The Croydon facelift hairstyle was invented by a German actress it has been revealed.

Many believed the beauty of the female stars on the silver screen was natural, but with cosmetic surgery in its early stage they were forced to come up with another way to give themselves a helping hand.

The popular hair style, previously worn by celebrities including Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and Nicole Kidman, sees the hair pulled back tight and tied into a bun or ponytail.

It results in the skin on the forehead and face being pulled up and back, thus producing the effects of facelift.

Actress Marlene Dietrich was the first woman to use the Croydon facelift to hold back the years.

During the filming of Kismet, in 1944 when Dietrich was 43, she had make up artists twist tiny strands of her hair around hairpins which were then pulled tight and fixed further back on to her head.

Dietrich also used surgical tape to pull back the skin on her face, hiding the tape in her hairline or under a wig.

When in her fifties, the star would run a fine gold chain under her chin and behind her ears.

Hidden by her hair, the chain pulled back any sagging skin and held it in place, making her look decades younger.