AS a 43-year old smoker, my forehead wrinkles are pronounced and plentiful. I’ve tried dermal fillers, with good results, but can’t afford to keep up the costs of paying for decent injectables.
So my ears prick up when I hear that Frownies – skin patches that smooth wrinkles overnight – are now cited as a cheaper, natural alternative to Botox. But do they actually work?
Scrolling through Amazon reviews you might think so – returning customers give five-star reviews in numbers.
“Can’t believe they actually work” writes one user and another user pipes up: “Surprisingly good.”
So when they arrive I ripped open the parcel, excited.
The packaging doesn’t disappoint – all pristine, pastel pink and petite enough to travel with.
That evening I tried them for the first time as part of my seven-day experiment to see if they could shift my stubborn forehead lines.
I needed to spend 15 minutes online first to figure out just how to apply them correctly. It felt like I actually needed training – complete with ‘how-to videos’ on the website – just to use them.
The entire application took about 20 minutes.
You massage your frown lines on the forehead, so they flatten, then spray a small square plaster included in the kit with the rose water hydrator. It does smell like roses and I didn’t find it unpleasant.
Next, you smooth the patch over the wrinkle, I used about five patches per application.
As I walk into the bedroom to settle for the night, my boyfriend laughs: “Had a car accident?” He jokes at the sight of my forehead being covered in plasters.
I can’t help but agree that they do look ridiculous and do feel uncomfortable. On the plus side they don’t irritate my sensitive skin, or cause a break-out either.
You leave the patches on for a minimum of 3 hours, but I slept with them on overnight as advised on the Frownies website and packing.
The next day I washed the patches off with warm water. It feels like taking a plaster off – there’s a slight wax-strip feel to it.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that my middle frown line had improved overnight and my forehead looks all smooth and shiny like you might expect with Botox.
Then disaster strikes. That day, at 4pm when I’m next in the bathroom, I glance in the mirror and can see the results of the morning have faded markedly and my wrinkle has returned.
Had I done some proper research on skin patches’ treatment of wrinkles, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Scientists have written a paper about skin patches to treat crow’s feet, and in a clinical trial, found that patches have instant results that fade after just an hour.
On the fourth morning of the same lengthy routine, I catch up with skin and aesthetics specialist, Nina Prisk, of Harley Street Clinic Update Aesthetics.
Prisk says: “It’s claimed that the patches help to retrain the facial muscles in order to stop wrinkles forming.
“As far as I’m aware they don’t contain any active ingredients and are simply plaster-like devices that pull the skin flat.”
“Whilst this might seem like a good idea and a cheaper alternative to injectable treatments such as Botox and fillers, science suggests while there may be initial improvement once the patches are removed, any wrinkles will quickly reappear.” Prisk adds.
By the end of the fifth night, I ripped my Frownies off at 2am, mid-sleep, as they felt uncomfortable. They stung as I tore them off without the water but I was half-asleep.
(I) was a little disappointed that friends hadn’t commented how young I looked
Erica Crompton
I was starting to get frustrated with the time it took to apply them and then take them off every morning. I’m a wash-and-go kind of girl.
I went camping that evening, just for one night, and was a little disappointed that friends hadn’t commented how young I looked. I’d invested time and discomfort in the big smooth of my forehead. Why didn’t I look 35 again yet?
Early that evening while camping we took some pictures of each other in the daylight. As I viewed my photo I was shocked I looked as wrinkly as ever – had those instant results for the first hours of my first nights with Frownies left me delulu? Did I not look younger?
Dreams shattered, I was in no doubt at this point that my seventh night sleeping with these patches on would be my last.
At £48.90 for a starter kit of 144 forehead patches and a rose water hydrator spray they’re by no means the cheapest product on the market.
And I prefer sleeping overnight with a night cream or a rich vitamin C moisturiser that smells heavenly and feels luxurious. Something that may even help induce a restful nights slumber rather than hinder it like these Frownies have.
As my wrinkles have grown, so too have I. At 43 I’m less likely to put-up with silly beauty regimes and fad diets to “look better or younger”.
As I gaze in the mirror once more, one-night post-a-week of Frownies, my forehead crease between my brows does look marginally smoother.
Has a week sleeping in these patches been worth just shy of £50 and going out my way to use them? I’m not sure.
One plus is that my skin remains clear – the patches haven’t caused any spots or a break-out of dry patches which some stronger, acidic-y wrinkle creams have done in the past.
The bigger redeeming feature to Frownies is the temporary fix for a few hours after use.
This could work for a special occasion like a wedding or a Christmas party by simply using the patches for a few hours before the event.
The results might not last into the small hours as hoped, but most people will have their beer goggles on by the evening’s ending.
