Blair's tell-tale sign of worry
Embattled Prime Minister Tony Blair has never looked so worried.
The cares of the world were visibly etched on his forehead in a recent picture which showed how his wrinkles had formed themselves in to the letter W.
Experts said it was a sign of an active frontalis, the forehead muscle, and one claimed it demonstrated "serious" levels of stress.
The picture was taken as Mr Blair addressed the Progress think-tank at the TUC headquarters in London last weekend.
It came at the end of a bitter week of Labour Party infighting and just before he flew to the Middle East.
In the photograph the clear shape of the letter W can be seen stretching from the Prime Minister's eyebrows almost to his hairline.
Dr Kathleen Long, a cosmetic practitioner and member of the British Association of Cosmetic Doctors (BACD), said: "It's an overactive frontalis muscle."
This was not necessarily a sign of stress but the result of having an expressive face, perhaps because of frowning or raising his eyebrows a lot.
Dr Long, who is based in Glasgow, added: "I think he looks a lot older, but that happens to Prime Ministers doesn't it?
"He has definitely aged but that's not just wrinkles, it's his demeanour and his body posture. His body language has changed. It is less assertive and confident."
She said if his wrinkles bothered him he could have a "very simple" Botox treatment to soften the lines.
Dr Patrick Bowler, head of the BACD, told the Sunday Times he would advise Mr Blair to "resign tomorrow" as the W wrinkles were a sign of "serious" stress.
He said: "Stress causes all sorts of hormones and adrenaline to run around the body, which causes the blood vessels to constrict. That causes malnutrition of the skin, and starves it of oxygen. This cause you to age more.
"What happens is your body can cope with the stress and strain for a few years, and then it lets go, and you begin to age rapidly. I've seen that happen to Blair in the last two years - he has aged rapidly."
