My kiddo gets those chin marks too, especially after a rough night. We tried the cold spoon trick (just pop one in the fridge overnight) and it seemed to help a bit with the lines—at least enough so she wasn’t embarrassed at school. It’s definitely not perfect, but I keep telling her it fades way quicker than she thinks. Hang in there... it really does get easier as you go.
I keep telling her it fades way quicker than she thinks. Hang in there... it really does get easier as you go.
That’s so true. My daughter was mortified about the lines at first, but honestly, after a week or two she barely noticed them. The cold spoon trick worked a bit for us too, but sometimes she’d just use a damp washcloth in the morning if she was in a rush. Did you find the marks got lighter over time? I swear once the skin got used to it, they weren’t nearly as bad. It’s rough at first, but kids are way more resilient than we give them credit for.
It’s funny how much those lines can bother them at first, isn’t it? My son was really self-conscious about the marks on his cheeks, especially when he first started wearing his headgear overnight. He’d wake up and immediately go check the mirror, convinced everyone at school would notice. But honestly, after a few weeks, it just became part of the routine. The redness faded so much faster than either of us expected, and now he barely mentions it.
We tried a couple of things to help with the marks—he liked using a cool gel eye mask in the mornings, which seemed to help more than the spoons for him. I think once the skin adjusted, like you said, the lines weren’t as deep or red. Maybe it’s just that initial shock of seeing something new on your face every morning that makes it feel worse than it is.
I will say, I was surprised by how quickly he bounced back emotionally too. The first week was rough, but after that he just sort of shrugged and moved on. Kids really are adaptable... probably more than we give them credit for sometimes. I do think a lot of it comes down to how we react as parents too—if we’re calm and matter-of-fact about it, they seem to pick up on that and worry less.
It’s definitely not easy at first, but it does get better. And honestly, half the time I think we notice these things way more than anyone else does.
Totally get this. My daughter was all dramatic about the “face dents” at first—she’d walk around in the morning acting like she’d survived a wild animal attack. But after a couple weeks, she barely noticed, and honestly, I was more worried about it than anyone else at school ever was. Kids are way more resilient than we give them credit for.
We tried the cold spoon thing too, but honestly? Frozen bag of peas worked just as well and cost nothing extra. She got into the habit of using whatever was left in the freezer—one time it was a bag of frozen corn. Not fancy, but hey, it did the trick.
I do think half the stress is us as parents trying to smooth everything over. Once I stopped fussing about it, she did too. The marks fade, the routine gets easier, and eventually it’s just another weird story for family dinners down the road.
That’s honestly spot on—kids usually adapt quicker than we expect, and most classmates don’t even notice the marks. I do see some families get really anxious about those indentations, but they’re almost always temporary. Did you find the skin irritation faded over time too? Sometimes switching to a different strap material can help if it lingers. And yeah, frozen veggies are a classic—whatever works, right?
