Wrinkles Between the Eyebrows (11 Lines): Causes, Habits and Options

Wrinkles between eyebrows, the vertical 11 lines or frown lines, mostly come from years of frowning and squinting, combined with sun damage and the natural thinning of skin with age. You can’t stop your face from moving or aging, but you can frown less without trying, protect the skin and learn to relax the muscles involved. Below: the causes, the habits that deepen these lines, three gentle relaxation moves and your options.

Why you get wrinkles between your eyebrows

Vertical lines between the brows form because two small muscles fold the skin every time you frown, squint or concentrate.

• The glabella is the smooth patch of skin between your eyebrows, just above the nose.
• 11 lines (also called glabella or glabellar lines) are the one, two or more vertical creases that appear there, named for their resemblance to the number 11.

The muscles behind the frown

Two muscles do most of the work (StatPearls, facial muscles):

• Corrugator supercilii. A pair of small muscles at the inner end of each eyebrow. They draw the brows together and down, and they produce the vertical frown lines (StatPearls, corrugator muscle).
• Procerus. A small muscle over the bridge of the nose that pulls the skin between the brows downward, creating the short horizontal crease at the top of the nose. It is part of what anatomists call the glabellar complex (StatPearls, procerus muscle).

For a wider tour, see our guide to your face muscles.

Dynamic lines become static lines

At first, 11 lines are dynamic: they show when you frown and disappear when your face relaxes. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) explains that repeatedly contracting the same facial muscles for many years can make those expression lines permanent (AAD). Once a line stays visible with your face at rest, it is static. Sun damage, smoking, genetics and dry skin all speed up that shift.

The habits that deepen 11 lines

Most frowning isn’t emotional. It’s your face reacting to light, effort and focus, often without you noticing:

• Squinting at screens. Small text, glare, low contrast or a screen that’s too far away all make you narrow your eyes and pull your brows in.
• Uncorrected vision. If you need glasses, or your prescription has changed, your face works harder to see clearly all day.
• Bright light without sunglasses. Squinting in the sun is one of the most repeated frowns there is.
• The concentration frown. Knitting your brows while reading, driving or solving a problem.
• Stress. Tension often gathers between the eyes, along with a clenched jaw.
• Sleeping face-down. Pressing your face into the pillow can fold the skin in the same place night after night, which may add creases to the area.

A 2-minute self-check

Prop your phone up, record yourself with the front camera and read on your laptop for two minutes as you normally would. Watch it back and notice when your brows draw together, what you were reading and how bright the screen was.

How to stop frowning without thinking about it

The easiest way to frown less is to take away the reasons you frown, rather than relying on willpower:

• Adjust your screen. Increase the text size, turn up brightness indoors, reduce glare from windows and keep the screen at a comfortable distance, roughly an arm’s length for a laptop or monitor.
• Book an eye test. If you squint to read or see the screen, glasses or a new prescription may ease the strain more than any exercise could.
• Wear sunglasses outdoors. The AAD notes that sunglasses can reduce lines caused by squinting. Choose a pair with UV protection.
• Use desk reminders. Set two or three gentle reminders a day that just say “brows”. When one goes off, let the space between your eyebrows soften, unclench your jaw and drop your shoulders.
• Take breathing breaks. A minute of slow breathing, longer out than in, is a simple way to let go of tension in your face. Gluvy’s Mindful Breathing and Stress Relief sessions guide you with gentle haptic cues.

For tension beyond the brows, see how to relax face muscles.

Gentle relaxation techniques for the brow area

These moves are about relaxation and awareness, not wrinkle treatment: the aim is to help the muscles between your brows let go. Sit comfortably and use a drop of facial oil or moisturiser so your fingers glide. Times are suggestions.

1. Fingertip glabella smoothing (about 30 seconds)

1. Place the pads of your index and middle fingers together on the skin between your brows.
2. Close your eyes and breathe out slowly.
3. Glide your fingers apart and slightly upward, as if smoothing fabric, then lift them off.
4. Return to the centre and repeat in slow strokes.

Common mistake: pressing hard or tugging the skin. Use the weight of your fingers, nothing more.

2. Brow-spread massage (about 45 seconds)

1. Rest your fingertips at the inner ends of both eyebrows.
2. Make small, slow circles there for a few seconds.
3. Move a little way outward along the brow bone and repeat, working toward the outer ends of your brows.
4. Finish at your temples, then start again from the centre.

Common mistake: frowning in concentration while you do it. Keep checking that the space between your brows feels wide and soft.

3. Eyes-closed release with exhale (about 1 minute)

1. Close your eyes and rest one palm lightly across your forehead and brows.
2. Breathe in through your nose for about four counts.
3. Breathe out for about six counts and, as you do, imagine the skin between your eyebrows getting wider and smoother.
4. Repeat for five or six slow breaths.

Common mistake: holding your breath or squeezing your eyes shut. Let your eyelids rest closed.

Stop any move that causes pain or irritation, and check with your clinician first if you’ve had recent injectables, surgery or other procedures on your face.

Why “frown” exercises aren’t recommended here

Some posts suggest “exercises for 11 lines” that have you squeeze your brows together, sometimes against your fingers. Those moves ask the corrugator and procerus to do more of the exact movement that folds the skin. For this area, relaxation makes more sense than strengthening.

A small 2025 study in Medicina fits that idea. Twelve middle-aged women did face yoga for 8 weeks, and a handheld device measured lower tone and stiffness in several facial muscles, including the forehead muscle and the muscle between the brows (Medicina, 2025). It had no control group and didn’t measure wrinkles, so it’s a reason for curiosity rather than proof.

Do it with a timer: Gluvy’s Forehead Relaxation Yoga course walks you through relaxation moves like these with a timer on every step, and the Relaxing Face Yoga session covers the whole face. Both are part of the guided face yoga video workouts, and you can download Gluvy for iPhone.

Skincare that supports the area

Skincare can’t stop you frowning, but it protects the skin the frown works on. Three habits matter most.

• Sunscreen every morning. In a randomised trial in Nambour, Australia, adults under 55 asked to apply sunscreen daily showed no detectable increase in skin aging over four and a half years, while those using it as they chose aged measurably more (Hughes et al., 2013). It measured the backs of the hands, but your brows face the same sun. Use broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher.
• A retinoid at night. The AAD explains that retinoids speed up skin cell turnover and boost collagen, which can soften fine lines, and that retinol is a milder over-the-counter form (AAD, Retinoid or retinol?). A clinical review found irritation, such as redness and scaling, to be the main drawback (Mukherjee et al., 2006). Start two or three nights a week, avoid them during pregnancy and ask a dermatologist about prescription strengths.
• Moisturiser twice a day. Hydrated skin makes fine lines less visible in the short term.

Our article on how to prevent forehead wrinkles has a full morning and evening routine for the forehead and brows.

Medical options, explained neutrally

If static 11 lines bother you, a board-certified dermatologist or other licensed clinician can explain treatments that work very differently from home care:

• Neuromodulator injections (such as botulinum toxin) temporarily relax the frown muscles.
• Dermal fillers add volume under a deep line.
• Lasers and other resurfacing treatments work on the skin’s surface and texture.

Each is a medical decision with its own costs, risks and upkeep, performed or prescribed by licensed clinicians. Face yoga is an exercise habit with limited evidence; the two aren’t interchangeable. Our face yoga vs Botox comparison explains the differences in more detail.

See a doctor promptly if you notice a sudden change in how your brows or face move, such as one side drooping, as that isn’t part of normal aging.

What to expect

Habit changes and relaxation can reduce how often you frown, so the skin between your brows is folded less often. That matters most while lines are still dynamic. Sunscreen and a retinoid support the skin over months and years.

Lines that are already etched in at rest usually don’t go away with exercise or skincare alone; that is where professional care comes in, if you want it. No study has shown a timeline for relaxation moves, so treat them as a calm daily habit. For the wider picture, read our guide on whether face yoga works and the benefits of face yoga.

Relax your brows with Gluvy

Gluvy makes the relaxation part easy to keep up. The face yoga video workouts include Forehead Relaxation Yoga and moves like Forehead Smooth Down, with a timer on every step and sessions of 5–10 minutes a day. Reminders can prompt a midday brow break. If you’d like a starting point, the AI face analysis suggests focus areas for your plan; it isn’t a diagnosis. For other areas, browse our face exercises guides.

Sources

• StatPearls. Anatomy, Head and Neck: Facial Muscles. NCBI Bookshelf.
• StatPearls. Anatomy, Head and Neck, Eye Corrugator Muscle.
• StatPearls. Anatomy, Head and Neck, Procerus Muscle.
• American Academy of Dermatology. 11 ways to reduce premature skin aging.
• American Academy of Dermatology. Retinoid or retinol?
• Hughes MCB, Williams GM, Baker P, Green AC. Sunscreen and prevention of skin aging: a randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2013.
• Mukherjee S, et al. Retinoids in the treatment of skin aging: an overview of clinical efficacy and safety. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 2006.
• Effect of Intensive Face Yoga on Facial Muscles Tonus, Stiffness, and Elasticity in Middle-Aged Women: A Pre-Experimental Clinical Trial. Medicina, 2025.