The Daily Mail reported that Amanda Barr of Little Ellingham, Norfolk, was so depressed about her wrinkles and skin condition that she decided to end her life at the Shadwell level crossing. She stepped in front of a train that was traveling at 90 miles per hour from Norwich to Cambridge.



Investigators found a suicide note in her car. Barr, who was obsessed with beauty and afraid of losing her youthful looks, apologized for "all the grief and hurt" her actions would cause her loved ones.

"I just can't live with myself any longer. Try not to think of me too badly," she wrote.

Neil Thirsk, Barr’s live-in partner since 1994, said the victim apparently had a psychological problem that grew worse over the years. She often complained about her wrinkles and her skin condition called rosacea that caused redness.

“She claimed she could pinpoint the date, time, and cause of wrinkles that others could barely see. She would not even let her partner of 13 years kiss her on the cheek for fear it would inflame her rosacea," the Daily Mail said.

Although her skin problem wasn’t that bad, Barr was ashamed to go out of her house and feared that the wind would aggravate her condition. She also refused to take any medication.

“She felt it was huge and that everyone was staring at it and saying: 'Look at her!' She became very, very obsessed with it, really, and the way she looked," Thirsk narrated.

Thirsk got worried when Barr told him she was contemplating suicide. But a week before her death, Barr told Thirsk that everything was all right. Earlier, she consulted a doctor who referred her to a mental health worker.

“Mental health worker Sheila Hodgson diagnosed her with depression after talking with her for an hour. She concluded that there was an underlying depressive illness that had manifested itself in her obsession over her skin," said the Daily Mail.

“Her looks were very important to her - her skin especially," Thirsk revealed.

While wrinkles are a normal part of the aging process, they can have a profound impact on self-esteem as this story shows. Society’s preoccupation with youth and beauty has sapped the confidence of many men and women and turned the cosmetics industry into a multi-billion dollar business. The rush to beat the clock and preserve one’s youthful looks has driven a lot of people to search endlessly for the fountain of youth no matter what the cost.

But the road to beauty can be expensive and treacherous. Often products don’t live up to their claims and some beauty regimens can even be dangerous. Before you embark on a quest for youthful skin, consult a good dermatologist. He or she can advice you on what products to buy. One popular anti-aging cream is Dermaxin that helps fight wrinkles, restore skin elasticity and smoothness, and stimulates the renewal of skin cells.