Do Frownies, TikTok's ‘Botox’ skin patches work? Experts explain

If the idea of sticking plasters onto your wrinkles sounds a little, er, weird, allow us introduce you to Frownies, the facial patches exploding on TikTok that claim to smooth wrinkles in your sleep.

Granted, there's absolutely nothing wrong with having wrinkles, no matter what your age, but still, it's also perfectly acceptable to want to delay your skin's ageing process – if that feels right for you.

The idea behind these patches is to retrain the facial muscles – and, in doing so, stop wrinkles from forming in the first place. However, some TikTok users have also noticed a visible difference in the appearance of existing lines.

So are facial patches the real deal? Here's what we know about the trend so far:

When did the Frownies trend emerge?

The story goes that the original Frownies or Wrinkle Eradicators (as they were first called) were created in 1889 by Margaret Kroesen for her daughter Alice, a concert pianist, as a way of maintaining her youthful looks and smoothing frown lines.

Frownies went on to become a Hollywood secret before users such as @literallylizzi caused the patches to trend on TikTok. In her video, she says, “Because I'm 24, I might be a bit young for actual Botox. However, I wanna try this Botox alternative because – even though I don't really have wrinkles – I do have a lot of attitude and I [raise] my eyebrow a lot, and it's starting to [create] creases.”

You can watch the full TikTok, here:

TikTok content

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How do you use Frownies?

According to Frownies, the brand that everyone is raving about on TikTok, the patches work by holding the facial muscles in place and “retraining [them] to lie in a smooth flat position again.”

Here are their steps for applying the facial patches:

1. Cleanse, rinse and dry your face. If using a moisturiser, allow it to absorb into your skin before applying a facial patch.
2. Massage facial lines for 10 seconds to stimulate circulation.
3. Moisten the shiny side of the patch with water to activate the adhesive.
4. Using two fingers of one hand, smooth your skin while pressing the patch onto your face with your other hand.
5. Leave on for a minimum of three hours (preferably overnight).

What results can you expect?

In her results video (which you can watch below), @literallylizzi says her eyebrow crease looks “significantly reduced," adding that, “the way I lift up my eyebrow is not the same.”

TikTok content

This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.

She's not the only person on TikTok to notice results after using facial patches. One TikTok user, @carolinetlord, described Frownies as “the best purchase I've made in my entire life,” adding “I used to have lines on my forehead and now they're completely gone. I thought they were just going to smooth out my lines but no, they literally train the muscles in your forehead not to raise.”