Some folks swear by the products&#; ability to smooth fine lines, particularly the so-called elevens that form between the eyebrows. &#;They make a massive difference, but only to my elevens and frown lines&#;I&#;ve not used them anywhere else,&#; says Becca Caddy, 35, a journalist based in the United Kingdom.
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Caddy says her lines aren&#;t age-related, but rather appeared because she went without glasses for years and squinted instead. &#;I&#;m fully aware they&#;re not magically getting rid of age-related lines, but must be doing a similar thing to Botox in relaxing that area that&#;s usually mega-tense.&#;
Gwen Calais-Haase, a graduate student in Boston, found out about Frownies on TikTok. &#;I get so much baby Botox content that I was like, hmm, interesting alternative!&#; she says, referencing the trend of people in their twenties&#;&#;babies&#;&#;getting &#;preventative&#; Botox. &#;I was pretty dedicated [to Frownies] for three weeks&#; before falling off the wagon, she says.
Frownies are &#;similar to Botox&#; in that they &#;immobilize the underlying facial muscles through their unique design,&#; according to their maker. Theoretically, the patches prevent the muscles from moving, thus helping to &#;retrain the facial muscles to relax, release tension, and lay flat.&#; Other brands of wrinkle patches, such as the silicone-based SiO Beauty, work similarly, though SiO also claims that it helps the skin stay hydrated, thus &#;plumping&#; the skin and causing it to appear smoother.
Wrinkle patches require a fair amount of effort daily. Users must first wash their face, and any moisturizer must be allowed to sink in for 10 to 15 minutes before applying the patches. After massaging any fine lines for 10 to 15 seconds, the skin is ready for application. Each patch must be lightly wetted on one side. After gently separating the lines on the relevant area of the face, the user should apply the patch while pressing down with the fingers to ensure it adheres completely; the patches then harden as they dry.
Frownies recommends that people use the patches for several hours a day, preferably overnight for three to five days for shallower fine lines. Long-term results may take up to four weeks, according to the company, which advises users to wear them at least three to four nights every week to &#;maintain wrinkle-free skin.&#;
Using them is as uncomfortable as it sounds. I recently tried Frownies on my forehead and around my smile lines, and I was unable to drink water except through a straw; I couldn&#;t laugh, and could only mumble, as my mouth was too constricted to form words clearly. When I finally tore them off at my bathroom sink&#;an unpleasant experience&#;I was incredibly relieved. Considering that laughing, speaking, eating, and drinking all require facial movements that will inevitably result in fine lines and wrinkles, it follows that a product aimed at preventing their formation would also prevent the movements that create them. But in practice it is extremely awkward and bizarre.
&#;The idea of these types of products is they harden and basically stiffen, so you cannot use the muscles. So temporarily the idea is to prevent a movement, and over time to train the muscle to not move,&#; says Mary Stevenson, MD, an associate professor of dermatology at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine. &#;The results of these are temporary, and I think they&#;re gimmicky,&#; she says.
Anjali Mahto, a dermatologist based in the United Kingdom and author of "The Skincare Bible: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Great Skin" (Penguin, ), says she&#;s unaware of any data that suggests that wrinkle patches are effective. Any temporary effects &#;will disappear as you start to use your muscles again&#;a bit like an ironed piece of clothing in that it&#;s smooth to start with, but with wear, will become creased.&#;
When it comes to anti-aging procedures, not everyone has the money or desire to go down the Botox route. Some prefer a more straightforward hack: taping their wrinkles overnight with products like Frownies face stickers.
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It's an age-old trick: Frownies, for example, has existed as a brand since &#; about a century before Botox was first introduced to the masses as a treatment for wrinkles.
Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard" getting ready for her close-up with anti-wrinkle stickers.
Getty Images / Hulton Archive / Stringer
After we interviewed Frownies fans who swear by them, it made us want to give the $24 patches a try. It seemed like one of those products so simple and straightforward, it had to work.
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You can use Frownies on smile lines, crow's feet, between the eyebrows, and on the forehead.
We scrolled through the Frownies Instagram page where the (impossibly smooth) face of the company, Helen Morrison, extols the virtues of the strips, claiming they relax the facial muscles to stop them from forming wrinkles.
The time it takes to see results varies from person to person, she said. Some people seem to see instant changes, for others it will take a few weeks or even months.
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The idea is that you use them every night until you get the results you want, and then go down to three to four times a week or however often it takes to maintain the skin you want.
We tried Frownies every night for two weeks, but both decided they were too much effort for the results.
When I learned about Frownies, they sounded too good to be true. Affordable, non-invasive patches you stick on your forehead that make the wrinkles go away? Sign me up.
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Now 30, I've started feeling insecure about the fine lines that have appeared on my face over the last few years.
The "fine lines" made an appearance towards the end of Rachel's 20s.
Rachel Hosie
The first time I put Frownies on, my boyfriend &#; with whom I live &#; had just gone away for a week. I thought it would be the perfect chance to see if he noticed a difference &#; and I also wouldn't have to worry about his reaction to the strange stickered woman lying next to him.
Putting them on was a bit of an effort. The Frownies come in one long strip and you have to tear them into triangles along the perforations and also tear off the pointy corners.
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Rachel tried Frownies in different formations.
Rachel Hosie/Insider
The idea is that instead of using one large Frownie, overlaying small ones on top of each other allows them to mold to the shape of the forehead better. It is, however, more effort.
Frownies are sticky on one side like a postage stamp, and you use water to stick them to your skin. You have to wait at least 15 minutes after applying moisturizer and spend a few seconds massaging the skin before sticking them on. You then have to pull the skin taut with one hand to smooth out the wrinkles, while using the other hand to stick the wet side of the Frownie to your face. It's a little fiddly, but not too complicated.
I wasn't 100% sure whether I was doing it right. Does it matter if some of the edges aren't totally flat to the skin? Do you need to cover the whole forehead? I tried slightly different formations each time.
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The Frownies had a certain smell about them &#; it wasn't unpleasant to me, it was almost chocolatey &#; and although my forehead felt very stuck, I forgot I was wearing them for the most part. It was only when I rolled on to my front that I could feel them.
You remove the Frownies by splashing water on your face which loosens the glue, and then you carefully slide a finger underneath to peel them off. It only takes a few seconds and while it doesn't feel nice as such, it's not painful.
First thing in the morning, just after removing Frownies.
Rachel Hosie/Insider
The first morning, I was amazed to find I actually did see a difference immediately after removing the Frownies. My forehead really did look smoother and the wrinkles were a lot less pronounced.
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However, an hour later it was back to normal, and this was the case every day of my experiment.
A week in, my boyfriend came home from his work trip and, unsurprisingly given I did not think the Frownies had done anything, he did not express shock at my noticeably smooth forehead. When prompted, he said he thought there was a difference. But I suspect he was saying what I wanted to hear.
Rachel before (left) and after two weeks of Frownies.
Rachel Hosie/Insider
Two weeks down and as far as I was concerned, my forehead looked exactly the same. I was disappointed, as I'd really wanted them to work.
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Morrison has said on Instagram that people just need to be more patient and stick at it for longer. But, honestly? I don't think I can be bothered. When it comes to skincare, I am very low-maintenance (which is my way of saying lazy).
I'd like to have a smoother forehead, but I just don't think I want it enough to keep going with Frownies.
Julia wearing Frownies.
Julia Pugachevsky
I bought Frownies months before this experiment. After scouring Reddit threads on forehead wrinkles and cheap Botox alternatives, I invested in these, a retinol serum, and a big bottle of water.
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Until Rachel suggested we try them, I attempted putting them on exactly once. The instructions felt intimidating (I have to hold my skin taut?) and I couldn't get over the smell, which reminded me of peppermint extract and the stale scent of old books.
From interviewing people who wear these regularly, I got the tip that I should look at the brand's Instagram for application tips. I went about my usual routine (cleanser, retinol, moisturizer) and, once my skin dried, gently wet four triangles and pasted them on my head. I knew I should probably add more, but I also knew that I had no chance of keeping up with this routine if I had to go through several sticker sheets each night.
The first morning I woke up, I muttered "Happy International Women's Day" to myself as I wet my face, peeled them off, and inspected my forehead wrinkles with the intensity of an award-winning truffle pig. No changes yet.
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Julia's results after one week of using Frownies every night.
Julia Pugachevsky
Around day four, I noticed a difference. I ran my fingers over my forehead in the shower and marveled at how smooth the area was, setting my face back three to four years ago when my wrinkles didn't occupy a solid 8% of my brainspace.
My heart sank. These really worked, but it meant I'd have to routinely sleep with patches on my head. I already wear a retainer; with massive stickers, my desire to cuddle with my boyfriend in the morning dwindled. "What was the point," I wondered, "of going out of my way to look conventionally hotter if the process left me feeling anything but?"
It also made me increasingly obsessed with my wrinkles. I would monitor how creaseless my forehead looked in the morning, then feel bitter defeat when the lines came back by evening. Did I really have to be so facially expressive all the time? Couldn't I laugh or hold a plank without raising my eyebrows?
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It gave me the impression that my wrinkles were beyond help (aside from $400 Botox shots). It tracks with what my sources said for my story: My forehead would "freeze" for a little bit after removing the Frownies, but as I naturally moved my face throughout the day, they'd return.
Julia's results after wearing Frownies for three hours, never more afraid of someone hacking her and seeing 27 serial killer-like forehead close-up photos.
Julia Pugachevsky
When I spoke to Dr. Cameron Rokhsar, a board-certified dermatologist and an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital, about Frownies, he said that they would work best if I wore them right before going out, rather than overnight, to get optimal results.
So, I put them on at 2 p.m. for a total of three hours. I did my work and took the patches off to see the same smooth skin I usually had in the mornings. I could see myself slapping these on before a headshot appointment or fancy event, though I don't know how well they'll work when I'm not already wearing them every night.
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When I got to the last day, I was excited to not have to wear these anymore. I still don't think I'll try Botox anytime soon, but even doing the hard, annoying work of accepting my body seems easier than trying to tape it to perfection.
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