How to Prevent Sleep Wrinkles

A good night's sleep can leave you feeling recharged and energized. Sleep restores our bodies and improves our skin and looks by preventing things like eye bags. But what happens when you wake up with folds or creases on your face? Popularly known as "pillow face," sleep wrinkles are usually a result of the reduction in elasticity and collagen, which reduces skin volume. When you place your face on your pillow, applying pressure against the collagen, you promote its breakdown, which results in visible lines. 

Most people brush this aside as they think it is not a big deal. However, if you keep ignoring the problem over a long period, you might find that your skin develops lines, not just on your cheeks but also on your forehead. Some of the damage can be irreparable, even when using vitamins such as retinol in an effort to fix the lines on your forehead. 

Fortunately, you can do a few things to prevent sleep wrinkles. The following tips cover 12 things you can implement today to prevent sleep wrinkles. 

12 Ways to Prevent Sleep Wrinkles

1. Lie on Your Back 
   Whenever you lie on your stomach, you constantly apply pressure on your face, thus the cause of sleep lines. Lying on your back prevents this. However, many people find lying on their backs uncomfortable. In addition, involuntary sleep movement makes it difficult to maintain one sleeping position all night long. Nevertheless, you can learn if you practice continuously. Putting pillows on your lower back or knees can help with this. You can also try surrounding yourself with pillows on your back to prevent turning. Putting pillows around the hip areas and midsection can help you feel more comfortable and make it difficult for you to lie on your stomach. 
   
   
2.  Use Special Pillows 

   If you have a hard time sleeping on your back, there are special pillows that can give you a more comfortable sleeping position. These unique pillows also offer many benefits other than preventing the formation of sleep lines; these include; hydrating your skin cells and supporting clean skin. However, note that these pillows might be a bit expensive. Cheaper options include pillows that make sleeping on a plane for long hours easier. You can also use these pillows in bed, as they make it much easier to lie on your back and prevent you from rolling to the side.

3. Get a Better Pillowcase

   If getting a unique pillow is not an option for you and lying on your back proves challenging, upgrading your pillowcase might be an ideal option. Some pillowcases help to reduce wrinkles on the skin. If you are currently using cotton, you should try satin or silk. Silk pillows help reduce sleep wrinkles as the skin slides off the pillow. As a result, there is less traction when you lie on it, and your skin is less likely to wrinkle against it as it would with a cotton pillow. 

4. Don't Sleep on Your Hands

   Many people also make the mistake of sleeping with their hands pressed to their faces. Doing this will cause as much damage as a cotton sheet, as our skin will grip the skin surfaces and cause wrinkles. It is always best if our facial skin does not come in contact with other surfaces when we sleep. Use a pillow to keep your face and head elevated when sleeping and opt for a pillow with a soft cover for minimal skin rubbing and pulling.

   If you find yourself always tucking your hands under your face, you can try keeping your hands under the pillow to prevent contact with your skin. When you do this, you are reducing friction and maintaining a more comfortable position when sleeping. 

5. Get Enough Rest

   Sleeping for a few hours makes you sleep-deprived. Most adults should get a minimum of seven hours of sleep. There is always a tell for someone who is sleep deprived. For example, the eyelids are usually hanging, they may have swollen eyes, and sometimes there are dark under-eye circles, then sleep wrinkles. 

   Even though you have probably heard this advice a lot, getting the right amount of sleep is essential to help in skin rejuvenation. Failing to get enough sleep makes you look more tired than you are. This, combined with poor water drinking habits, can make your skin struggle to get the hydration it needs to ward off wrinkles.

   Having a good nighttime routine can also help with preventing wrinkles. You can include a cleansing routine that you perform every night or use under-eye patches to give that radiant skin a youthful look. Some of these patches go from the eyebrow to the inner crease of the eye. The patches can be surprisingly effective at preventing sleep wrinkles from showing in your eye area and will leave you feeling refreshed and rested. 

6. Apply Coconut Oil

   One of the things that your skin benefits from is proper hydration, and applying coconut oil helps with that. You can apply coconut oil just before bed to help repair your skin. Coconut oil gets absorbed by the skin pretty quickly, leaving your skin glowing. If you have dry spots on your skin, you can specifically apply them to these areas as you go about your routine to get more benefits. 

7. Use Serums

   Apply a night serum for a more lightweight option. Serums are easy to include in your night skincare routine, with many options available. We recommend you pick the ones with Vitamin C or hyaluronic acid. They can help boost collagen production and make your skin appear firm and smooth.

8. Massage Your Skin

   When you wake up and notice temporary sleep lines on your face, you might be worried how long they will stay on your face that morning. The good news is that there are options you can implement to reduce their appearance. One of the things you can try out is massaging your skin. Massaging the wrinkled area increases circulation and promotes blood flow to the skin's surface. Doing this helps to fill in the sleep wrinkles. You can also tap on your skin continuously, which will help some wrinkles fade away. 

9. Morning Exercises

   Exercising in the morning has many benefits, one of which is helping to remove the wrinkles on your face. When you get your heart rate up from gentle exercises, your body pumps blood throughout your body quickly, thus promoting circulation to your skin cells. 

10. Use a Cold Compress

    You can use cooled greens or tea bags to help treat sleep wrinkles. Put a tea bag or cooled greens over your wrinkles or under your eyes if you haven't slept well. The anti-inflammatory properties and caffeine in cold tea bags and green tea help stimulate your skin. It reduces the appearance of sleep wrinkles and plumps out your skin.

11. Anti-aging Creams 

    We cannot mention anti-aging without mentioning retinol. Retinol should be in your arsenal as it gives your skin that youthful look. It stimulates the collagen fibers, preventing sleep lines and helping you to look young again. If you use it during the day, you might notice your skin being more sensitive to the sun, so it may be best to use at night by implementing it into your nightly routine. 

    Night creams can also be another option, as they help fight off wrinkles. These are heavy, ultra-moisturizing lotions that can be tricky to put on during the day because they are greasy. Find night creams containing hyaluronic acid and retinol to get the desired results. 

12. Night Time Mask

    Putting on a nighttime mask can also prove beneficial for preventing sleep wrinkles. Many people use facial masks to keep the light out and sleep more peacefully. However, they also offer another benefit; holding your skin in place. Nighttime masks do not allow your skin to fold when you are sleeping. If you want to ensure the maximum effectiveness, use a silk one. This will minimize any rubbing and decrease friction, thus preventing wrinkle formation.

Why Might Sleeping on Your Back Be the Best Option for You?

One of the best ways to combat anything is prevention, and preventing sleep wrinkles is easy and efficient when you sleep on your back. Lying on your back is considered the best position to give 

your skin that youthful look and prevent fine lines from forming. This is because no extra pressure is exerted on your face while asleep. 

Additionally, propping your head up when you sleep helps ensure no fluids build up; thus, you don't have to worry about puffy eyes in the morning. However, many people are not used to sleeping on their backs, and may prefer sleeping on their sides or on their stomach. Sleeping on your stomach might be ideal if you are dealing with sinus problems, but it doesn't help when it comes to skin wrinkling. This is especially true if you place your hands on your face while sleeping. Doing it for a couple of nights might not sound impactful, but when you do it for many years, your skin will pay the price. Prevention here might come in the form of ceasing to put your hands on your face skin as you wrinkle it further. Instead, try putting your hands under the pillow. 

Lying on your stomach exposes your face to intense pressure for long hours, contributing to the formation of frown lines and cyclical swelling. In addition, sleeping in this position for a long time causes the formation of permanent lines on the forehead. The preventative measure here is using pillows with a much softer case. However, we recommend avoiding this position altogether. 

The Takeaway

Trying to keep your skin from developing wrinkles can be challenging, but implementing some of these tips will be worth it down the years. The process involves effort, not to mention being mindful of how you treat your skin, whether it be skin treatments or how you sleep. 

Of course, people are different, but those who sleep on their backs will be more advantaged regarding skin health. However, we do not mean that using other sleeping positions means your skin is doomed. If you implement the tips in this article, you are well on your way to healthy and wrinkle-free skin.