Wrinkles: What Causes Them and How to Soften Their Look
Daily sunscreen, a Retinoid, peptides, and moisturizer may help soften the look of wrinkles over time. Here’s what causes them and what tends to help.
Key Takeaways
Wrinkles tend to form from a mix of time, repeated facial expressions, and sun exposure, and a 2026 review names chronic sun exposure as the outside factor that contributes most to visible skin aging.
Expression lines tend to show when your face moves and soften at rest, while static wrinkles may stay visible when your face is still. Skincare typically works on how both look.
Daily broad-spectrum sunscreen, SPF 30 or higher per the AAD, may help keep new lines from looking more visible, and it’s especially important alongside a Retinoid.
Retinoids have a long research record for the look of fine lines and wrinkles, and peptides may help soften their look too, with changes that tend to build over weeks of consistent use.
A daily moisturizer can help skin look visibly plumper, which may make lines appear softer, and pairing a peptide serum in the morning with a Retinoid at night is one simple way to use both ingredient types.
Why Wrinkles Show Up and What Tends to Help
Wrinkles are the creases and folds that tend to become more visible with time, shaped by the years, by the expressions you make many times a day, and, among outside factors, most of all by the sun. Four things may help soften their look: daily sunscreen, a Retinoid, peptides, and a good moisturizer, used together over weeks and months of consistent use.
Below, you’ll find the two kinds of lines most people notice, what tends to make them look deeper, the ingredients and habits with research behind them, a simple routine, and what to look for on the label.
Expression Lines Versus Etched-In Lines
One common way to sort wrinkles is by whether they show at rest. Dynamic wrinkles, also called expression lines, appear when your face moves: the horizontal lines when you raise your brows, the vertical ones between them when you frown, and the fan at the outer corners of your eyes when you smile. When your face is at rest, they tend to soften or fade.
Static wrinkles stay visible when your face is still. Many of them start life as expression lines. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) notes that making the same facial expression over many years can leave lines that stay, and it suggests sunglasses to help cut down on the lines squinting creates. Others trace back mostly to sun exposure and time.
The difference shapes what you might reach for. Lines that only show in motion may look softer with good hydration, daily sun protection, and a peptide serum. Lines that look etched in at rest usually ask for patience with a Retinoid, since changes in their look tend to build over months of consistent use.
Dynamic and Static Wrinkles at a Glance
Dynamic (expression) lines | Static lines | |
|---|---|---|
When they show | When your face moves | At rest, as well as in motion |
What tends to deepen their look | Repeated expressions, squinting, dryness | Years of sun exposure, time, smoking |
What may help their look | Sunscreen, moisturizer, a peptide serum | Sunscreen, a Retinoid built up slowly, moisturizer |
What Tends to Make Wrinkles Look More Visible
Some of it is time. The AAD notes that thinner, drier-looking skin and more wrinkles are a natural part of getting older, and collagen and elastin, which can help give skin its structure and its visible bounce, tend to change gradually over the years. The rest is mostly environment and habit.
Sun exposure: A 2026 review in the Annals of Dermatology describes chronic sun exposure as the outside factor that contributes the most to skin aging, and it lists wrinkles among the common visible signs. Tanning counts too. The AAD says a tan from the sun or a tanning bed prematurely ages skin.
Repeated expressions: Squinting, frowning, and raising your brows many times a day, for years, can deepen the look of the lines those expressions create.
Smoking: The AAD notes that smoking can speed up how quickly skin ages, and it links smoking to wrinkles and a dull, sallow-looking complexion.
Dryness: Dehydrated-looking skin can make fine lines appear more pronounced, which is one reason a daily facial moisturizer is on the AAD’s list of habits to help reduce premature skin aging.
Ingredients and Habits That May Help Soften the Look of Wrinkles
The AAD’s daily habits and the reviews below point to four approaches, and they tend to work well together.
Daily sunscreen: Daily sun protection may help slow how quickly new lines appear. A 2021 review in the American Journal of Clinical Dermatology reported evidence that sunscreen use may help prevent the visible signs of photoaging, and the AAD recommends a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher on all skin that clothing doesn’t cover, every day.
Retinoids: Retinol, Retinaldehyde, and Retinol Esters, such as Retinyl Palmitate, are the forms you’ll find in cosmetic formulas. A 2024 review in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science described them as efficacious, safe, and well-tolerated for the visible signs of photoaging. They can cause visible dryness or irritation at first, so starting two or three nights a week and building up is a common approach.
Peptides: A peptide is a short chain of amino acids, and cosmetic peptides are used for the look of fine lines, firmness, and elasticity. A 2024 systematic review in Skin Research and Technology reported that, among the cosmetic ingredients it compared for photoaging, peptides had the strongest evidence base. Names you may see on a label include Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5, and Copper Tripeptide-1, the ingredient-list name for GHK-Cu.
Moisturizing: Hydrating ingredients, such as Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid, and Squalane, are common in moisturizers and serums. The AAD notes that moisturizer traps water in skin, and visibly plumper skin can make fine lines appear more shallow.
Which Ingredient Does What
Ingredient or habit | What it may help with | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
Broad-spectrum sunscreen, SPF 30 or higher | Helping limit the sun’s visible effects on skin over time | Every morning |
Retinoids (Retinol, Retinaldehyde, Retinol Esters) | The look of fine lines, wrinkles, and texture | Often in the evening, building up from a few nights a week |
Peptides | The look of fine lines and firmness | Morning, evening, or both, per the product’s directions |
Moisturizer | Visibly plumper skin, so lines may look softer | Morning and evening, before sunscreen in the morning |
A Simple Routine for the Look of Wrinkles
A routine you’ll repeat every day tends to do more than a longer one you skip, so keep it short.
Morning: Cleanse, apply a peptide serum or another serum you like, follow with moisturizer, and finish with broad-spectrum sunscreen, SPF 30 or higher.
Evening: Cleanse, apply your Retinoid serum on the nights you use it, then moisturizer. On the other nights, a peptide serum or moisturizer on its own is plenty.
Starting a Retinoid: Begin two or three nights a week and build up as your skin allows, following each product’s own directions.
Giving it time: Changes in the look of fine lines from a Retinoid or peptides tend to build over weeks to months of consistent use, so give a routine at least a couple of months before deciding whether it’s working.
Everyday habits: Sunglasses can help cut down on squinting, and if you smoke, stopping is one of the habits the AAD recommends to help reduce premature skin aging.
What to Look For on the Label
A Retinoid, named on the ingredient list: Retinol, Retinaldehyde, and Retinol Esters, such as Retinyl Palmitate or Retinyl Linoleate, are different ingredients, and knowing which one a formula carries helps you plan how often to use it and how slowly to build up.
Peptides by name: A label that lists Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5, or Copper Tripeptide-1 tells you more about a formula than a vague “peptide complex” does.
Hydrators alongside the main ingredient: Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid (or its salt form, Sodium Hyaluronate), Squalane, and Ceramides can help skin look visibly plumper, which may make lines appear softer while slower-acting ingredients do their work.
Broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher: For your daytime sunscreen, the AAD recommends a label that says broad-spectrum, SPF 30 or higher, and water-resistant.
Directions that fit your routine: Check whether a serum is directed for morning, evening, or both, whether it suggests a build-up schedule, and whether it says to keep it away from the eye area.
Specific serums compared: For side-by-side ingredient lists and prices, see our comparison of serums for the look of forehead lines and our copper peptide serum comparison.
When to See a Dermatologist
If a new spot or a change in your skin worries you, or you’d like a plan built around your own skin, it’s worth booking a visit. A board-certified dermatologist can also talk you through in-office options.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get rid of wrinkles?
Not in the sense of making them disappear, but you can help soften their look. Wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen, SPF 30 or higher, every day to help keep new lines from looking more visible. Add a Retinoid, built up slowly, for the look of fine lines and wrinkles, and consider a peptide serum. A daily moisturizer can help skin look visibly plumper, which may make lines appear softer. Changes tend to build over weeks to months of consistent use.
What’s the difference between dynamic and static wrinkles?
Dynamic wrinkles, or expression lines, show when your face moves and tend to fade at rest. Static wrinkles stay visible when your face is still. Many static lines begin as expression lines that look more etched in after years of repeated expressions and sun exposure.
Can you use Retinol and peptides in the same routine?
Generally, yes. One common approach is a peptide serum in the morning and a Retinoid at night, and some serums put both in one formula, so check the ingredient list for a Retinoid and named peptides together. Introduce one new product at a time and follow each product’s directions.
How long does it take to see a difference in the look of wrinkles?
Hydrating ingredients can help skin look plumper quickly, which may soften how lines appear. Changes from a Retinoid or peptides tend to build over weeks to months of consistent use, so give a routine at least a couple of months before deciding.
Does sunscreen help with wrinkles?
It may help. The AAD puts daily sun protection first on its list of ways to help reduce premature skin aging, and it recommends a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher. It’s especially important alongside a Retinoid, and Retinoid products typically direct you to finish daytime use with sunscreen.
Can I use a wrinkle serum around my eyes?
Check the directions first. Many face serums tell you to avoid the eye area, so it usually gets its own formula designed for that area.
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