My Experience With Frownies The Old-School Beauty Facial Patches

These old-school beauty patches also known as Frownies are my latest anti-aging beauty hack. The time for me to start Botox was probably about 10 years ago, but I don’t want to use Botox. However, I don’t have a problem with softening or preventing lines and wrinkles in a natural way. As such, I started to do some research and I ended up with a popular anti-aging facial patch also known as Frownies facial patches. Below you can read everything about my experience with Frownies the old-school beauty facial patches

What Are Frownies Facial Patches?

Frownies are facial patches.They’re cheap (cheaper than a salon treatment), vegan, cruelty-free, painless and not invasive. And guess what? These beauty patches are nothing new.

The patches are differently shaped for different areas in the face. All patches are made of a stiff, thin paper. The patches react with water and as they dry they will become harder. This will create a stiff patch that will restrain the facial muscles from frowning, squinting and other repetitive facial movements that can contribute to wrinkles and fine lines.

It has the same effect like Botox, but then on the outside of the face. So instead of injecting the muscle to temporarily paralyze it, Frownies work on the outside by training the muscles and by constricting the facial movements.

Frownies were created around 1889, but have been for decades a Hollywood secret. Up to this day, even with the increasing popularity of Botox and facial fillers, there are celebrities who choose to lead a Botox-free lifestyle and take a natural approach to skincare with a plant-based skin care regimen and facial patches.

Among the devoted facial patches fans are Marlene Dietrich, Rashida Jones, Raquel Welch and Rene Russo. The fact they’re still sold and still have positive reviews should say a lot. Yet, I wasn’t that eager to try these patches.

I was for example convinced that I don’t frown that much during the night… I also ignored the fact that I press my face every night for hours against a pillow (even a silk pillow) and as such do move my face at night.

Frownies in little pink box on a small blue plate

Why Did I Started Using Frownies

I never wanted to use Botox or anything invasive in my face. Honestly, I could write three articles why I’m anti-Botox, but that’s not the aim of this article.

Having that said, I’m an advocate of aging gracefully and naturally. I don’t mind wrinkles and lines, but if I can eliminate them or soften the lines and wrinkles in a natural, non-invasive way I’m all ears.

The more I read about Frownies facial patches and the idea behind it, the more I realized that Frownies are like restorative, but also preventative skin care in one. It can be a quick fix since the patches have a very smoothing effect from day one (albeit for a few hours only). But if you use them consistently, these patches are pure muscle training. The patches train your muscles not to make repetitive motions that cause (and deepen) wrinkles, such as squinting and furrowing.

As a result, the facial muscles will have a decreased severity of these expressions even when you’re not wearing the patches. And at night my forehead doesn’t even have a chance to frown.

But the effect of ”hard paper like patches” didn’t convince me immediately. Until I met a Frownie-user in real life! A 52-year-old lady to be precise. Both she and her 75-year-old mother use Frownies every single night for years already and I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes. She doesn’t have a single line on her forehead. All her facial muscles are working, but the skin on her forehead is just so smooth.

I bought a box of Frownies facial patches the year before I met her, but since that day I have been using it every single night for 5 months now.

two Frownies facial patches on hand palm

Frownie ingredients

I’ll put it plain, Frownies don’t look impressive. They actually look rather cheap. The patches are made from natural unbleached brown craft paper with a dextrin (corn) based adhesive.

According to Frownies the paper allows the skin to breath and restore at night while you sleep.

The patches come in different shapes and sizes, but they all do the same thing and you can cut the paper to a specific shape if you want to target a specific area.

No silicone, plastic or anything else is used that could irritate the skin.

Frownies need to stick to your skin so there is a sort of glue-like substance on one side of the patch. This doesn’t stick unless it comes in contact with a liquid (such as rosewater or water). The dextrin based adhesive (glue) is hypo allergenic, and has also been used by gluten sensitive people.

But like with anything else, if you have a very sensitive skin Frownies recommends to test a patch first on your wrist to see if your skin reacts in any way.

How Do Frownies Facial Patches Work

These beauty patches hold the skin taut for a long period of time. This relaxes deep wrinkles and it prevents frowning or frowning.

You can use it a few hours during the day, but it’s better and easier to just wear them during the night.

I don’t really have deep wrinkles (yet), but I do have fine lines (horizontally) across my forehead. And I also don’t have a so-called eleven (two vertical lines in between the eyebrows). But what a difference it makes to my skin when I take these patches off in the morning! I basically have skin like a teenager and virtually ZERO lines.

During the day the lines will slowly return, but after several weeks and months the muscles are retrained. It’s annoying to admit, but these seemingly simple paper patches work!

How To Use Frownies

Applying Frownies literally takes one minute. Each little pink box contains 144 individual patches and I use 2 patches per night. But I might soon increase this to 4 to cover a bigger area on my forehead.

step 1.

I clean my face. Then I wet the top of my index finger and rub the back of the Frownie. I wait a few seconds.

step 2.

Then I place the Frownie with the corner pointing down between my eyebrows directly on the lines. While doing so I gently hold the skin taut and slightly up and place the damp patch between my eyebrows on my forehead. Then I do the same with another patch which I place above the first one, but this one I place the corner pointing up. I press it gently for about 5 seconds so the adhesive dries a bit. And that’s it. Well, you have to do this every night.

You can also decide to wear it only for a few hours, but I have no experience with that as I wear it overnight like most people.  

It’s also worth mentioning that you can’t really use a cream or anything else under a Frownie. The skin needs to be dry and clean. This means I don’t use any creams or oils on that area of my face at night.

After that I apply a moisturizing cream but only to the rest of my face and go to bed for my beauty sleep. Literally.

Be careful to not apply Frownies over the eyebrows or in the hair line and make sure to store them in a cool and dry place. Once they get wet and dry up, you can’t use them anymore.

little pile Frownies facial patches on a white backdrop in front of Frownies pink box

Why I only use Frownies on my Forehead

If you are seriously interested in Frownies facial patches and want to give it a try I urge you to go to the review section of this product on Amazon. There are plenty of before and after pictures and claims such as ‘”I’m 52 with fair skin and a serious looking forehead. I always look serious or mad in pictures. Oh how I wish I had started using these ten years ago! The money I could have saved on botox!

What I have noticed though is that most women use these patches just on their forehead. I do the same. I have tried to use the other shapes for different parts of my face and I hated it. They do the same, but they are just too uncomfortable for me and actually interrupt my sleep.

A patch on the forehead is a whole different experience. I don’t feel it, it doesn’t bother me and I actually love to tear it off my skin in the morning.

Frownies Facial Patches Results

The first few weeks I didn’t think much of these patches, nor did I bother to see if I had already achieved some results. I figured since I already bought a box and since they are so easy to use, I kept using them. Also, I can’t begin to explain how much I love removing the patches. I tear them off and it is beyond satisfying. I remove the patches, see a smooth forehead and then a few hours later I would see no difference again.

But I wanted to finish the box.

It comes as no surprise that the skin is smooth and lines are gone. The immediate and temporary effects of these patches are obvious. So, if you’re looking for a quick fix before an event, Frownies work.

Frownies patch on forehead before and after

What Are The The Long-Term Benefits?

I was dedicated to finish that little pink box of patches. I also kept in mind that Frownies recommends to use the patches at least three weeks before you start seeing any results. l didn’t see any results after three weeks. Or maybe there was an improvement, but since I didn’t really track it with before- and after photos and since my skin is not covered in fine lines, I may have not seen anything of a big change.

Only after about 8 weeks I actually noticed a difference to the areas where I don’t use the patch. Whoopsie. I might have to be more generous with the patches at night.

Now, I’m used to using the patches at night and know they do work. Fine lines softened a lot and I love the idea that I am able to not only soften but also prevent wrinkles by training my muscles while I sleep (!).

How To Remove Frownies Facial Patches

The removal of Frownies takes me 1 second. Personally, I just roughly tear them off. It doesn’t hurt at all. It feels like I might be removing some dead skin cells too. You can see my skin is slightly red after removing the patch, but this will last for about 20 seconds and I do tear them off all in once. It doesn’t hurt at all. It’s NOT like ripping of a medical patch.

The ”official” way how to remove the patches is with some warm water. . This will dissolve the adhesive and the patch will fall off. You could also hold a wet wash rag over the patch to remove them.

Some women reported they soak it off in the shower or they sweat it off during a workout.

I tear them off to remove just enough dead skin to give me a gentle exfoliation.

Why Frownies are great

  • They work!
  • You wake up refreshed, not just the skin but the head feels fresh. The area between my eyebrows feels rested.
  • The patches are comfortable. Even though you can’t frown, you will forge they are on your forehead within minutes.
  • They provide lasting results with continued use.
  • It allows the skin to breathe and maintain its normal restoration at night.
  • They help you look younger and more relaxed leaving a smoother and softer appearance.
  • Use it one time for an event or party, since they do work from the first time but only for a limited amount of hours.
  • Major selling point: Frownies are vegan and cruelty-free!
  • Invasive treatments such as Botox or Injections are expensive. These patches are not.
  • Frownies do not lead to a possible loss in tissue density and bone volume (like Botox due to injections in the muscle and the inability to move the muscles).
  • You are working on your skin in a natural way while keeping your characteristic natural movements in your face.  
  • Some women claim (this is not evidence-based) that Frownies help against headache and against depression (Frownies help signal your brain to not feel unhappy).

Why Frownies are not so great

  • You have to be diligent and use the patches every night for results.
  • Once you stop using the patches you will lose the results slowly as the muscles will contract again and wrinkles and lines will reappear.
  • These patches are not the material to make a selfie with before going to bed or when rising in the morning.

six Frownies facial patches on white marble backdrop

But also…embrace aging

Invasive treatments seem to be the norm these days, which implies that aging is a choice and for the sloppy ones. I’m an advocate to embrace what we have. Beauty is not to be found in a tight skin and quite often I find the happiest people to be the most beautiful. We are all beautiful in our own way and there is nothing wrong with wanting to age beautifully and at the same time also having a healthy relationship with our aging skin.

In fact, wrinkles and fine lines (especially around the eyes) make people look more warm, sincere and let’s be honest more real.

Frantically fighting lines and wrinkles may produce Instagram filter-like results, but I don’t think it’s a holistic approach which will lead to happiness or beauty.

And while we age (this can be as young as in your late twenties), there is one thing that is often overlooked. The focus is so much on invasive treatments, that I wonder where the good-old ”take good care of your skin” went.

What you eat, how much you are exposed to sunlight, whether you smoke, whether you take good care of your skin, get enough sleep … All this plays a role in how (and how fast) your skin will age. Frownies are personally for me a VERY non-invasive and fun way to add to my beauty routine in the evening. It helps me to relax and to look relaxed and for me that is a holistic routine I gladly embrace.

If you want to combat wrinkles but don’t want to inject your face every few months, it may be worth checking out Frownies.

The Future of Frownies, Facial Patches and Face Tape

No one knows what kind of beauty treatments will be out there in the future, but when it comes to anything anti-wrinkle or anti-aging, I see absolutely no reason to look for anything else right now. Actually, I dare to say that this might be the best, oldest, most simple, annoying, anti-aging treatment out there. I will add another statement. I think the future is in training our face, rather than injecting it. Yup, I think the future is in face tape! Ok, you have to be faithful in using them, but considering the little effort and the friendly price tag I find it easy to be consistent.

But what about the rest of your face, Bianca? I hear you! I’m currently trying out a method and will report back to you when it works and when I am totally convinced and in love with that method.

Have you tried Facial Patches?

If you also want to walk the naturally non-invasive route like with Frownies, let me know! I like to read your experiences or tips.

frownies pinterest

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3 thoughts on “My Experience With Frownies The Old-School Beauty Facial Patches”

  1. Lovely, thorough review. I also had great results on my forehead from using the patches, but consider yourself lucky that you removed them from near your eyes in your sleep.

    Reply
  2. I’ve used them for ages, I agree, you aren’t taking selfies with them on, but believe me, the more you wear them, the flatter your wrinkles will get and the tighter your skin gets. Unfortunately, when we get older, we have to use them, but it’s just another way of fighting wrinkles. They really do show results.

    Reply

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