How wrinkles make us look ‘untrustworthy’ – research shows the lines etched on our faces aren’t the signs of wisdom we once thought

Aging gracefully means embracing the lines life has etched on our faces and finding beauty in the wisdom now on display.

Will the rest of society see this shine through? Not according to a study that suggests we’re more superficial than we’d like to think.

Researchers discovered that we believe that people with wrinkles are less pleasant and trustworthy.

The Humboldt University of Berlin recruited 353 people who were asked to rate photos of avatars with and without lines on their faces.

Participants had to rate how attractive, warm, pleasant, trustworthy, moral and balanced each person seemed.

They were also asked to rate the extent to which each face seemed to express happiness, anger, sadness, fear, disgust and surprise.

Analysis published in the journal Acta Psychologica found that wrinkled faces were perceived as less attractive, pleasant and trustworthy (stock image)

Analysis published in the journal Acta Psychologica found that wrinkled faces were considered less attractive, pleasant and trustworthy. They were believed to show more negative emotions.

The effects were more pronounced for female faces and the results remained the same across the age range of the participants – from 18 to 68 years.

The researchers say: ‘These findings suggest that older people are often perceived as less pleasant, for no other reason than the wrinkles in their faces and the judgments of attractiveness and emotionality that accompany them. Since first impressions are difficult to correct, this can have lasting consequences.

“The negative effects of wrinkles could speak in favor of the beauty industry’s mission to meet the collective demand for smooth foreheads and firm jawlines.”