Can Not Smiling Prevent Wrinkles?
To try and prevent wrinkles, some people will stop at nothing. They will inject toxins into their face, go under the knife, endure painful laser treatments, and spend a small fortune on fancy creams and serums. Now it seems, they will even train themselves to not smile, laugh, or express joy of any kind. A recent Daily Mail article featured Tess Christian, a woman who hasn’t smiled for 40 years. And you know it’s not just a random beauty tip, when a Kardashian gets into the mix. Kim Kardashian recently spread the message in an Instagram post with the caption: “See I do smile… even laugh on occasion. Not too often though because it causes wrinkles.”
A photo of Kim Kardashian posted to her Instagram.
Wondering if this was a beauty myth, or an actual way to stave off lines, we turned to dermatologist Dr. Sejal Shah. While Shah admits that there is some truth to the idea that smiling causes wrinkles, she emphasizes you can’t prevent wrinkles altogether by keeping a straight face. “You might be minimizing the development of wrinkles around mouth and eyes, but the problem is that wrinkles have multiple ways they can form, not just muscle movement,” she says. Beyond sun damage, and smoking, the biggest cause of facial wrinkles, isn’t smiling but the natural changes in bone structure, fat, muscles, and collagen production that are simply part of aging.
A photo of Tess Christian who hasn’t smiled in 40 years.
Upon examining the photo of Christian, Shah noticed that while 40-years of frowns have prevented laugh lines the technique isn’t preventing Christian’s face from aging. While Christian has claimed her technique is a “natural alternative to Botox,” Shah has a different take. “Botox works very well,” she laughs. Shah also points to the daily use of sunscreen and retinols as a much easier—and happier—alternative. “There are so many things at our disposal to help with lines. I just don’t think it’s worth it to live your life without facial expressions and laughter.”
Related:
There’s No Such Thing As Anti-Aging
