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.
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, 2018), 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.”