I see some crazy things on social media, and the latest one has been doing the rounds everywhere: massaging the lines out of your face. Rub your wrinkles hard enough, apparently, and they’ll disappear.
It makes me laugh — but then I remember that some people take these trends seriously and actually go and do them. So let me give you the honest answer before you spend another morning kneading your forehead: massaging your face to get rid of wrinkles doesn’t work, and it can actually make you look older.
Why facial massage can age your skin
Think about an elastic band. We’ve all done this — pull on one over and over, and you’ll notice the elasticity slowly goes. It gets loose, droopy, saggy. It never quite snaps back the way it did when it was new.
Your skin behaves exactly the same way. It contains elastin and collagen — the fibres that give it stretch and bounce — and every time you pull, rub, drag or scrub at your face, you’re tugging on those fibres. Frowning a lot does it. Sleeping face-down on the pillow does it. And vigorous facial massage, done deliberately and often, does it in spades.
So rather than smoothing your wrinkles out, aggressive massage stretches the very fibres that were holding your skin taut. You’re not erasing the lines — you’re loosening the canvas they’re drawn on.
The hay fever kids prove the point
If you want proof that rubbing wears skin out, look at children with hay fever. They rub their itchy noses constantly, day after day — and many of them develop a visible crease across the nose. These are kids. Their skin is as elastic and self-repairing as skin ever gets, and repeated rubbing still etches a permanent line into it.
Now imagine what the same repeated friction does to adult skin, which has far less capacity to bounce back.
Why age makes it worse
Here’s the part that matters most. When you’re young, your body replaces elastin readily — you can get away with a fair bit of abuse because the repair crew keeps up. As you get older, elastin gets replaced less and less, and the damage stays. Every stretch, every rough rub, every night squashed into the pillow leaves a little more permanent slack behind.
Your elastin is precious. You get issued a good supply early in life and the top-ups dwindle from there — so the goal is to spend it slowly, not rub it away chasing a social media trend.
I know some facial massage devotees will get grumpy with me for saying this. But it’s just the truth, and I’d rather you hear it from a doctor than learn it from your mirror in ten years.
How should you touch your face, then?
Gently, and as little as possible. A few practical rules:
Apply your creams in an upward motion. Not downward, and not a rough back-and-forth scrub — downward strokes work with gravity, helping to drag the skin south, which is exactly the direction everything is already heading. Sweep up, lightly, and stop.
Try not to sleep face-down or hard on one side, since years of pillow pressure creases and stretches the skin (those are the sleep lines we see so often).
And be conscious of habitual rubbing — eyes, nose, forehead. The less you pull on the elastic band, the longer it stays snappy.
What actually works for wrinkles?
The honest answer is that wrinkles have real causes — muscle movement, volume loss, sun damage, declining collagen and elastin — and each cause has its own proper treatment, from skin care through to laser resurfacing, fat transfer and surgery, depending on what’s driving your particular lines.
What the right option is for you depends on whether your lines are movement lines or static lines, how much elasticity you’ve kept, and what result you’re after — which is exactly what a consultation is for. What I can tell you for free is what doesn’t work: rubbing them.
Frequently asked questions
Does facial massage reduce wrinkles? No. Repeated pulling and rubbing stretches the elastin and collagen fibres in your skin, which loosens it over time. It can make wrinkles and sagging worse, not better.
Can massaging your face make you look older? Yes. Like an elastic band that’s been overstretched, skin that’s repeatedly pulled loses its snap-back, leading to droop and sag — especially as elastin replacement slows with age.
Why do doctors warn against rubbing your face? Because friction damage is cumulative and largely permanent in adult skin. Even children who rub hay-fever-itchy noses develop a lasting crease — adult skin fares worse.
What’s the right way to apply face creams? With a light, upward motion. Downward or rough back-and-forth application works with gravity and adds unnecessary stretch to the skin.
Does sleeping on your face cause wrinkles? It contributes, yes. Years of pillow pressure stretch and crease the skin, producing sleep lines that eventually become permanent.
What should I do about my wrinkles instead? Get them properly assessed. Movement lines and static lines have different causes and different treatments — book a consultation and we’ll work out which you have and what will actually help.
So: massage the face to get your wrinkles out? No — it’ll make them worse. Save your elastin, be kind to your skin, and if your lines bother you, come and talk to us about the things that genuinely work. More at absolutecosmetic.com.au — take care.
Dr Glenn Murray, Absolute Cosmetic
All procedures carry risk. Individual results vary. Seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner before proceeding.
