What causes forehead wrinkles?
Forehead wrinkles are horizontal lines across your forehead that first appear when you are actively making facial expressions. Facial expressions — such as squinting, smiling, raising the eyebrows and many more — occur when facial muscles contract. Because the muscles are attached to the overlying skin, the movement causes “expression” or dynamic lines to appear.
When we're younger, these dynamic lines and creases disappear when our faces are at rest. But over time, the repetition of movements imprints wrinkles permanently on the skin. These wrinkles are known as static wrinkles and are visible even when our faces are at rest.
The many years of repeated movements — and the natural aging process — lead to a decrease in collagen production and elastin production in the skin, resulting in reduced skin elasticity and deeper, more visible fine lines, creases and folds. Additionally, exposure to environmental stressors like UV radiation from the sun and pollution, plus lifestyle factors like smoking and poor hydration, can accelerate the timeline and severity of forehead lines by damaging the skin’s structure and promoting premature skin ageing. Overall, a combination of intrinsic ageing processes and external factors play a role in the appearance of forehead lines. There is no “one size fits all.”
