How to Prevent Forehead Wrinkles: Habits, Exercises and What Really Helps

If you’re wondering how to prevent forehead wrinkles, the honest answer is that you can’t stop them completely, but you can slow them down: wear sunscreen every day, catch and relax the habit of raising your eyebrows, use a retinoid at night when your skin is ready for it, and look after your sleep and skin. Gentle forehead relaxation exercises are a low-risk extra, but the evidence for them is limited. Below you’ll find why forehead lines form, how to spot your own brow-raising triggers, and a 5-minute daily routine.

The short answer: how to prevent forehead wrinkles

Prevention here means reducing the chance that lines form early and deepen, not making lines you already have disappear. The habits with most support:

• Daily broad-spectrum sunscreen, SPF 30 or higher, because sun damage speeds up skin aging.
• Relaxing habitual brow raising and squinting, because repeated expressions crease the skin in the same place.
• A retinoid in your night routine, the best-studied skincare ingredient for fine lines.
• Not smoking, sleeping well and keeping skin moisturised.

Exercises sit at the end of that list. For the forehead, the goal is a relaxed muscle, not a stronger one.

Why forehead wrinkles form

Forehead lines are folds in the skin above the frontalis, the flat muscle that lifts your eyebrows (StatPearls, facial muscles). Each time it contracts, the skin above it bunches into horizontal ridges.

Dynamic lines vs static lines

• Dynamic lines appear only when you move: raise your brows in a mirror and you’ll see them.
• Static lines stay visible when your face is at rest. They form when years of the same movement meet skin that is thinner, drier and less elastic because of age and sun exposure.

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) explains that when you repeatedly contract the same facial muscles for many years, those expression lines can become permanent (AAD). That’s why habits matter so much for this area.

The main accelerators

• UV exposure. Sun damage (photoaging) breaks down the support structure of the skin and is one of the biggest drivers of premature aging.
• Smoking. The AAD lists smoking among the habits that speed up skin aging.
• Genetics. Skin type and thickness run in families, which is partly why some people get deep forehead wrinkles earlier.
• Dry skin. Dehydrated skin makes fine lines look more noticeable.
• Habitual expressions. Raising your brows, frowning and squinting, over and over.

Seeing forehead wrinkles at 20 is common and usually not a sign of anything wrong. At that age they’re mostly dynamic lines from an expressive face, which is exactly the stage where habits make the most difference.

The eyebrow-raising habit (and how to catch it)

Many people raise their eyebrows far more than they realise, and forehead wrinkles when raising eyebrows are often the first lines you notice. Common triggers include:

• Screens. Reading, scrolling and video calls often come with lifted brows, especially when you’re concentrating.
• Hooded or heavy upper lids. Some people lift their brows without thinking to open up their field of view.
• Vision. If you raise your brows or squint to see clearly, your eyes may be working too hard.
• Talking. Animated speakers use the forehead to add expression.
• Stress. Tension often shows up in the brows and between the eyes.

A 3-step awareness drill

1. Mirror check. Sit at your desk with a small mirror or your front camera on for a minute while you read. Notice when your brows move up and what you were doing at the time.
2. Fingertip anchor. During screen work, rest two or three fingertips lightly on your forehead now and then. If you feel the skin bunch under them, let your brows drop and soften your eyes. Think “heavy brows” rather than forcing them still.
3. Phone reminder. Set two or three gentle reminders during the day that simply say “forehead”. Each time one goes off, relax your brows, unclench your jaw and take a slow breath.

If you catch yourself lifting your brows to read or to see the screen, book an eye test. Glasses or a new prescription may ease the squinting and lifting. Wearing UV-protective sunglasses outdoors also helps, because the AAD notes that sunglasses can reduce lines caused by squinting.

Daily skin habits that protect the forehead

Skincare does the heavy lifting for prevention: sun protection in the morning, a retinoid at night and moisturiser twice a day.

Sunscreen every morning

Sunscreen has the strongest evidence of any anti-aging habit. In a randomised trial in Nambour, Australia, adults under 55 who were asked to apply sunscreen every day showed no detectable increase in skin aging over four and a half years, while the group using sunscreen as they chose aged measurably more (Hughes et al., 2013). Aging was measured on the backs of the hands, but the forehead gets at least as much sun.

The AAD recommends a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher, reapplied about every two hours outdoors and after swimming or sweating, along with shade and a wide-brimmed hat (AAD, Practice Safe Sun). Two forehead-specific tips:

• Go right up to the hairline. It’s easy to stop short, and the top of the forehead often gets missed.
• Wear it on cloudy days and near windows. UV reaches you on overcast days and through glass.

Night routine with a retinoid

Retinoids are the most studied skincare ingredients for signs of aging. The AAD explains that they 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 tretinoin to be the most widely studied retinoid for sun-damaged skin, with irritation (burning, scaling and redness) as the main drawback; retinol and retinaldehyde are less irritating (Mukherjee et al., 2006).

How to start:

• Go slowly. Use a pea-sized amount for the whole face two or three nights a week, then build up if your skin is comfortable.
• Pair it with moisturiser and morning sunscreen, because retinoids can make skin more sensitive to the sun.
• Skip it during pregnancy or while trying to conceive, and ask a dermatologist before using prescription strengths.

Keep expectations realistic: a retinoid can improve texture and fine lines over time, but it won’t stop the muscle movement behind expression lines.

Moisturiser and sleep

A daily moisturiser traps water in the skin, and well-hydrated skin makes fine lines look softer in the short term. Sleep and stress matter too: rested skin often looks fresher, and when you’re tired or tense, the brows tend to work harder.

Forehead relaxation exercises to try

These moves are about relaxation and muscle awareness, not wrinkle removal: the aim is to help a habitually busy muscle let go. Sit comfortably, relax your shoulders and use a drop of facial oil for the gliding moves. Times and reps are suggestions; go slower if that feels better.

1. Forehead Smooth Down (about 35 seconds)

This move comes from the Gluvy app’s follow-along videos.

1. Place both palms flat across your forehead, fingertips meeting near the centre.
2. Close your eyes and let your brows feel heavy.
3. Glide your hands slowly down over your brows with gentle, even pressure.
4. Lift your hands, return to the hairline and repeat in slow strokes.

Common mistake: pressing hard or dragging the skin. The pressure should feel like a calming hand on your forehead, nothing more.

2. Brow-anchor eye opening (5 rounds)

1. Rest your fingertips lightly along your forehead, just above the brows.
2. Keeping your brows completely still, open your eyes a little wider, as if looking at something in the distance. Hold for about 3 seconds.
3. Relax your eyes and breathe out.

The point is to feel the difference between opening your eyes and lifting your brows. Common mistake: letting the brows creep up under your fingers. If they move, open your eyes less.

3. Hairline scalp release (about 45 seconds)

1. Place your fingertips just behind your hairline.
2. Make small, slow circles, moving the scalp gently over the bone rather than sliding over the hair.
3. Work from the centre out to the temples, then back again.

Common mistake: rubbing quickly with the nails. Use the pads of your fingers and keep it slow.

4. Palm rest and breath (about 1 minute)

1. Rub your palms together until warm, then rest them across your forehead with your eyes closed.
2. Breathe in through your nose for about four counts and out for about six.
3. With each out-breath, imagine the skin between your brows and hairline getting wider and smoother.

Common mistake: holding your breath or frowning in concentration.

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.

If you’d like to follow along rather than read, Gluvy’s Forehead Relaxation Yoga course guides you through relaxation moves like these with a timer for every step, and the Forehead & Finishing Drainage course adds a gentle massage sequence. Both are part of the guided face yoga video workouts in the app, usually 5–10 minutes a day.

What face yoga can and cannot do for the forehead

Face yoga for forehead wrinkles has very little direct research, so it’s best treated as a relaxation and awareness practice. Two small studies are worth knowing.

The best-known study of facial exercise is a 2018 pilot in JAMA Dermatology. Twenty-seven women aged 40 to 65 enrolled and 16 completed it, doing 30 minutes of facial exercises a day for 8 weeks and then every other day until week 20 (Alam et al., 2018). Dermatologists rating standardised photos saw fuller upper and lower cheeks, and the average estimated age fell from 50.8 to 48.1 years. Forehead lines weren’t a main finding, and there was no control group, so larger controlled studies are needed.

A 2025 pre-experimental study in Medicina measured muscles rather than appearance (Medicina, 2025). Twelve middle-aged women did face yoga for 8 weeks, two days a week with a supervisor and five at home. A handheld device found that tone and stiffness decreased in the frontalis (the forehead muscle) and in the muscle between the brows, among others. That fits the idea of face yoga as a way to relax the forehead, but the study was very small, had no control group and didn’t measure wrinkles.

One practical point: because forehead lines come from the frontalis contracting, exercises that repeatedly raise the brows, especially against the resistance of your hands, ask that muscle to do more of the same movement. For this area, choose smoothing and relaxation moves over strengthening. For a fuller look at the evidence, read our guide to whether face yoga works.

When to see a dermatologist

If deep forehead wrinkles bother you, or lines are visible at rest and you’d like more than home care, a board-certified dermatologist can talk you through the options. These include prescription-strength retinoids, neuromodulator injections that temporarily relax the frontalis, and resurfacing treatments such as lasers or chemical peels.

Each is a medical decision with its own costs, risks and upkeep; a good clinician will explain what fits your skin and goals. Face yoga and these treatments are different things: one is a gentle exercise habit with limited evidence, the others are procedures performed or prescribed by licensed clinicians.

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

A 5-minute daily forehead routine

Morning (about 2 minutes)

1. Cleanse and moisturise.
2. Apply broad-spectrum SPF 30+ right up to the hairline.
3. Do a 1-minute awareness check: a quick mirror look, then the fingertip anchor, letting your brows drop.

Evening (about 4 minutes)

1. Cleanse gently and pat your skin dry.
2. Apply your retinoid on the nights you use it, then moisturiser.
3. Do 3 minutes of forehead relaxation: Forehead Smooth Down, the hairline scalp release and the palm rest with slow breathing.

During the day, let your phone reminders do the work.

Build your forehead routine with Gluvy

Gluvy turns this routine into something you can follow every day. The face yoga video workouts include a 3-week forehead plan with guided 5–10 minute sessions and a timer for every step, plus courses like Forehead Relaxation Yoga. Morning and night routines with reminders help you keep up the sunscreen and retinoid steps, and the skincare lessons include a short course on how to use retinol. 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, try the 5-minute face yoga routine for beginners or see our double chin exercises.

Sources

• StatPearls. Anatomy, Head and Neck: Facial Muscles. NCBI Bookshelf.
• American Academy of Dermatology. 11 ways to reduce premature skin aging.
• American Academy of Dermatology. Practice Safe Sun.
• 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.
• Alam M, et al. Association of Facial Exercise With the Appearance of Aging. JAMA Dermatology, 2018.
• Effect of Intensive Face Yoga on Facial Muscles Tonus, Stiffness, and Elasticity in Middle-Aged Women: A Pre-Experimental Clinical Trial. Medicina, 2025.