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Woman goes more than 40 years without smiling in order to prevent wrinkles

Expert poker face.
Woman goes more than 40 years without smiling

We’ve all heard of some pretty weird beauty hacks in our time, with celebrities usually the main culprits.

However 50-something-year-old Tess Christian, just an every day person, may have just taken the Weird Beauty Hack crown from vagina-steaming Gwyneth Paltrow as she claims she has not grinned, smiled or laughed for more than 40 years. She’s lived an expressionless life, in order to prevent expression lines.

Nicknamed Mona Lisa for her poker face stare, British-born Tess made the conscious choice to quit making facial expressions when she was just 10 years old and now looks a little something like this…

“I don’t have wrinkles because I have trained myself to control my facial muscles,’ she told The Daily Mail. “Everyone asks if I’ve had Botox, but I haven’t. My dedication has paid off, I don’t have a single line on my face.”

Tess in 1982.

Dermatologist Dr Nick Lowe agrees she may be on to something: “Wrinkles happen because of the constant creasing of smile and forehead lines by the muscles in your face, which fold the connective tissue under the skin,” he told the publication. “If you can train yourself to minimise your facial expressions, you won’t get as many lines. We know this because it is exactly how Botox works — by reducing muscle activity.”

While Tess doesn’t think she’s missing out by showing happiness, psychologist Amanda Hills disagrees.

“When you smile you release endorphins, known as ‘happy hormones’ that make you feel good,” she told The Daily Mail.

Would you give up a life of expressing joy for eternal youth? Tell us below!

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