Can sleeping with tape on your face prevent wrinkles? Experts weigh in on TikTok hack

In a recent TikTok trend, people have been sleeping with tape on their face in an attempt to prevent wrinkles and signs of aging. But experts are wary, saying that the latest beauty fad might do more harm than good.

In one video, posted on April 7, an influencer with the username @theaussierapunzel said she slept with pieces of tape on her forehead every night for a week. The idea behind the technique is that the tape keeps the face from moving during the night, reducing the impact of wrinkles.

In the video, which currently has over 9 million views and has about 875,000 likes, the woman claimed to see a noticeable difference in her forehead wrinkles after several days, saying that it ”became harder to lift” her eyebrows after using the tape and that her forehead felt “paralyzed.”

But even if the viral trick seemed to have a temporary effect, dermatologists say the results are fleeting.

Joshua Zeichner, a dermatologist and associate professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, told Nylon that people would ultimately have to wear the tape “all day long” for the results to be long-lasting.

“We make most of our facial expressions while we are awake, so wearing it at night likely has little impact,” he told the outlet.

And at worst, the technique could be harmful and cause damage to the skin, according to Michael Somenek, a board-certified facial plastic surgeon. Somenek told PopSugar that, if people are using a strong enough adhesive tape to keep their skin still, they could “risk pulling off the top layers of their skin” when removing it afterward.

“This can cause a tear in the skin barrier, and the trauma could result in underlying pigmentation or leave you at risk for a bacterial infection that could potentially scar,” Somenek told the outlet.

And according to another expert, even tape made specifically for cosmetic purposes might not be much better at achieving actual results.

“It’s the same thing as normal tape,” board-certified plastic surgeon Norman Rowe told PopSugar. “Tape can’t fix these issues.”

Rowe reiterated that tape could also cause other skin problems such as irritation, redness or breakouts, PopSugar reported.

The trend isn’t exactly new – according to Refinery29, the practice of face taping has existed since at least the 1800s, but it recently made a resurgence through social media. But that doesn’t mean the technique works any better now, the outlet reported.

Another expert said that the technique might even have the opposite effect of making wrinkles worse, the outlet reported. According to Ioannis Liakis, medical director of the company Vie Aesthetics, taping the face can cause resistance for muscles to work against, making them stronger and potentially accelerating the formation of wrinkles or lines.

Instead, Liakas told Refinery29, anyone concerned about wrinkles should turn to products like sunscreen to prevent signs of aging.

Other skincare ingredients, like retinol and vitamin C, could also be helpful additions to an anti-aging skincare routine, making the skin stronger and healthier over time, Zeichner told Nylon.

And people who want to go even further to avoid the appearance of wrinkles could to turn to clinical treatments like Botox, Zeichner added.

This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Can sleeping with tape on your face prevent wrinkles? Experts weigh in on TikTok hack."