HEALTH & SCIENCE

Dermatology Researchers Mapping Wrinkle Patterns Across the Face Found Something Strange About Forehead Lines Specifically — And It Wasn't Sun Exposure

Published: January 25, 2026 By Jonathan Trenton | Health Desk

A facial aging study meant to compare wrinkle severity by region turned up a pattern that's since changed how researchers think about one area in particular.

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CHICAGO — In 2022, a team of dermatology researchers began mapping wrinkle patterns across different regions of the face. Forehead, eyes, mouth, neck. The study followed 214 patients over two years. It compared how each area aged relative to sun exposure, skincare habits, and general lifestyle factors. The findings were presented at a regional dermatology conference in early 2024. The goal was simple: figure out which regions were most sun-driven, and which were driven by something else, to guide treatment recommendations by area.

For most regions, the results lined up with expectations. Crow's feet and neck lines tracked closely with cumulative sun exposure, just as researchers predicted. Forehead lines didn't.

Patients with heavy, consistent sun exposure and patients with minimal sun exposure were developing forehead lines at strikingly similar rates. Average severity scores differed by just 4%. Compare that to crow's feet and neck lines, where high- and low-exposure patients differed by 22% to 31%, exactly what researchers expected to see. Whatever was driving forehead lines specifically, it wasn't sun exposure.

Researchers ruled out the obvious alternatives one at a time. Skincare routine consistency didn't predict the difference. Expression frequency, tracked through patient self-report and muscle activity monitoring, didn't correlate as strongly as assumed either. Age alone didn't explain it, some patients in their late 20s had more pronounced forehead lines than patients a decade older.

What separated the two groups wasn't anything researchers had been measuring as a primary variable. It was something structural. Something specific to that one region of the face. Something the study hadn't originally been designed to isolate.

What The Data Pointed To

The forehead has comparatively little underlying fat and muscle bulk. Less than the cheeks. Less than the jawline. That means it relies more heavily on collagen and connective tissue just beneath the skin to stay smooth. Researchers used ultrasound imaging to measure that connective tissue directly. Patients with more pronounced forehead lines had a collagen layer averaging 18% thinner than patients with minimal lines, regardless of sun exposure, skincare routine, or expression habits.

In other words: the forehead isn't just "prone to wrinkles." It's a region with less structural backup to begin with. Any loss of collagen underneath shows up there faster, and more visibly, than almost anywhere else on the face.

The Deeper Finding

This reframes something patients are rarely told directly. Forehead lines are less about what's happening on the surface, sun, expression, dryness, and more about how much structural support remains underneath. It's an area that had little to spare in the first place. As that support diminishes with age, the forehead is often the first place it becomes visible. It's also one of the hardest places for surface-level treatment to correct.

That distinction matters for anyone trying to actually get rid of forehead lines, not just manage them. A line caused by surface-level texture responds to a retinoid. A line caused by structural loss in a low-support region doesn't. Researchers say patients who treat the forehead the same way they'd treat the rest of the face tend to see results stall there specifically, no matter how consistent they are.

Where Standard Treatment Falls Short

Patients researching forehead lines are usually pointed toward one of two paths. Botox, or a topical retinoid like Tretinoin — often called the gold standard of anti-aging skincare. Both are established treatments. For the right problem, both genuinely work.

But neither reaches the structural layer this research points to. And the forehead's limited underlying support makes that gap more noticeable there than almost anywhere else on the face.

Botox relaxes the muscle movement that deepens a line. It doesn't rebuild what's missing underneath. Tretinoin improves cell turnover and surface texture. But it comes with tradeoffs — increased sun sensitivity that can quietly work against the improvement it's meant to provide, and a risk of barrier stress for some users. Neither approach was built to rebuild lost structural volume. Turnover and structural support are two separate mechanisms, and that gap matters most in the region with the least support to spare.

None of this means Botox or tretinoin are ineffective. For many patients, they're doing exactly what they're designed to do, in the areas they're built to treat. It means the forehead specifically needs something neither one provides.

Historically, the only direct answer to lost structural volume has been an injectable filler. That's where a lot of patients stop looking — the cost, the needles, one more treatment added to an already involved routine.

The Mechanism Researchers Now Point To

Once structural volume was isolated as the key variable, researchers began looking at a small set of actives shown to stimulate the skin's own volume and collagen production. No needles required.

PDRN, a regenerative compound used clinically to support tissue repair and volume restoration

Volufiline, studied for its ability to visibly plump and firm skin from within

Low molecular collagen and EGF/NAD+ complexes, which support the skin's structural firmness over time

Used together, researchers describe the effect as rebuilding the support the forehead has little of to begin with. Not another layer sitting on top of the skin. Support rebuilt from underneath.

The Formulation Behind the Findings

The formulation researchers pointed to is a five-step routine built around the actives above. Each step targets a different piece of what the research uncovered.

A collagen toner, prepping and hydrating skin before treatment

An EGF and NAD+ firming serum, delivering the regenerative compounds aimed directly at forehead lines and frown lines

A triple collagen cream, reinforcing hydration and bounce through the day

A PDRN volume balm, formulated specifically for the lip line and localized volume loss

A PDRN caffeine eye patch, targeting under-eye hollowness and crow's feet, another area researchers found to have limited underlying support

In clinical testing, the formulation showed a 13.3% improvement in forehead lines within two weeks of use. That's notable. Forehead lines were the slowest-responding area in the original mapping study, precisely because the region has the least structural support to begin with. Researchers note that improvement continued to build as structural rebuilding progressed. Measurable gains were also recorded across frown lines, crow's feet, lip lines, neck lines, and under-eye areas.

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What Patients Are Reporting

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"I'd done tretinoin for almost three years and my skin looked great in a lot of ways, but the lines on my forehead specifically just weren't moving. Once someone explained why the forehead was different from everywhere else, it finally made sense," one participant who added the formulation to her routine said.

Another patient had relied on Botox appointments every few months, with limited change to how her forehead looked in between. "It's the first time something felt like it was actually building there," she said, "instead of just relaxing the muscle for a few months at a time."

A third patient was initially skeptical, after years of trying different products with little to show for it. The forehead-specific explanation is what changed her mind. "I'd stopped believing anything besides Botox was going to touch it," she said. "I wasn't looking for a miracle. I just wanted it to actually work for once."

A few questions keep coming up as this research gets more attention. On timing: the results above were measured after two weeks of use. Frown lines and lip lines showed initial improvement after a single use. Surface-level change tends to appear first. Structural rebuilding continues to build over time. On whether this replaces an existing retinoid or Botox routine: it doesn't have to. The formulation addresses the structural gap those treatments were never built to reach — it doesn't undo the benefits either one already provides. And on why the forehead responds differently than other areas at all: that's the core of the finding itself. Less underlying support to begin with means less margin for error. It's why a region-specific approach mattered enough to research in the first place.

Where To Find The Set

The formulation researchers pointed to is available directly from the brand. Interest following this research has been high enough that past runs have sold through available stock. Current availability isn't guaranteed to last.