If the women gracing our reality TV screens are any indication, the fillers trend isn’t slowing down anytime soon. The statistics confirm this: in the United States, the use of fillers has increased tremendously from 1.8 million procedures in 2010 to 2.68 million in 2018, according to data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. With so many people going under the needle, I *Carrie Bradshaw voice* couldn’t help but wonder: are fillers even safe? To find out, I spoke with Dr. Oren Tepper, a board-certified plastic surgeon, and the Director of Aesthetic Surgery at Montefiore Health System.
What Exactly Are Fillers?
Like the name suggests, fillers are used to fill in wrinkles and other creases or depressions on the face by injecting a substance into the facial tissue. There are a variety of substances that can be used depending on what the patient is trying to achieve and the doctor’s preferences. Some examples are hyaluronic acid, collagen, fat and even stem cells.
Who Are Good Candidates For Fillers?
Because fillers can be used to address so many different facial issues, most people are good candidates for fillers. As far as the age range, Dr. Tepper says he has seen patients as young as in their twenties to those in their elderly years taking advantage of the procedure.
Who Should NOT Get Fillers?
Of course, those that have had bad reactions in the past are more likely to have issues again. You should also avoid fillers if you have a bleeding disorder, inflamed skin, are taking blood thinners, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a history of an allergic reaction to fillers.
What Are The Side Effects?
Swelling is to be expected and can range from being minor to requiring a few days to a week to subside. More seriously, a bluish discoloration can occur if the fillers are injected too close to the skin and, in rare cases, if the filler finds its way into the bloodstream, it can occlude the arteries and result in tissue loss. Dr. Tepper says that these more serious complications are relatively rare, however, occurring in fewer than 1% of cases. The FDA also cites scarring, blurred vision, and blindness as other rare but serious risks that can occur if the filler is injected into a blood vessel.
How Much Is Too Much?
According to Dr. Tepper, the general rule of thumb is that if somebody notices you have fillers, you’ve gone too far. I guess most Bravolebrities have yet to get this memo. The goal is to subtly enhance your natural facial features—key word being subtly. Another important factor is ratios. Dr. Tepper says that while “volume alone may not be the threshold for what makes somebody look unnatural or natural, the ratio of your upper lip to your lower lip is a real giveaway.” Generally, when the upper lip is equal to or bigger in size than the lower lip, the result looks overdone and unnatural. What’s worse, an oversized upper lip can actually make someone appear older. Too much filler on the upper lip pulls it down and accelerates its natural drooping, which, according to Dr. Tepper, is about 1 millimeter every decade. Great, now I have another thing to be worried about. Another option, if you’re thinking of getting lip fillers in particular, is to take a more comprehensive approach and consider how you want your mouth to look as a whole. Dr. Tepper recently teamed with aesthetic dentist Dr. Jonathan Levine to introduce LipSync, a dual-specialty approach that changes both lip length and tooth position, so your entire smile looks better and you avoid the dreaded balloon lips effect.
But if you do go too far, there are some ways you can fix a f*ck up. According to the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, mild irregularities like lumpiness or slight asymmetry may be fixed be massaging the area, which your provider can do or help you do at home. Certain types of fillers can be dissolved by injecting an enzyme (more on that in a sec), but otherwise, the best option is just to wait for the fillers to get absorbed by your body.
How Long Does It Last?
This depends on which type of filler is injected into the face. Dr. Tepper estimates that hyaluronic acid fillers will last anywhere from six months to a year and a half. One of the benefits of using hyaluronic acid is that if you are unhappy with the results, there’s an enzyme that can be injected afterwards to dissolve the filler. For those seeking something longer lasting, approximately half of any fat injected as filler stays in the face, according to Dr. Tepper. While there are permanent fillers such as silicone, Dr. Tepper does not recommend using them. Not only are the results irreversible, they can lead to disfigurement, infection and other serious problems. Yikes.
What’s This Going To Cost Me?
This varies tremendously depending on the filler used, the practitioner you go to and the area(s) to be treated, but Dr. Tepper estimated that the procedure usually costs about $1,000 per area on average.
Are There More Natural Alternatives?
While sadly there is no magic face cream that will annihilate your wrinkles and pay off your student loans, certain fillers are more natural than others. Using fat or stem cells may be a good choice for those who don’t like the idea of injecting unnatural substances into their body. Dr. Tepper will often inject saline into the desired area to give the patient a sense of the results, but this only lasts several hours rather than several months. A lip lift is another procedure that can add volume without injecting filler. If you’re looking for something sans needle, topical retinoids are a good preventative measure that can help fight wrinkles and hold off the need for the needle.
What Should I Know Before Committing?
It’s important that patients considering fillers understand exactly what they are getting into. In Dr. Tepper’s experience, many people mistake overdone filler for botched plastic surgery: “The overdone lips, the overinflated cheeks. Those are not surgical issues, those are overfilling.” In order to avoid this, it’s okay to start small and get a few injections in stages over a period of time in order to carefully assess the results instead of doing everything at once. This is especially true for those who haven’t had the procedure before. Dr. Tepper uses MirrorMe3D, an innovative, new visual technology with the ability to scan and print out a 3D version of your face. This allows patients to see what they could and should look like following a procedure, as well as what has been done throughout the years in case they visit more than one doctor.
At the end of the day, fillers are generally safe and effective, so long as you stick to the non-permanent versions and visit a doctor with proper training and credentials. While it might seem tempting to click on that 50% off Groupon, refrain, lest you end up looking like a case study on Botched. Or, we could all just collectively agree that wrinkles are perfectly natural and forego the whole thing entirely. Crazy, I know.
Images: Sara Bakhshi / Unsplash; Giphy (3)
While most people have been obsessing over Kylie Jenner’s breakup with Travis Scott, I personally have been focusing on Khloé Kardashian. That is mostly because Khloé has once again gone dark on IG and disabled all comments after posting a photo of herself where she looks virtually unrecognizable. In other news, the sky is blue! The photo in question is a sultry selfie that could be Khloé but also could be a random VSCO girl she found on the internet to pass off as herself and thought we wouldn’t notice. Well guess what, Khloé? WE F*CKING NOTICE. Fans are saying the photo is an egregious use of FaceTune, and while I’m inclined to agree (seriously, her photo editing skills are a crime against humanity), I’m starting to wonder if this selfie, along with countless others, isn’t just a terrible filter or Khloé projecting the fun-house mirror self-image she keeps in her mind unto the masses via a sh*t ton of FaceTune. Maybe Khloé Kardashian really did get an entirely new face.
I know what you’re thinking: florals for spring Kardashians getting plastic surgery? Groundbreaking. But the thing is, Khloé has adamantly denied having any work done over the years. Back in April, Khloé took to Instagram to be petty AF when responding to fans who commented that perhaps she had gone a bit overboard with recent plastic surgery. I mean, her exact response went something like: “lol, oh man… but sure whatever you want to believe,” which is actually the exact wording I use when my sister confronts me about stealing her shirt and I am definitely wearing said shirt as she puts me on blast over the phone.
Look, I’m of the mind that anyone living within a 50 mile radius of LA has probably had some plastic surgery done, the Kardashians included. And can we really blame them? If I lived in a city where the most skin you were allowed to cover in public was 12 cubic inches then I would also like to look permanently airbrushed at all times. But what do I know? I’m just a 27-year-old woman who spends her free time presenting elaborate powerpoint presentations to my dog on Kardashian conspiracy theories.
ME TO MY DOG AS I WRITE THIS ARTICLE:
But I guess I’m not the only one with this theory about the Kardashians because according to Dr. Manish Shah, a board certified plastic surgeon in Denver, Colorado, Khloé Kardashian has definitely had some work done. “Khloé Kardashian has certainly undergone some major physical changes over the years,” Dr. Shah said. And while some of these changes can be attributed to weight loss (she is killing it with her workout regimen and she does have the receipts Insta stories to prove it) and normal maturation (aka losing her “baby fat”) the rest definitely involves some cosmetic enhancements.
We asked him to look at a few of Khloé’s most recent Instagram posts and weigh in on if he thought these are just the result of a very warped understanding of photo editing or the work of a skilled plastic surgeon. Here’s what he had to say:
On Her Rumored Nose Job
Look, I love KoKo, I really do, but the nose that’s been showing up on her face in her most recent Insta posts look less like the one she was born with and more like the one He Who Must Not Be Named debuted after his resurrection. I’m sorry, but it’s true!! It’s been rumored for years that Khloé might have gotten a nose job, and just last year Khloé herself even admitted that she’s always wanted one, but that she was “too scared” to go through with it. Her stance has always been that she’s just really good at contouring but, like, I’ve never been able to contour my face so good that I could successfully enter myself into Witness Protection and not even have to change my name. Dr. Shah agrees. “It’s clear that she has had rhinoplasty to give her a much more contoured nose,” he said. “Her original nose had a much wider tip and bridge. This nose is sleek.” And it does look sleeker. So sleek that I have to believe there’s more being done to that face than just going to town with a bombass highlighter.
On If She Has Lip Fillers
“Although Khloé never had thin lips, it seems as though some filler has been used to sculpt them in such a way as to make her face as proportional as possible,” Dr. Shah said. He also thinks she’s had some fillers added to her cheeks to give them more shape and definition, which would make sense considering Khloé used to have a rounder face and now her face has more angles than an isosceles triangle. These seemingly new face angles can also be attributed to some work she might have had done on her jawline. “Before, her jawline was very heavy, and seemed to weigh her face down. Now, it is very balanced, delicate and feminine,” Dr. Shah said. “This could be the result of liposuction of the jawline, in tandem with weight loss, and perhaps some artful fillers to give the jaw the desired shape.”
On Her Other Enhancements
Like any good girl from Calabasas, Khloé has also probably dabbled with Botox. “Her forehead is completely smooth,” Dr. Shah said. “That would indicate Botox. Her eyebrows are also in a higher position which could also indicate that they have been elevated by strategically placed Botox.” Dr. Shah thinks she may have also undergone a skin tightening treatment like radiofrequency (a technique that uses radio frequency energy to heat tissue and stimulate collagen production in order to reduce the appearance of fine lines or loose skin). Either way, Khloé looks absolutely unreal these days (no, seriously, it’s absolutely not real) but if it’s making Khloé feel good as hell, then who am I to judge?
So there you have it! Definitive proof that Khloé Kardashian has had some plastic surgery. Sort of. For those of you who are shocked by this turn of events, I think you should also know that the Easter Bunny isn’t real either. It’s just your mom buying discounted CVS candy and whatever else was featured at the checkout aisle at 2am the night before. Kisses!!
Images: @khloekardashian /Instagram (3); Giphy (1)
It’s 2019, so we’re not going to pretend anymore that getting plastic surgery is some kind of weird taboo that women do in dark rooms on their 40th birthday. Embracing the chance to change something on your body that you feel insecure or uncomfortable with is f*cking awesome, and stigmas are not. And if you’re going to do something, it’s better to have all the information than to go in blind because you were too embarrassed to do research and end up with a botched procedure, right? Right. That’s why we chatted with Dr. Gary Linkov, a Facial Plastic Surgeon from New York to answer all your questions about preventative, non-surgical, and surgical facial procedures.
Which Facial Procedures Are Most Popular?
Nonsurgical: Botox, Filler, Chemical Peel
Surgical: Rhinoplasty (nose job), facelift, blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery), and lip lifts are growing in popularity
When Should You Start Non-Surgical Preventative Treatments?
Although rumours and Instagram ads may suggest otherwise, Dr. Linkov believes that the only truly preventative strategy is botox. He’s had clients who start as young as their early 20s, ranging to about late 20s to early 30s. So if you’re still a child and scared of needles like me, there’s no need to panic. You can still prevent those wrinkles in due time.
How Do You Know If You’re Overdoing It?
It’s not hard to spot an overkill face (we’re looking at you, Tori Spelling), but when you’re in the heat of it, how do you know if you’ve gone overboard? Dr. Linkov says that with Botox, you’re too far once you’ve lost the ability to show emotions through facial expressions and have difficulty animating your face. This low-key sounds like a really good thing that I’d 100% be down for, but it doesn’t look so cute.
In terms of filler, you want to avoid anything that looks disproportionate to the rest of your face. Like, you can legitimately pick anyone from the cast of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and go as far in the opposite direction as possible. The facial procedures are meant to enhance what is already there, not build cheeks from silicone. For lips specifically, you want to avoid an anterior projection that is unnatural, aka you don’t want to look like you’re making the duck face all the time (unless that’s your strategy, then go for it).
How Do You Fix Botched Work?
In his line of work, Dr. Linkov has seen plenty of botched faces. He says the most common type of corrections he performs for non-surgical procedures has to do with too much filler being injected or filler being injected in the wrong place. In that case, he needs to dissolve all the filler and start from scratch.
For surgical facial procedures, rhinoplasty is often one that needs correction. Sometimes too much cartilage is removed during the initial surgery, causing the nose to lose shape or sink in. Or Maybe Becca from Long Island got her nose job the summer before college and did way too much coke so now the bridge of her nose is collapsing. But like who really knows, we all started with a deviated septum anyway, right?
How Do Patients Decide The Best Course Of Treatment?
A lot of what Dr. Linkov spends his time doing is actually talking to patients and truly understanding their concerns. He likes to get a background on what procedures they’ve done prior to coming to see him, as well as their tolerance for various intensities of treatments. It’s also vital that Dr. Linkov has time to properly analyze a client’s face to choose the right method of approach. The bottom line is your surgeon should work with you, not for you, to help determine the best way to achieve what you’re looking for.
When Is The Best Time To Get A Facelift?
Dr. Linkov suggests getting a facelift once the jowls start to show *shivers* and there is some heaviness forming in the neck. Usually, this happens in the mid to late 40s for most women, but it can be later for some lucky betches. The trick, he says, is to do the facelift while the underlying muscle still has good integrity and strength. If you try to get a lift too late, the muscle will have already thinned out and will not support a transformative lift.
Do Facial Gyms Help Wrinkle Prevention?
So apparently taking a spa day to have someone smack your face doesn’t count as going to the gym. Shame. Dr. Linkov says there is very little data to show that facial gyms and wrinkle-prevention exercises actually do anything. In fact, strengthening muscles may even promote wrinkles, since wrinkles are from the activity of the skin’s underlying musculature. It’s fine, you tried.
Who Would Preventative Treatments NOT Be Beneficial For?
If you have limited wrinkles (even when you smile or do a double chin or whatever weird sh*t Snapchat prompts you to do) you don’t actually need preventative botox. Lucky. Fillers, on the other hand, are never really 100% preventative, according to Dr. Linkov, so no one should be trying that out before they want to commit to it.
How Do You Choose A Location And Person?
While these procedures can be pricey, there’s no benefit in trying to cut costs. Dr. Linkov says a lot of people often hunt for the best price per unit of Botox or syringe of filler, but those are also the faces that get botched and have to end up paying more for corrections in the future. Dr. Linkov instead strongly recommends picking a doctor by their experience to treat the face and maintain safety as their top priority. Some treatments can have side effects that range from mild to more severe, so having someone who knows what they’re doing and can do it well is very important. He also suggests that you make sure your injector has the appropriate antidotes, such as hyaluronidase for fillers, and to ask what type of filler is being injected.
What Are Typical Price Points For These Procedures?
Botox: Anywhere from $10-25 per unit or $200-500 per area
Filler: $500-1000 per syringe
Chemical Peel: $200-300 per treatment
Rhinoplasty: $9000-15,000+
Facelift: $10,000-20,000+
Is There Any Downtime?
Botox: Rarely any downtime
Filler: Can have bruising or swelling for up to two weeks, but usually one to two days of downtime
Chemical Peel: Depends on the intensity of the peel, but about one week
Rhinoplasty, Facelift, Liplift: One to two weeks of downtime
What Are The Side Effects?
Botox: Paralysis of neighboring muscles, bruising (rarer)
Filler: Bruising, swelling, vascular occlusion (including skin changes, or in rare cases, blindness)
Chemical Peel: Scarring, skin pigmentation changes
Rhinoplasty: Swelling, bruising, breathing issues, cosmetic deformities
Facelift: Scarring, bleeding, facial nerve damage
Liplift: Scarring
If you want to learn more about Dr. Linkov and the procedures he specializes in, feel free to check out his website. To keep up with his daily surgical antics you can follow him on Instagram.
Images: Giphy (2)
Today is Gigi Hadid’s 24th birthday, and as usual, we’re celebrating by doing a deep dive into her entire life. Well, not really. To be honest, Gigi’s personal life isn’t that exciting, because it mostly just consists of me googling to see if she and Zayn are still together every few months. (I’ll save you 30 seconds: they’re not together right now.) Instead, today let’s focus on Gigi’s best asset—her face. Gigi Hadid is obviously like, superhuman levels of gorgeous, but how much of that beauty is natural? Let’s examine the evidence and see whether the elder Hadid sister has gone under the knife.
Gigi Hadid is still so young, but she’s been in the spotlight for a long time. I remember her fondly from the early days of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, when she was an up-and-coming model being lectured by her mom about why she needed to eat salad every day. Nothing problematic here! But Gigi Hadid actually got her start as a model way before that, doing campaigns for Guess when she was just two years old. Casual.
So Gigi was obviously cute AF when she was a little kid, but I’m not going to analyze what her face looked like when she was a toddler. Sorry, but I don’t want to have “Gigi Hadid little girl” in my Google search history. I’m too young to go to jail. Instead, let’s start with Gigi Hadid’s first-ever post on Instagram, from November 2011.
Gigi’s modeling career was already beginning to take off when this photo was taken, but she looks so fresh-faced and natural. She was 16 at the time, and while she was obviously a pretty girl, she looked more like the average hot girl at your high school than anyone who’s ever been on a CW show. Let’s start by establishing that Gigi Hadid has naturally beautiful features. Her big blue eyes are stunning, and she’s always had great bone structure. For today’s purposes, let’s focus on two specific areas: her lips and her nose.
Gigi has full, pillowy lips, so they’re often a topic of conversation when it comes to cosmetic adjustments. Lip fillers are one of the biggest beauty fads right now, and honestly, I bet more than half of the top models and celebrities have dipped a toe (or a lip) in the Restylane pool. But not Gigi. I feel very confident in saying that she has not had lip fillers. I know I said I wasn’t going to analyze her face when she was a child, but I mean, look at her lips in this photo:
First of all, love the costume. But mainly, those lips! Unless Yolanda was making some seriously questionable parenting decisions, these lips look 100% natural. Yes, I’m jealous, but there’s a reason Gigi’s been on like, 74 Vogue covers, while the only thing I’ve been on the cover of is my mom’s photo albums. I really hope Gigi never touches her lips, because I would honestly cry if I saw her with Instagram model trout pout.
Moving on, we really need to discuss Gigi Hadid’s nose. While the lips were a pretty easy call to make, the nose has really given me some sleepless nights. Some people are absolutely certain that Gigi got a nose job, but I’m really not so sure.
Let’s take a look at this side-by-side. The photo on the left is from September 2014, while the photo on the right is from February 2019.
Obviously, Gigi looks pretty different in the two photos. But I don’t think it’s because she had a lot of work done. Instead, I think most of the changes can be attributed to makeup, skin tone, and getting older. She’s lost some of her baby fat over the years, giving her cheeks and jaw a more chiseled look. She’s also learned that sometimes, less is more when it comes to fake tan. Paler skin makes her features more striking, allowing the best parts of her face to really pop.
But let’s get back to the nose. For years, Gigi Hadid has been a big fan of using contouring and strobing techniques on her nose. This, I think, is the main reason for the change in appearance. For example, look at this photo of Gigi from last year’s Met Gala:
This is one of my favorite Gigi Hadid hair and makeup moments ever, and the generous amount of highlighter used on her nose really changes her entire look. Seriously, she looks like an alien sent to kill us all because we’re so ugly. But that’s not actually what her nose looks like. Here’s a magazine cover from July 2018, meaning it was probably shot around the same time the Met Gala took place:
THAT’S Gigi’s nose! Gigi doesn’t have a large nose by any means, but it’s not insanely narrow or tiny like the contouring can make it appear. Damn, the devil works hard, but Gigi’s makeup artist works harder. And honestly, because of all the crazy makeup tricks she can use, I think it would be really silly for Gigi to get a nose job. She obviously doesn’t need it, and she could easily end up looking crazy. Her sister Bella has mostly had tasteful work done, but she still looks way less natural than Gigi.
So happy birthday Gigi Hadid, and congratulations on your lack of plastic surgery, at least as far as I, an untrained expert, can tell. Am I wrong? Do you think Gigi’s been under the knife? Sound off in the comments!
Images: Shutterstock (3); @gigihadid / Instagram (4)
In addition to eyebrows, we’re like, always staring at other people’s lips. Sounds creepy af, but you know it’s true. Whether they’re physically standing in front of you or on the face of a Kardashian, lips are yet another facial feature we closely scrutinize and spend more than enough time on in the bathroom. We can thank Kylie Jenner for making us feel 10 times worse about having little to no lips and contemplate going under the needle. Even if the thought lasted two minutes, it was long enough for me to realize how ridiculous and expensive that would be when I could use all of the makeup in the world to get the same result. Fucking magical. If you’re striving to get lips that resemble those of Angelina Jolie or Candice Swanepoel, there’s a super easy technique for that. Here are 7 ways to make your lips look bigger in minutes. All of which don’t require going full-on Kylie getting fillers.
1. Use Concealer As Your Base
With a shade that’s only slightly lighter than your own, spread concealer all over your lip line before applying any lip gloss or lipstick. Prepping your lips with a light color creates the illusion of larger lips. Be careful as to not get a concealer that looks white and pasty, otherwise people may start to wonder if you’re literally dying.
2. Always Overdraw Your Lip Liner
This is the most obvious (and favorite) solution for making your lips look bigger. It’s fucking easy and takes maybe like, a total of 30 extra seconds. Use the same color, or whatever is closest, to the lipstick shade you’ll be wearing and trace SLIGHTLY outside of your lip line. When you shade in and apply your lipstick, this creates a fuller pout and you’ll start to see why it looks as though every model has perfect lips.
3. Stick To Nudes
As much as we love a vampy purple and fall red, darker colors tend to make your lips look nonexistent. Sorry, but it’s true. You’ll get the best results with natural-looking shades and light hues like Nars Satin Lipstick in Orgasm, so stick to the nudes you know best to really make your lips look bigger than they are.
4. Contouring Your Lips Is A Must
If you didn’t know, contouring your lips is very much a thing that will make your lips look bigger. First, you’ll want to slightly overdraw your lip line with a liner that’s darker than your lipstick. Rub in the line with your finger and apply your lipstick. We’re off to a great start if you haven’t smeared it across your face yet. Layer on a lighter lipstick *only* in the middle where your cupid’s bow is and below on your bottom lip. Blend gently, and congratulations, you’ve just contoured your lips.
5. Never Forget The Lip Gloss
Lip gloss is great, lip gloss is life. Never forget the lip gloss in your lip routine. The more shimmer it has, the juicier it will make your lips look. Opt for a lip gloss that plumps and provides instant volume, like the Dior Addict Lip Maximizer Plumping Gloss. Be sure to slather on extra gloss right in the center of your lips, so they catch good lighting and look amazing in all angles throughout the day.
6. Lip Balm For The Win
No one likes dry, flaky, chapped lips. Always rid your lips of flakes by finishing off your look with a clear lip balm. Your lips look bigger when they’re smoother and not cracked. Life hack.
7. Lip Plumpers, Duh
These are about as close to lip injections as you can get without actually involving a needle. While some require daily use for up to a month, others work as low-key lip glosses, too. Too Faced Lip Injection Extreme is formulated with moisturizing oils and collagen stimulants that swell your lips just enough to bring out a flushed color and create a fuller appearance. Use up to twice a day and like, FYI, you will probs feel a slight tingling sensation as a sign that it’s doing its job.
Images: Tumblr (2)
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