BLOG 133: HERE ARE 5 WAYS TO REDUCE FOREHEAD LINES WITHOUT INJECTABLES

The forehead is one area where many of us experience lines and wrinkles. A big reason for this is that we tend to overuse our foreheads and eyebrows when we’re expressing and talking, causing tension in the muscles.

While some people turn to Botox or other injectables to relax the forehead and reduce lines and wrinkles, we can easily release tension in the muscles naturally by using some simple Face Yoga techniques. In this post, I’m going to run through five easy techniques that focus on the forehead and the area between our eyebrows.

I use these techniques myself. I’m turning 40 this week and have never had Botox or fillers. I just use Face Yoga and other natural products, so I can promise you that it does work.

The key is to do these techniques regularly – ideally every day.

The other thing I try to do is be aware of how I’m using my forehead and eyebrows throughout the day. When I’m stressed, I tend to pull in my eyebrows or to raise them a lot when I’m talking. Becoming conscious of this as you go through your day means you can work on keeping the area more relaxed. After all, prevention is better than cure, as the saying goes.

But if you already have forehead lines, don’t worry. Firstly, there’s nothing wrong with lines and wrinkles. Face yoga is all about helping you feel healthy and happy from the inside out so that your skin looks the best it can for the age you are.

Secondly, there’s a lot you can do to relax the forehead area naturally. Face Yoga helps you approach lines and wrinkles from a place of self-love and self-care, not judgement or criticism.

This easy Face Yoga sequence takes less than ten minutes and is a beautifully calming routine to release tension and soothe the muscles in the forehead.

BEFORE YOU START

Make sure your hands and face are clean before you start any Face Yoga routine. We’re focusing on massage techniques in this sequence, so it helps to apply a few drops of serum to help your fingers move easily over your skin.

I use my Fusion by Danielle Collins Pro Lift Facial Moisturising Serum. As well as giving a lovely glide while you’re massaging your skin, this serum is packed full of high-performing botanical seed oils. It’s non-greasy and won’t block your pores, but it does penetrate into the middle layer of your skin, the dermis. 

The dermis is where elastin and collagen are produced, so you’ll be getting all those active, organic ingredients and nourishing vitamins to the area where you need them most. The serum is also vegan, organic, and certified by the Soil Association.

1. SMOOTH

Place your hands on your forehead and gently smooth outwards. Replace them at the centre and then repeat.

This technique is very simple, but it is also effective. It targets the frontalis muscle, which is the large one that covers most of the front of our foreheads.

Most of us overuse this muscle in day-to-day life and it ends up holding a lot of tension. This simple massage technique starts to relax the muscle, meaning we are less likely to overexpress with it and end up with lines and wrinkles.

The massage also boosts blood circulation, bringing fresh blood, oxygen, and nutrients up to the surface of your skin. This helps to brighten your skin too.

You don’t need to press hard here to see the benefits. Just a gentle pressure is fine and feels beautifully soothing on your skin.

As a rule, I suggest spending around 1 minute on each Face Yoga technique. There are some exceptions but aim for a minute for each of the moves I’m discussing in this post.

Give your arms a little shake at the end to release any stiffness before moving on to the next technique.

2. ARCHES

We’re still working with the frontalis muscle for this next move. Take both your index fingers to your forehead, starting just above the inside corner of your eyebrows.

Draw your fingers up, across, and down, making an arch shape just above your eyebrows. Come back to your original starting point, but make the next arch slightly higher, crossing over the middle of your forehead. Your third arch should come right up to the top of your forehead.

Go back to the beginning and repeat this sequence for around a minute. 

As you continue with the massage, bring your attention to your breath. Take a deep inhale through your nose, feeling your abdomen rise. Then exhale long and slow, still through your nose. Let your abdomen drop down again.

We hold a lot of emotion and stress in our faces. Over time, this tension begins to create lines and wrinkles, especially in the forehead area. But one of the best ways to release that stress is to come back to the breath.

As we take these long, deep breaths, we help our brains move out of that fight-and-flight response and into our calmer, rest-and-digest state. Feeling calmer and less stressed also gives us a more relaxed, healthier face.

3. EYE MUSCLES

Place your hands on your forehead. Use your fingers to keep your eyebrows and forehead still as you open your eyes as wide as you can. Focus on a point straight in front of you.

The aim here is to engage the orbicularis oculi muscles, which go right around each eye. Try to keep the frontalis muscle at the front of the forehead still as you use the eye muscles to widen your eyes. Notice how it feels to use your eye muscles to express instead of your forehead.

Shake out your arms and close your eyes for a moment. Then take the pose again. This time, use your eyes to look right and left, holding the rest of your face still. 

These eye movements have been used in yoga for thousands of years. They help to strengthen the muscles around the eyes, improving our eyesight at the same time as tightening and tautening the skin attached to the muscles.

Shake out your hands and then take the pose again. This time, use your eyes to look up and down while your hands keep your forehead as still as possible.

4. HOOK

This next technique targets the procerus muscle, which runs up between the eyebrows. This is another muscle that we tend to overuse when we express. But when we combine the breath with facial massage and focus on releasing this area, we can relax it naturally.

Form your index finger into a hook shape. Using the middle knuckle, stroke up between your eyebrows and over your forehead. You might also come out at a slight angle on some of the strokes, making sure to cover the whole muscle.

Again, you can keep the pressure gentle here. With any Face Yoga technique, I urge you to work to your own level and use your intuition to guide you.

Focus on letting go of tension and give the muscle permission to release any stress or tightness.

5. THIRD EYE POINT

Finally, place the tip of one index finger on the point between your eyebrows. Bring your attention back to your breath, taking long inhales and exhales through your nose as you press gently on this acupressure point.

This point is well-known in Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine for releasing stress and helping us to relax. It is called the third eye point and it relates to our intuition and inner knowledge.

Pressing here helps to relax the procerus muscle further. It is also a great point to use if you are struggling to sleep or are feeling anxious.

After pressing for a few breaths, start to massage the point with a small circular motion. Go one way and then the other.

FINISHED

End the Face Yoga sequence by bringing your hands down and closing your eyes. Focus your attention on your forehead area and let go of any remaining tension. Visualise a white, healing light bathing the area as you take a few last deep breaths.

When you’re ready, open your eyes. And we’re all done!

You can find a video guide for this sequence on my YouTube channel.

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