When Rachel Leary, an anonymous TikTok user, asked Kylie Jenner in June about the specifics of her breast surgery, the last thing she probably expected was a response from the businesswoman, who has over 58 million followers on that platform (and another 393 million on Instagram).

However, the youngest Kardashian sister replied briefly but in detail: “445 cc, moderate profile, half under the muscle!!! Silicone!!! Garth Fisher!!! Hope this helps lol.” Unsurprisingly, the comment quickly went viral, leaving many of her fans (and critics) baffled and perplexed. Never before had she spoken so directly about her cosmetic surgeries, despite having lived her entire life under the media spotlight, facing countless remarks about her appearance and possible procedures — a pressure that eventually took a toll on her mental health.

In that same TikTok post, Kylie Jenner’s mother, the all-powerful Kris Jenner, took the opportunity to speak openly about her own experience with Dr. Garth Fisher, whom Kylie had named as the surgeon behind her procedure.

“You did my first facelift in 2011… 14 years ago!!!,” she wrote, “And made it the most amazing experience ever and even gave us access to film so that others could get a peek inside what it’s like and not be afraid.”

Just weeks earlier, Kris Jenner had drawn significant media and social media attention when she appeared with a strikingly youthful look at Lauren Sánchez’s (now Jeff Bezos’s wife) bachelorette party in Paris. That face — seemingly unreal for a 69-year-old — was, according to outlets like People, the result of a facelift performed by New York–based plastic surgeon Steven Levine, an operation that could have cost as much as $200,000, according to the Financial Times.

Always business-savvy, the entrepreneur and manager capitalized on the buzz around her image by launching T-shirts with the slogan “I’ll have what Kris Jenner is having.”

@rachleary Replying to @Kylie Jenner this is why she’s for the girls 🩷 love u thank u ♬ Bad boy piece of information – .

Another example of how transparency around cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery is beginning — albeit very subtly — to take root in the Hollywood Hills can be found in Lindsay Lohan. The actress reappeared earlier this year with a markedly different look, which sparked endless questions about possible cosmetic work.

“Everyone does Botox,” she stated candidly in an interview published in the May issue of Elle’s U.S. edition. However, in that same conversation her publicist denied that the actress had undergone a facelift: “The second she looks any different, they assume she had her face lifted at 37 or 38, that she ripped apart this or that. It’s so mean,” he said.

The nuance is telling, because while many celebrities openly acknowledge aesthetic tweaks involving injectables or fillers, there is far more secrecy when it comes to major interventions or surgeries.

So is there now greater openness among celebrities when it comes to cosmetic enhancements? According to Monsterrat Quirós, director of the beauty clinic that bears her name, “The normalization of these procedures, both on social media and in everyday life, has made many people — famous or not — feel more comfortable talking about them openly.”

The Hollywood Reporter devoted an extensive feature to the subject earlier this summer. Knives Out: Celebrities Reveal Plastic Surgery Secrets — But One Procedure Still Taboo read the cover story. James Hibberd, the author, pointed to a generational shift as a plausible reason for this new transparency — led by a Gen Z raised in the age of Botox and fillers, and accustomed to filters that can reshape even the curve of an eyelash.

Hibberd also noted how this trend is largely limited to women, who turn more frequently to enhancements as a result of relentless beauty pressures. One only needs to scroll through the thousands of social media accounts dedicated to dissecting celebrities’ supposed procedures (almost exclusively women), comparing old and new photos while adding unfounded speculation.

To provide further context on how cosmetic procedures break down by sex, Dr. Elena Jiménez, plastic and cosmetic surgeon and medical director of Eleca Clinic, notes that in her practice “the majority of patients are still women, accounting for around 70%, but the number of men is steadily increasing, and we can now say it’s practically 30%.”

A minority trend

Despite the media attention of recent months, this supposed greater openness around plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures remains a minority phenomenon. Journalist Paloma Abad, author of the beauty newsletter Pretty In, Pretty Out, argues that it cannot be described as a real trend, since the cases where the subject is discussed openly are anecdotal.

“Even with these ‘green shoots’ of honesty when it comes to facial modification through surgery or cosmetic medicine, stars still tend to ‘hide’ the work they’ve had done,” she says. “Somehow, turning to the scalpel or injectables is seen to have less value than aging naturally. In fact, there’s so much talk of aging ‘with dignity’ that Botox, hyaluronic acid, and the surgeon’s scalpel are made out to be undignified.”

In her view, these procedures are often hidden “to avoid judgment and public ridicule. In other words, to preserve their image.” And when we consider the case of Brazilian singer Anitta, she may well have a point. In one of her recent newsletters, Abad analyzed the impact and absurd media backlash triggered by the artist’s latest plastic surgery.

Anitta herself addressed the subject during an Instagram Live, where she used the spotlight to first speak about “matters that really matter” — in this case, the lack of environmental protection in Brazil.

She then addressed the controversy surrounding her new cosmetic procedure: “I always get procedures done on my face, people. Always. I don’t know since when. It’s a habit. […] But I don’t think it’s something I should post about every time.”

Whether she has been open about her cosmetic changes or chosen to keep them private, criticism has followed her either way. And in this sense, Abad insists the criticism “is directed at the very act of undergoing the procedure.”“It’s the idea of striving for beauty without visible effort, of not knowing how to age with dignity.” And she leaves readers with a provocative reflection: “Is Pamela Anderson a better person than Dolly Parton just because she doesn’t wear makeup?”

Singer Anitta, on March 12 in New York. Aeon (GC Images)

Brazil, the birthplace of Anitta, ranks first worldwide as the country with the most plastic surgery procedures, totaling 2.3 million operations last year. This is according to the latest report from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), presented in June of this year, in which the United States leads the global count of procedures overall (not just surgical ones).

The study compiles the most popular aesthetic and plastic procedures of the moment. According to the organization, “eyelid surgery is for the first time the most common surgical procedure in 2024, replacing liposuction.” Liposuction, breast augmentation, scar revision, and rhinoplasty complete the list.

According to the report, “yhe most popular non-surgical procedures were botulinum toxin, hyaluronic acid (filler), hair removal, non-surgical skin tightening, and chemical peels”

“Like a Burger King order”

When tens of millions of people — many of them minors — follow your every move on social media, even the smallest comment can have consequences, and any behavior can be imitated, for better or worse. This is especially important to consider when it comes to matters affecting health, such as plastic surgery.

This reality is highlighted in an article titled An Era of Authenticity (or Something Like It), published in July by The New York Times, following Kylie Jenner’s remarks about her breast surgery. In the piece, Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Kelly Killeen tells the journalist how breast augmentation requests increased in her practice after the Kylie Jenner case: “I’m seeing so many patients coming in with, like, a Burger King order. They’re like, ‘I want the Kylie Jenner.’”

Dr. Elena Jiménez acknowledges the existence of a “copycat effect” caused, among other things, by the increased visibility of these aesthetic treatments today. “The copycat effect has grown, not only among people in their 30s or 40s, but increasingly among younger individuals, both in surgical and aesthetic medicine,” she notes.

Currently, she observes a continuous demand for “lip augmentations, cheek enhancements, eyebrow lifts or changes, and all of these procedures need to be carefully evaluated because what might seem important or necessary at one moment could just be a passing trend at another,” she warns.

For this reason, Jiménez emphasizes the importance of “serious aesthetic medicine and serious aesthetic surgery” based on criteria that ensure “patient safety,” including “a clear medical indication,” “psychological maturity” on the part of the patient, and “a fully informed consent signed by both parties.” It should not be “based on social media statements from someone famous on these platforms, nor on a trend that has just gone viral.”

Abad links the growing popularity of aesthetic procedures to something far more “prosaic” than the messaging promoted by celebrities or influencers on Instagram and TikTok. “More and more doctors are practicing these treatments, and prices have become more accessible. Investing in Botox and hyaluronic acid is no longer something reserved for a few; it’s within reach for anyone with even minimal interest,” he says.

What is dangerous — and a direct consequence of social media — is the trivialization of aesthetic procedures or even surgeries. Some people even give away operations on their social media accounts, a practice prohibited by law and condemned by organizations such as the Spanish Society of Aesthetic Medicine (SEME) and the Spanish Association of Plastic Aesthetic Surgery.

“The trivialization of cosmetic surgery with the emergence of giveaways, discounts, and low prices can pose significant health risks for patients, who are often treated by unqualified personnel, and contributes to lowering standards in clinics, consultations, and materials used,” reads a statement from the association.

The danger of trivialization and regret

Not taking these procedures seriously, being insufficiently informed, or succumbing to fleeting trends that permanently alter the face is a serious — and worse, irreversible — matter, as some public figures have also discussed.

A couple of years ago, Ariana Grande shared with Vogue her experience with fillers and why she stopped using them: “Full transparency, as a beauty person, as I do my lips, had a ton of lip filler over the years, and botox. I stopped in 2018 cause I just felt so, too much.”

In the same interview, she defended those who still choose to use them, emphasizing that no one should be judged for what they do with their face or body.

Model Bella Hadid, who underwent a rhinoplasty at 14, also admitted in 2023 that she regrets it: “I wish I had kept the nose of my ancestors,” she told Vogue.

Irreverent Julia Fox has also expressed regret about her choices. In an interview with Allure, she expressed a desire to restore her face to its original state before the cosmetic work. “Now, when I see someone and I can tell they’ve never done anything…I wish I could go back and be that person.“ Fox has admitted to having undergone rhinoplasty and liposuction, as well as Botox injections and dental veneers.

Veneers, in particular, are the procedure that Abad cites to highlight a double standard when it comes to judging some cosmetic procedures while overlooking others:

“It’s curious to see how no one criticizes people for whitening their teeth, getting veneers, or implants to achieve a ‘Hollywood smile’ (this is a real procedure),” he says. “I suppose, in that sense, dental aesthetics has managed to camouflage itself within the healthcare sector, gaining socially acceptable justification. But let’s not fool ourselves — it’s still a cosmetic procedure. Nobody needs whiter teeth. Or veneers. Or a new nose. Or even to remove wrinkles. People do it because they want to. And that’s fine.”

La modelo Bella Hadid en una imagen de 2025 y, a la derecha, en 2014. Sylvain Lefevre (Getty Images) / Kevin Mazur (WireImage)

In the age of overexposure, self-image takes on unprecedented importance. Comparisons and insecurities — which have always existed but are amplified when we are bombarded with countless visual stimuli every day — can create a dangerous breeding ground for fueling aesthetic and surgical procedures.

Greater transparency regarding these interventions has a positive aspect: it shows that many of the faces and bodies (always normative) we are exposed to are directly unreal, the result of aesthetic medicine and surgery. On the other hand, the line between normalizing and trivializing these procedures is thin, and given that much of the audience is underage, avoiding trivialization is key to preventing serious consequences.

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