How to Get Rid of Fine Lines: 10 Expert-Approved Ways
For as long as we still haven’t discovered a way to freeze time, fine lines and wrinkles are just some of the things we need to accept as we age. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t slow down their advances, especially if you pamper your skin with the right products, active ingredients, and a well-rounded skincare routine. Want to make sure the years don’t show on your visage? Here are our top tips for how to get rid of fine lines and preserve your skin’s healthy, youthful-looking glow.
What Causes Fine Lines and Wrinkles?
Fine lines are wrinkles form due to several factors, chief of which is the natural aging process. Production of structural proteins like collagen and elastin, which are essential in maintaining the integrity, elasticity, and youthfulness of the skin, starts to decrease once you hit your mid-20s. This decline causes the skin to start showing signs of wear and tear—sagging, loss of firmness and elasticity, and fine lines and wrinkles.
And if you add in the constant beating your skin gets from ultraviolet rays and pollution—not to mention the effects of stress, poor diet, unhealthy lifestyle habits, and even repeated facial expressions like frowning, squinting, and smiling—then your skin becomes a prime candidate for premature skin aging.
Dynamic vs. Static Lines
Fine lines can be classified into two different types, according to their characteristics. Dynamic lines are lines that are not always visible and only appear when you make certain facial movements or expressions. Think laugh lines, crow’s feet, and the creases that show up when you squint, raise your eyebrows, or purse your lips.
On the other hand, static lines, which are caused by environmental damage, collagen breakdown, and the natural aging process, are the ones that stick around and stay noticeable even when your face is at rest.
Dynamic lines tend to respond better to treatment and can be improved or refined with the right skincare regimen, while static lines often deepen and become more permanent over time, especially when left unaddressed.
Can Fine Lines Be Reversed?
Although you can’t completely erase all traces of fine lines on your skin, the right approach and routine can significantly improve their appearance and shave years off your visage. The trick is to get a head start in your anti-aging routine and arm your skin early on with the right tools for how to get rid of fine lines. Here’s how to reverse fine lines at different stages of life:
In Your 20s: Prevention is always better than cure, so in your 20s, focus on sun protection and a straightforward skincare routine that strengthens your skin’s foundation. It’s also the best time to get to know the ingredients and formula that work best for your skin type, build a skincare habit, and develop consistency in your routine. And remember, collagen and elastin start to go downhill in your mid-20s, so get your hands on a beginner-friendly retinol dose to offset the effects.
In Your 30s: This is when you start noticing faint lines forming on your face, including your delicate eye area. If you didn’t start retinol in your 20s, now is the time to act. This is important to prone to dryness make sure your skin maintains a healthy cell turnover rate. Hydration is another crucial step as skin becomes more with aging, so always have a hyaluronic acid serum in your day and night routines.
In Your 40s: At this stage, your skin’s natural repair and regeneration process has significantly slowed, so you need to double down on anti-aging ingredients. Look into advanced, high-performing ingredients like high-dose retinoids, growth factors, and peptides and consider professional treatments like chemical peels, laser therapy, and microneedling.
In Your 50s and Beyond: Aside from fine lines becoming more prominent, this stage will also have you dealing with age spots and significant sagging and loss of firmness. Thinning, excessive dryness, and adult acne are also some common concerns, especially with your hormones going haywire. Focus on nourishing products with ingredients like ceramides and niacinamide and shift to stronger or prescription retinoids to prevent fine lines from deepening further and target discoloration, dryness, and texture concerns at the same time.
How to Get Rid of Fine Lines, According to a Derm
1. Wear Sunscreen Daily
The Skin Cancer Foundation warns that up to 90 percent of visible damage to the skin is caused by prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays. Also known as photoaging, sun-induced skin damage results in hyperpigmentation, loss of firmness, uneven texture, enlarged pores, and fine lines. Make sure to protect your skin with a broad-spectrum sunscreen formula with SPF 30 or higher even on cloudy days.
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Key Ingredients: Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin B5, Niacinamide, Sea Lavender
Skin Type: Normal, Combination, Dry
Skin Benefits: Broad spectrum UV protection, visibly evens skin tone, adds a luminous glow to the skin
Beauty Insider Tip: This versatile sunscreen can be worn under makeup and also works as a highlighter.
2. Exfoliate Gently and Regularly
Exfoliation is a key step in your skincare routine if you’re trying to refine the look of fine lines. It removes dead skin cells, stimulates skin renewal, and preps your skin for better product absorption. Chemical exfoliation once or twice weekly with gentle AHAs and BHAs is recommended as it allows you to renew your skin’s surface more thoroughly and without having to worry about micro-tears.
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Key Ingredients: Lactic Acid, Hyaluronic Acid, Green Tea, Salicylic Acid, Antioxidants
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3. Hydrate Skin from Inside Out
Dry and dehydrated skin is more prone to develop early signs of skin aging, so it’s crucial to keep your skin and body well-hydrated. Drinking plenty of water helps maintain your skin’s natural barrier while moisturizers, mists, and serums enriched with hyaluronic acid ensures your skin stays quenched, doesn’t suffer from trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), and stays plump and glowing.
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Not only does this serum deliver next-level hydration to the skin’s surface, it also stimulates the production of skin-plumping glycans like hyaluronic acid. The result? Blurred fine lines, improved elasticity, and more defined facial contours.
Key Ingredients: 10% Proxylane™, 1.3% Hyaluronic Acid, Lactobacillus/Soybean Ferment Extract, Licorice Root Extract
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Skin Benefits: Increases hyaluronic acid levels by 30 percent, delivers instant and long-lasting hydration, visibly plumps the skin and improves radiance
Beauty Insider Tip: This serum delivers much-needed comfort to post-procedure skin and works well with dermal fillers.
4. Opt for Ceramide-Enriched Serums and Moisturizers
Your skin’s natural barrier protects your skin from external irritants and maintains hydration, so keeping it strong and resilient is a must. Ceramides are one of its key components, and they are essential in enhancing your skin’s ability to hold moisture, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, repairing barrier damage, and boosting your skin’s defenses against environmental stressors.
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Retinol and ceramides take center stage in this uniquely powerful yet ultra gentle serum that mimics the skin’s natural lipids and targets fine lines and wrinkles in just seven days—without the risk of irritation.
Key Ingredients: 4% Pure Retinol + HPR Complex, Phytoceramides, Peptides, Bisabolol, Oat, Vitamin E
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Skin Benefits: Visibly reduces fine lines and wrinkles, strengthens the skin barrier, delivers retinol benefits while minimizing irritation, protects against environmental stressors
Beauty Insider Tip: Apply this serum day and night to achieve optimal results.
5. Make Retinol a Must
Retinol is your skin’s number one weapon against fine lines and wrinkles. An anti-aging powerhouse, this vitamin A derivative delivers unrivaled benefits to your skin—from stimulating collagen production and enhancing cell turnover to smoothing out texture and refining discoloration and acne marks.
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Level up your skincare game with this intensive anti-aging treatment that promotes and enhances your skin’s youthful looks by refining fine lines and hyperpigmentation and improving hydration, firmness, and elasticity.
Key Ingredients: 1% Retinol, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Jojoba Oil, Shea Butter
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Skin Benefits: Speeds up cell turnover, softens fine lines and wrinkles, boosts firmness and elasticity, prevents free radical damage
Beauty Insider Tip: Apply a pearl-sized amount in the evening and gently massage onto skin until fully absorbed.
6. Refine Under-Eye Lines
As the most delicate skin in your body, your under-eye area is more prone to dryness and signs of aging, so a regular moisturizer may not be enough to nourish it and prevent creases from forming. Opt for eye creams and serums infused with retinol, hyaluronic acid, and caffeine to improve texture, boost hydration, and minimize fine lines while improving puffiness, discoloration, and circulation.
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This all-in-one night eye cream delivers overnight rejuvenation to the eye area, enhancing youthfulness and refining the look of fine lines, creases, and crow’s feet.
Key Ingredients: Ceramides, Retinaldehyde
Skin Type: All Skin Types
Skin Benefits: Smooths crow’s feet, fine lines, and wrinkles; lifts and firms the eye contour, brightens dark circles; gentle on sensitive skin
Beauty Insider Tip: This eye serum comes in three different strengths that deliver visible progressive results over time.
Related Article: Reviewed: Medik8 Crystal Retinal Collection
7. Add Peptides
Peptides are short amino acid chains that act as building blocks of the body’s structural proteins and serve as messengers that signal skin cells to produce more collagen and elastin. By supporting skin regeneration and barrier repair, peptides improve the skin’s firmness, resilience, and elasticity, which helps in reducing the depth and visibility of fine lines.
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Enriched with peptides and hyaluronic acid, this wrinkle-fighting spot treatment blurs fine lines, smooths uneven texture, and continuously quenches the skin, especially the delicate areas around your eyes and lips.
Key Ingredients: Hyaluronic Acid, Peptides, Vitamin E, Aloe Vera
Skin Type: All Skin Types
Skin Benefits: Minimizes the look of fine lines and wrinkles, hydrates skin, improves sagging and laxity, neutralizes free radicals
Beauty Insider Tip: Apply one to two pumps of the product to areas of concern, focusing on the lines around the eyes, forehead, and mouth.
8. Protect Skin with Antioxidants
Stress, ultraviolet rays, and pollution trigger the formation of free radicals or unpaired electrons that cause DNA mutations and damage the skin’s cellular components, including essential proteins and lipids. When your body is overrun by free radicals, it leads to oxidative stress, which triggers inflammation and accelerates the formation of fine lines and wrinkles. Antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin E counter this by neutralizing free radicals and donating an electron to stabilize them, preventing them from damaging your skin cells while also boosting the skin’s defenses against environmental toxins.
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Packed with superstar antioxidants, this moisturizer is the savior of skin that’s looking dull, dehydrated, and coping with signs of aging, giving it the ultimate defense against environmental damage and plenty of nourishment to support skin repair and barrier functions.
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Beauty Insider Tip: For best results, use this recovery cream in the morning and night.
9. Consider Growth Factors
Growth factors are some of the most powerful ingredients you can add to your skincare routine if you’re wondering how to get rid of fine lines. Found naturally in the body, these proteins are your skin’s hardworking messengers that signal cells to repair and regenerate, helping to reverse damage, prevent premature skin aging, and renew your complexion.
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Skin Benefits: Smooths fine lines and wrinkles, plumps and firms skin, hydrates and improves moisture retention
Beauty Insider Tip: When used at night, this moisturizing serum works best on its own—without the need for a night cream afterwards—to prevent fatty substances and oils in traditional creams from reducing its efficacy.
10. Look into Professional Treatments
Several procedures, like chemical peels, laser resurfacing, retinoid treatments, and microneedling, are designed to stimulate collagen production and diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. But if you’d rather take matters into your own hands, you can invest in at-home devices that harness the same technology and allow you to achieve professional results right in your home.
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Say hello to smoother, more toned, and younger-looking skin with this FDA-cleared device that uses smart microcurrent technology to blur fine lines, tighten, and lift the skin, giving your face a smoother, more defined contour. It comes with a dual-wand lip and eye attachment that targets folds, eyebrows, smile lines, crow’s feet, and puffiness.
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Skin Benefits: Tones and tightens skin; improves fine lines and wrinkles; smooths folds and creases around the eyes, mouth, and forehead; sculpts and contours
Beauty Insider Tip: This all-in-one kit also comes with the NUFACE Aqua Gel, Silk Crème Activator, and Clean Sweep Application Brush that enhance and activate the device’s microcurrent while hydrating and nourishing the skin
FAQs
Does Retinol Help With Fine Lines?.
Retinol is the gold standard in anti-aging skincare and works by enhancing collagen production and hastening cell turnover. It’s one of the most effective ingredients for reducing fine lines as well as improving the overall quality of your skin, including its clarity, tone, firmness, and texture.
Which Vitamins Help Reduce Fine Lines?
Aside from retinol, which is a derivative of vitamin A, and antioxidants like vitamins C and E, vitamin B3 or niacinamide is also an essential fine line-zapping ingredient that helps improve the skin’s elasticity, strengthens the skin barrier, and prevents acne and hyperpigmentation. It also supports the body’s production of ceramides, making it a must in repairing and strengthening the skin barrier.
Can Dehydrated Skin Lead to Fine Lines Forming?
Yes. Parched skin lacks the moisture it needs to stay plump, firm, and elastic, which exaggerates the appearance of fine lines and other texture irregularities. When skin is dry, it struggles to bounce back, becomes rough and flaky, and even causes temporary lines to form.
The Bottom Line
While there’s no stopping fine lines from ever forming, the right ingredients and skincare routine can keep them in check. When tailoring your routine to address how to get rid of fine lines, focus on protecting your skin from environmental damage that accelerates aging, supporting collagen production and cell turnover, and maintaining hydration to plump up your complexion. By following these tips, you can gracefully embrace aging and revel in healthy, glowing, and youthful-looking skin.
Janeca Racho is a Journalism graduate with over 15 years of writing experience. After getting her start in public relations and advertising, she made the switch to freelance writing and began working for various lifestyle, fashion, and travel brands. Her love for all things skincare has led her to beauty reporting and research for the last ten years. Writing for several hair and beauty blogs, she reports on anti-aging staples, trending brands and products, must-have ingredients, and health and wellness.
