Forehead Wrinkles: Expression Lines, Static Lines and What Helps

Forehead wrinkles are horizontal lines that form where the skin folds each time the frontalis muscle lifts your brows. Over the years, sun exposure, smoking and natural aging make skin less able to smooth out again, so lines that once showed only when you moved start to stay. You cannot erase forehead lines at home, but daily sunscreen, a retinoid, steady hydration and a gentle evening ritual help soften their look and protect the skin from deepening them further.

Below, we separate expression lines from static ones and compare at-home care with in-office options. For the ritual itself, we pair a peptide moisturizer and a vitamin C serum with our GlowLift™ Infinity face sculpting device.

Why do horizontal lines form across the forehead?

Forehead wrinkles are caused by the frontalis muscle folding the skin again and again, combined with slow changes in the skin itself. Sun, smoking and age reduce the skin's ability to bounce back, so expression creases gradually set in. The shape of your frontalis helps decide where your lines appear.

The muscle that raises your brows

The frontalis is the broad, thin muscle that lifts your eyebrows when you look surprised, concentrate or open your eyes wide. Because it pulls upward, the skin above it gathers into horizontal folds. In a study that dissected 20 cadavers and compared them with 20 volunteers, surgeons found four different frontalis shapes, each producing its own pattern of parallel forehead lines (Abramo et al., 2016). The frontalis also works against the muscles that pull the brows down and together, between the brows and around the eyes (Lorenc et al., 2013).

Sun, smoking and time

A study of 186 pairs of identical twins found that the twin with more sun exposure, more outdoor activity and less sunscreen use looked older, and that facial wrinkles were more evident in the twins who smoked (Guyuron et al., 2009). In a separate study of 298 women grouped by sun habits, wrinkles and texture tracked both age and sun exposure, while sagging tracked mainly with age (Flament et al., 2013; L'Oréal-led).

Age and sex

When researchers measured wrinkles in 200 men and women aged 20 to 70 with 3D imaging, forehead lines deepened steadily with age in both sexes. Forehead lines were the first visible wrinkles in men, while women tended to notice lines around the eyes first, and perimenopause seemed to speed up wrinkle development in women (Luebberding et al., 2014).

Are your forehead lines expression lines or static?

Expression lines, also called dynamic lines, appear only when your forehead moves and fade when your face is at rest. Static lines stay visible even when your face is relaxed. Expression lines usually come first, and some of them become static over time as skin loses elasticity and the same folds repeat year after year.

A quick test in a mirror tells you which you have. Relax your face completely and look straight ahead in even light. Lines you can still see are static; lines that appear only when you raise your brows are expression lines. Plastic surgeons describe the process simply: "Wrinkles occur where fault lines develop in aging skin," whether those fault lines come from expression or from the face being pressed into a pillow at night (Anson et al., 2016).

The distinction shapes your plan. Expression lines call for prevention and good skin quality. Static lines can look softer with the same routine, but deep ones are where in-office options come in.

Which daily habits help prevent forehead wrinkles?

The best-evidenced way to help prevent forehead wrinkles is daily broad-spectrum sunscreen, applied to the whole forehead up to the hairline. Not smoking, keeping skin well hydrated and using a retinoid at night add to that protection. You cannot stop your forehead from moving, and you should not try; these habits protect the skin that does the folding.

• Sunscreen every morning. In a 4.5-year randomized trial of 903 adults, the daily sunscreen group showed no detectable increase in skin aging, and 24% less skin aging than the group that used sunscreen at their own discretion. The authors concluded: "Regular sunscreen use retards skin aging in healthy, middle-aged men and women" (Hughes et al., 2013). Our guide on whether SPF prevents wrinkles covers that evidence and how much to apply.
• Do not smoke. Smoking was linked to more visible facial wrinkles in the identical-twin study above.
• Keep the forehead hydrated. The forehead can be oily and dehydrated at the same time; a light moisturizer keeps the surface supple, so folds look softer.
• Add a retinoid at night. Retinol has year-long, controlled trial data for the look of fine lines (details below).
• Notice the habit. If you raise your brows while reading a screen, a relaxed-face check-in is a gentle cue; it is a mindful habit, not a tested fix.

At Radiant, we see this as skin longevity: protect the skin every morning, hydrate it every night, and let small rituals add up over years. Read more about our approach to skin longevity.

Which ingredients help soften forehead lines?

Three well-studied ingredient groups for softening the look of fine lines are retinol, vitamin C and humectants such as hyaluronic acid and glycerin. Retinol supports smoother-looking skin over months, vitamin C adds antioxidant support under sunscreen, and humectants plump the surface with water so fine lines look softer.

Retinol. In a 52-week, double-blind trial, 62 adults applied a 0.1% stabilized retinol or the same cream without retinol to the full face. The retinol group improved more at every checkpoint, with crow's feet fine lines improving by 44% at one year (Randhawa et al., 2015). The lines were measured around the eyes, not on the forehead.

Vitamin C. In a 6-month double-blind study, a 5% vitamin C cream improved photoaged skin more than the identical cream without vitamin C, with fewer deep furrows on skin replicas (Humbert et al., 2003). Our Radiant C-F Glow Drops vitamin C + ferulic serum layers three forms of vitamin C with ferulic acid for a brighter, more radiant-looking complexion in the morning, under SPF.

Hydration. In a randomized study of 76 women, creams with 0.1% hyaluronic acid used twice daily for 60 days improved hydration and elasticity more than a plain cream around the other eye. The low-molecular-weight versions also reduced measured wrinkle depth (Pavicic et al., 2011). BerryPeptide Plumping Moisturizer, our peptide moisturizer, hydrates with glycerin and aloe and conditions skin with a copper peptide complex for a plumper, smoother look.

What these studies did not test: none measured forehead lines specifically, and none tested our formulas. They tested single ingredients at stated strengths, so read them as evidence for the ingredient, not for a finished product.

What is a good routine for forehead lines?

A good forehead routine takes about five minutes in the morning and seven at night. In the morning, apply vitamin C serum, moisturizer and sunscreen up to the hairline. In the evening, apply a retinoid a few nights a week, moisturize, and finish with a gentle upward glide across the forehead. Consistency over months matters more than intensity.

1. Cleanse gently, morning and night. Use a mild cleanser and lukewarm water.
2. Morning: press in vitamin C. Apply a few drops of Radiant C-F Glow Drops to the forehead, face and neck, and let it absorb for a minute.
3. Morning: moisturize, then sunscreen. Smooth a dime-sized amount of BerryPeptide Plumping Moisturizer over the face, then a broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher all the way to the hairline and temples. Reapply when you spend time outdoors.
4. Evening: a retinoid, two or three nights a week to start. Use a pea-sized amount for the whole face on dry skin and build up slowly. Skip it if your skin is irritated, and check with your doctor first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
5. Evening: moisturize with upward strokes. Press BerryPeptide Plumping Moisturizer over the forehead and face, sweeping from the brows toward the hairline.
6. Glide with GlowLift™ (3–4 minutes). Over your moisturizer, use GlowLift™ in warm mode on Level 1. Sweep the stainless-steel gua sha edge slowly upward from the brows to the hairline, working from the center of the forehead out toward the temples, for 2–3 minutes. Finish with a 1-minute cold-mode pass for a refreshed, de-puffed look. Five to seven sessions a week is the device's recommended rhythm.

Because horizontal forehead lines form when the frontalis contracts, we keep the forehead step to warm mode, cold mode and the gua sha edge, and save GlowLift™'s EMS mode for the jaw and cheekbones. If you add EMS there: do not use an EMS device if you are pregnant or have a pacemaker, implanted defibrillator or other active electronic implant, or on broken, irritated or infected skin. If you have epilepsy or a diagnosed skin condition, check with your doctor first.

Where does GlowLift™ fit in a forehead routine?

GlowLift™ Infinity can make your evening routine more pleasant and help your moisturizer spread evenly across the forehead, but no at-home device has been shown to erase forehead lines. Its role is supportive: a warm, slow massage step that turns skincare into a consistent ritual, alongside sunscreen and a retinoid.

GlowLift™ Infinity is a 5-in-1 at-home face sculpting device that combines contrast therapy (warm and cold modes), EMS muscle stimulation, LED light, high-frequency vibration and gua sha-inspired sculpting to support firmer-looking, more defined skin. It is FDA-cleared, uses EMS rather than microcurrent (our guide to EMS vs microcurrent explains the difference), and a full session takes five to seven minutes.

Facial massage research is still young. In an 8-week randomized trial of 34 women, the 17 who used gua sha for 10 minutes five times a week showed changes in facial contour and muscle tone (Ahn et al., 2025). The trial tested a traditional tool on facial contour, not forehead lines, so read it as evidence for the technique, not for any single product. More in our guide on whether gua sha works.

How do needle-free and in-office options compare?

Needle-free at-home care, such as sunscreen, retinol, vitamin C and moisturizer, protects the skin and softens the look of fine forehead lines over months. In-office treatments act faster on deeper lines: neuromodulator injections relax the frontalis for several months, and fractional lasers resurface the skin. Many people combine both.

Option	What it does	What the research shows	Downtime	Best for
Daily broad-spectrum sunscreen	Protects skin from the sun-driven part of aging	903 adults, 4.5 years: 24% less skin aging with daily use (Hughes et al., 2013)	None	Everyone, at every age
Retinol (0.1%)	Supports smoother-looking skin over months	62 adults, 52 weeks: crow's feet fine lines improved 44% vs vehicle (Randhawa et al., 2015)	Possible dryness at first	Fine expression lines
Vitamin C serum	Antioxidant support under sunscreen	6 months: 5% vitamin C improved photoaged skin vs the same cream without it (Humbert et al., 2003)	None; a mild tingle is possible	Sun-exposed, dull-looking skin
Hydrating moisturizer	Plumps the surface with water	76 women, 60 days: better hydration and elasticity vs a plain cream (Pavicic et al., 2011)	None	Lines that look deeper when skin is dry
Massage ritual (gua sha, GlowLift™ warm mode)	Helps products spread; a relaxing routine step	Studied for facial contour, not forehead lines (Ahn et al., 2025)	None	Making the routine consistent
Neuromodulator injections (in-office)	Temporarily relax the frontalis	Two phase 3 trials, 1,178 people: 97.8% of those 35 and older improved by at least one grade at full brow raise after 30 days (Palm et al., 2020; manufacturer-funded)	Minimal; repeat visits	Moderate to deep expression lines
Fractional laser (in-office)	Resurfaces the skin in tiny columns	Review: less downtime than full resurfacing, but several sessions may be needed (Hamilton et al., 2018)	Days, depending on the device	Static lines and sun-damaged texture

The rows come from different study designs and populations, so they are not a head-to-head ranking.

When do forehead lines need a dermatologist's eye?

See a board-certified dermatologist if your forehead lines are deep and static and still bother you after several months of consistent care, or if you want to discuss injections, lasers or peels. See one promptly for anything new on the forehead skin, such as a changing mole, a rough patch that does not heal or a sore that bleeds.

Sudden changes deserve a doctor too: one brow that drops, a forehead that will not move on one side, or numbness are not skincare concerns. If you have questions about how our products fit your routine, reach us through our contact form.

The bottom line

Forehead wrinkles start as expression lines from the frontalis muscle and slowly set in as sun, smoking and time reduce the skin's ability to bounce back. At home, you can protect against deeper lines and soften the look of the ones you have. Start with one change: broad-spectrum sunscreen up to the hairline every morning. Then add a retinoid at night, BerryPeptide Plumping Moisturizer and a slow upward glide with GlowLift™. Deep static lines are a conversation for a dermatologist.

Sources

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