The doc in question, Steven Levine, M.D, is also rumoured to be the scalpel-wielder behind the seemingly renovated visages of Brad Pitt, 61, Lindsay Lohan, 38, and the fabulous revision work on Demi Moore, 62, after her freakish appearance at the Fendi show in 2021.
Then just yesterday, after Kris’ daughter Kylie, the makeup magnate, revealed her exact boob-job recipe –
445cc of silicone placed partially under the muscle – Kris went on to reveal that the doctor Kylie cited as her cleavage magician, Dr. Garth Fisher, was the one who did her first facelift (televised on KUWTK in 2011). As with everything the reality TV clan does, surely these gestures will be influential in broadening transparency on cosmetic work.
“It seems like everyone is celebrating the success of Kris Jenner’s surgery,” says Toronto aesthetic surgeon Dr. Jamil Asaria, director of FACE Toronto, who specializes in face work, as the name of his clinic suggests. “It’s like we are joining in on her happiness. Rather than denying that she had anything done, or attributing it to a great facial and drinking more water. She was open about having had surgical intervention.”
In the past, we only ever got confirmation from a select few outspoken celebs about their work – most notably Cher, who once told a reporter who asked if she had perhaps done too much to her face that she could “put my boobs on my back” if she so chose. Her powerful (and graphic) point was that it was solely her choice how much work to have done and how to do it; as always, Cher was decades ahead of her time. Jane Fonda has also spoken about the work she has undergone through various decades of her life (her 50s, then her 70s), concluding that now, in her 80s (she is 87 and dedicates most of her time and energy to fighting climate change), she will not pursue any further major facelifts.
Asaria shared with us at the Zoomerist his insights on the new transparency around facelifts, and what we can learn from the impact pop culture forces such as Kris Jenner have on the broader zeitgeist. “All the general public used to see about facial surgery in the past were titles like ‘facelifts gone wrong’ and ‘stars botched by plastic surgery.’” says Asaria. It is because we have entered the undetectable area where surgery has become more and more sophisticated, producing subtle, yet great work, so transparency is becoming necessary. When A-listers do a big reveal, they just look like themselves – but better. “Today, I am finding people are less worried about keeping their work hush hush. More and more, patients are willing to share their positive experiences.”
There has been a shift in the stigma, Asaria says. “Plastic surgery is no longer associated with a perception of someone chasing an unattainable fountain of youth.” Rather, people are taking better care of themselves as a whole, he says. “They are eating better, taking control of their weight, monitoring their sleep, optimizing their hormone profile. They are physically healthy and more emotionally aware. They want all this work that they have done on the inside, to be reflected on the outside.”
Starting younger is a big trend, too. When you have first or revision surgery in your 60s, like Kris did, you have to keep a few things in mind, says Asaria: “It’s ultra important to have a natural and age-appropriate experience. Overly sculpted eyes, elevated brows, or too smooth skin just looks weird – and that’s not what an accomplished executive is going for.”
And Kris is undeniably an accomplished executive. She has reached the pinnacle of her career, and is running a vast entertainment management empire. At the European have-yachts bachelorette bacchanalia in Paris for Lauren Sánchez, the photos were not as up-close as the ones revealed at the trial later, but Kris looked as fresh as her 44-year-old daughter, Kim. Sánchez, the 55-year-old Bezos-bride-to-be, favours having full-lips and prominent cheeks, which feels less modern and more macabre than Kris’ more natural look.
Asaria adds that a facelift is not a “one-and-done” life event. If you have one at 50, you may well need another one in your late 60s. Plus you need to keep up with all the “add-ons” the aesthetics industry now offers, from Botox to lasers, which, he adds, really make the difference for glowing, wrinkle-reduced skin.
Picking the right surgeon, and customized full-aesthetic plan, is what makes great work stand out. “It’s about a combination of subtle procedures that have an additive effect without any one thing being out of balance,” says Asaria. “Our techniques have evolved. Patients are looking for specific surgeons who can deliver results and formulate a plan that is not cookie-cutter, but is individualized for them. Levine’s work really hit the nail on the head. It is beautifully balanced.”
The online sleuths and social-media speculators have been chattering about what Kris actually had done. Asaria won’t be drawn into commenting about another specialist’s work based solely on tabloid photos. But the hot new “ponytail lift”, a lower face procedure that pulls more vertically is something generally used on 30-somethings as an early intervention. Here is what I know from researching these cosmetics stories for decades: The secret in Kris’ facelift – I’m guessing deep-plane, a full-face and trickier because it is her second rodeo – is that Levine managed to make the scars invisible. And none of the old-school “pulling” is evident either, despite the amount of laxity in her “before” tabloid shots. That, Asaria will comment on: the secret to discreet and keep-them-guessing is the latest-technology and technique in fat grafting.
A full facelift, which apparently can run into six figures with surgeons such as Levine, is not for everyone. We have other great examples of celebrities aging in their own skin, literally: icons such as Pam Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis and Helen Mirren. The point is not about which route is “better” to take: at the Zoomerist, we believe fervently that people now have the choice to age the way that feels most authentic to them. And we can all celebrate a new openness around whatever degree of “work” one chooses to do.
Always asking questions,
—Leanne Delap
