--- title: Beauty: Having Oily Skin Might Help Prevent Wrinkles description: And why wrinkles tend to be more noticeable around your eyes than on your forehead canonical: https://time.com/3965842/oily-skin-wrinkles/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-22T11:50:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:20.505Z article:section: Health og:title: How Having Oily Skin Might Help Prevent Wrinkles og:description: Why wrinkles tend to be more noticeable around your eyes than on your forehead og:url: https://time.com/3965842/oily-skin-wrinkles/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43796f5de50e90bb/69885bb90a4a2254149c53a7/woman-face-close-up.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: woman-face-close-up og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Having Oily Skin Might Help Prevent Wrinkles twitter:description: Why wrinkles tend to be more noticeable around your eyes than on your forehead twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43796f5de50e90bb/69885bb90a4a2254149c53a7/woman-face-close-up.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Having Oily Skin Might Help Prevent Wrinkles ## Video: Know Right Now: Melanoma Rates Have Doubled in 30 Years [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Melanoma Rates Have Doubled in 30 Years](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Jrs2Lzbh.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2015-06-03. Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, has been on the rise in the past 30 years. Watch Know Right Now to find out more._ by [Kelly Saiz / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Kelly Saiz / Health.com Jul 22, 2015 11:50 AM UTC  Beauty portrait neck Beauty portrait neckGetty Images by [Kelly Saiz / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Kelly Saiz / Health.com Jul 22, 2015 11:50 AM UTC Have you ever heard the old wives’ tale that people with oilier skin get fewer wrinkles? There may be some small grain of truth in that after all, according to a new study published in the journal _Clinical_ _Anatomy_. For the study, Japanese researchers analyzed the skin on the foreheads and around the eyes in cadavers aged 20 to 90 years old, looking at the wrinkles, the number of sebaceous glands (which are what secrete the skin’s oil), as well as the skin’s elasticity and density. In the end they found that the [depth and length of wrinkles](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ca.22571/full) correlated to the amount of sebaceous glands in these areas, with areas with more glands tending to have wrinkles that weren’t as deep or long. This may explain why wrinkles tend to be more noticeable around your eyes (hello, crow’s feet) than on your forehead, since there are more oil-secreting glands in the forehead than around your eyes. While the authors say it’s possible that oilier skin (thanks to having more glands) prevents dry and deeper wrinkles from forming, the presence of the oil isn’t the _only_ thing that seems to help keep skin smooth. It could also be that the skin on the areas with more glands tended to be thicker and have more elasticity. As the researchers put it: “Such properties will suppress the [deformation of the skin](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ca.22571/full).” Another interesting finding: the density of oil glands was lower in women, than it was for the men, though they didn’t see a big difference in wrinkle depth between the sexes. Ultimately, what matters more for your skin is the total picture: protecting yourself from the [sun’s rays](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20788790%5F8,00.html), exercise, eating a healthy diet with lots of [foods that are good for your skin](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20622036,00.html), and getting enough sleep. But hey, if this makes you feel a little bit better about your oily skin, we won’t blame you. [_This article originally appeared on Health.com_](http://news.health.com/2015/07/15/how-having-oily-skin-might-help-prevent-wrinkles/) _More from Health.com:_ * [18 Skin Care Products That Erase Years](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20900055,00.html?xid=time) * [13 Everyday Habits That Are Aging You](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20788790,00.html?xid=time) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3965842/oily-skin-wrinkles/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3965842/oily-skin-wrinkles/"},"headline":"How Having Oily Skin Might Help Prevent Wrinkles","datePublished":"2015-07-22T11:50:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:06:20.505Z","description":"And why wrinkles tend to be more noticeable around your eyes than on your forehead","url":"https://time.com/3965842/oily-skin-wrinkles/","keywords":["Research","Aging","beauty","Healthcare","health","skin care","anti-aging","skincare"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43796f5de50e90bb/69885bb90a4a2254149c53a7/woman-face-close-up.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kelly Saiz / Health.com"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43796f5de50e90bb/69885bb90a4a2254149c53a7/woman-face-close-up.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"woman-face-close-up","caption":"woman-face-close-up","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3965842/oily-skin-wrinkles/","name":"How Having Oily Skin Might Help Prevent Wrinkles"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Melanoma Rates Have Doubled in 30 Years","description":"Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, has been on the rise in the past 30 years. 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