ever noticed that your skin looks a lot older after a night of heavy drinking? It’s definitely not because you have dramatically aged overnight – it’s down to dehydration. Ensuring you are drinking enough water throughout the day can help keep skin looking plump and firm.
In addition, a number of products can dehydrate skin – particularly retinoids. A good moisturizer is an absolute must for all skin types, especially if you are using active skincare ingredients such as retinoids ad chemical exfoliants!
6. Avoid Smoking
Second to sun-bathing or using sunbeds, smoking is one of the worst things that you can do for your skin. This is because smoking reduces the blood flow to the skin which deprives the skin of oxygen and vital nutrients, as well as preventing the removal of waste products, such as free radicals.
Research suggests that smokers have less collagen and elastin in their skin and rougher skin texture – which means more wrinkles! In fact, wrinkling is supposedly 3x worse in smokers than in non-smokers and is worse the more frequently a person smokes [6].
7. Consider Botox
Botulinum toxin (a.k.a Botox) has been used for more than 20 years to treat fine lines and wrinkles by relaxing facial muscles and reducing their movement. Botox is a medication which means that it requires a prescription and should only be performed by someone with medical training.
Dynamic wrinkles, which are those that are seen during facial movement, respond much better to Botox than static wrinkles, which are those that are seen at rest. This means that Botox is better at preventing forehead wrinkles at 25 than it is at treating them. However, static wrinkles can still be improved with Botox, it may just take longer or require more treatments before results are seen.
The effects of Botox can be seen roughly two-weeks after treatment and last for at least three to four months. This means that frequent treatments are required to keep on top of forehead wrinkles which can end up being costly. In addition, there have been some instances where people have developed antibodies to Botox with frequent and prolonged treatment [7] and, while there is very little evidence to support this, starting Botox treatments for forehead wrinkles at 25 may mean that it becomes less effective over time.
Summary – Forehead Wrinkles at 25 & FAQs.
What Causes Wrinkles On Forehead
Forehead wrinkles are naturally caused by the repetitive movement of the brows during normal facial expressions and movements and usually appear around the age of 40. However, they may appear earlier if you have particularly strong brow muscles, smoke heavily, and/or do not wear sunscreen regularly.
How To Get Rid Of Forehead Wrinkles
There a number of ways that you can get rid of forehead wrinkles and/or prevent them from worsening, including:
- Using sunscreen every day
- Adding an antioxidant serum into your skincare routine
- Avoiding smoking
- Using Retinoids
- Ensuring skin is adequately hydrated
- Regularly exfoliating skin
- Botox treatments
In addition, regularly exercising and reducing the amount of sugar in your diet can help achieve younger-looking skin.
How Long Does It Take To Get Rid Of Forehead Wrinkles
It will take at least three months to see any benefits from skincare products or treatments that increase collagen production and at least two weeks to see any benefit from Botox injections.
However, with some treatments, such as exfoliating and hydrating the skin, you may see small but visible improvements straight away. This is because they are not directly treating the forehead wrinkles but are targeting factors that can make forehead wrinkles appear worse.
When it comes to preventative treatments, you are unlikely to see improvements until years down the line. In this situation, you will mostly notice other people’s forehead wrinkles getting worse while yours remain the same. In other words, your forehead wrinkles become age-appropriate.
How To Hide Forehead Wrinkles With Makeup
As with dry skin, the wrong type of makeup can make forehead wrinkles look worse. Including a good make-up primer can make forehead wrinkles appear smoother. On the other hand, face powders and other ‘matte’ makeup can highlight forehead wrinkles.
If you have ever used mascara then you are well aware of the facial expression you pull when you apply it. We all do it – that strange mouth-open, eyes-wide, kind-of-shocked look. This ‘mascara face’ creates dynamic forehead wrinkles, which means that, if you have applied your foundation beforehand, you now have at least three red lines across your forehead that look like static wrinkles.
A simple fix for this, that can help prevent those red lines and can hide forehead wrinkles, is to apply your mascara before your foundation!
References
- Kaur, M., Garg, R. & Singla, S. (2015). ‘Analysis of facial soft tissue changes with aging and their effects on facial morphology: A forensic perspective’, Egyptian J Forensic Sci., 5(2), 46-56. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2090536X14000501
- Luebberding, S., Krueger, N. & Kersher, M. (2013). ‘Quantification of age-related facial wrinkles in men and women using a three-dimensional fringe projection method and validated assessment scales’, Dermatologic Surgery, 40(1), 22-32. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dsu.12377
- Alfadaly, N. (2015). ‘Forehead morphology pattern: Does it indicate the potential existence of the so-called forehead print?’, Int J Forensic Sci & Pathology., 3(10), 179-189. Available at: https://scidoc.org/articlepdfs/IJFP/IJFP-2332-287X-03-1002.pdf
- Hughes, M., Williams, G., Baker, P., Green, A. (2013). ‘Sunscreen and Prevention of Skin Aging: A Randomized Trial’, Annals of Internal Medicine, 158 (11), 781-790. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23732711/
- Haywood, R., Wardman, P., Sanders, R. & Linge, C. (2003). ‘Sunscreens inadequately protect against ultraviolet-A-induced free radicals in skin: implications for skin aging and melanoma?’, J Invest Dermatol, 121(4), pp. 862-868. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14632206
- Farage, M., Miller, K., Elsner, P. & Maibach, H. (2008). ‘Intrinsic and extrinsic factors in skin ageing: a review’, Int J Cosmet Sci., 30(2), 87-95. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18377617
- Torres, S., Hamilton, M., Sanches, E. et al. (2014). ‘Neutralizing antibodies to botulinum neurotoxin type A in aesthetic medicine: five case reports’, Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol., 7, 11-17. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3872090/
One Comment
Kate
What are your thoughts on using Argireline as an alternative to Botox? Thank you!