There is a theory that long-married couples start resembling each other after many years of togetherness. The reason cited is that long-married couples share emotions. Which means if the husband has frown lines, the wife has it too; same with laugh lines. The impact of our emotions is so great that it can be etched permanently on our foreheads, wow! This of course happens unconsciously. So, beware, if you don't want those frown lines to give you not-so-pleasant-looking features, you should start taking action right away.
How to Prevent Frown Lines from Appearing
- Smile: The moment you realize that your constant frowning is causing those unwanted lines, start smiling more often. Although people are divided on the number of muscles involved in smiling and frowning, one thing they agree upon -- that smiling takes less effort than frowning! Effort or no effort, at least you can beautify your face by smiling more often.
- Wear Sunglasses: When you are out in the sun, naked-eyed, you need to squint a lot. This contributes to the formation of frown lines. Protect your eyes with good quality sunglasses when you go out in the sun.
- Wear a Sunscreen Lotion: Constant sun exposure results in the formation of lines and wrinkles. Therefore, protect your skin by using a sunscreen lotion that has the sun protection factor (SPF) adequate for your skin type. Moisturizing your skin is also important to ease out the line formation as they occur.
- Anti-wrinkle Cream: You may think you are too young to use an anti-wrinkle cream; however, anti-wrinkle cream works best on newly formed wrinkles that are not too deep. Use a cream that has Retinol or collagen and glycolic acid.
Exercises to Wipe Out the Frown Lines
There are some simple yoga exercises that can help you tone up and strengthen the forehead muscles (the frontalis):
- This will help all facial muscles. Inhale and contract all the muscles of your face. Hold for some time and then exhale and release it with your tongue out and eyebrows up. This exercise is called Lion Face Yoga.
- Press your fingers hard on your forehead and raise your eyebrows and drop it. Do 20 repetitions. Since the muscles are working against resistance, the lines will ease out.
- To remove the frown lines in the center of your forehead, knit the brow and make that frown first. Then, place your fingers in the center of the each eyebrow, resist and make the action of erasing the frown line from either side.
Cosmetic Interventions to Reduce Frown Lines
To get rid of advanced frown lines, there are some treatment methods available:
- Botox: Botox paralyzes the muscles of the forehead, thereby preventing further wrinkling. This needs to be repeated every 6 to 8 months.
- Injectable Gel Fillers: These fill up the deeper lines and make wrinkles vanish. Some examples of such fillers are Juvederm and Restylane. If you are on prescription medications, these may need to be stopped a few days before the treatment. Therefore, consult a doctor before going for this treatment.
Sometimes, the cause for your frown lines may be bad eyesight. Vision problems make you squint often and give rise to wrinkling and lines. Therefore, consult an eye specialist and get your eyesight tested. If your work involves constantly staring at the computer screen, try taking frequent breaks and cup your eyes and close them for a while. This will eliminate the fatigue from your eyes, which also can cause wrinkling.
Small issues like frown lines and wrinkling should not be the cause of worry in your otherwise busy lives. These can be tackled by taking some precautions like these. Just relaxing and taking it easy itself is cure enough for so many problems, be it worry lines, hair fall, or even acidity!
