What would you do to have your 35-year-old face – forever?
In a growing Hollywood trend, new-age facelifts turn back time, and patients emerge looking decades younger. Dubbed the ‘Forever-35 Face’ by New York Magazine’s The Cut, the modern approach to facial rejuvenation aims to preserve youthful contours without drastically altering facial structure.
But if it sounds too good to be true, that’s because it might be, at least, according to Dr Terry Dubrow.
The plastic surgeon, of Botched fame, is sounding the alarm over the phenomenon, urging people to rethink just how far they push anti-aging procedures and warning of less-than-ideal results.
While appearing on The Skinny Confidential Him & Her podcast alongside his wife, wellness expert and reality TV star Heather Dubrow, he explained that the current wave of cosmetic enhancements aims for ‘ageless,’ barely detectable results – but some celebrities have crossed the line into the uncanny.
And for many, he warned, the results are anything but forever. Once the face has been pulled too far ‘up and back,’ he explained, the skin might relax ‘in an abnormal way’ and ‘starts to look very weird,’ a result that is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to correct.
‘Once you get to weird, it’s hard to get out of weird,’ he said, to which is wife replied, ‘That’s scary.’
Dubrow also cautioned that, for men in particular, aggressive facelifts can backfire.
‘There’s been some males, in that stage of life, that have attempted to have the Forever-35 face,’ he said on the podcast. ‘And not only is it not forever 35, it’s like, “Where did you park your spaceship,” kind of face… because it looks altered.’
Plastic surgeon Dr Terry Dubrow (pictured) is sounding the alarm over a growing Hollywood trend called the ‘Forever-35 Face’
He added that some male celebrities look ‘completely different,’ and not in a good way.
His wife, Heather, agreed that some women go too far, especially around their eyes, and explained her ‘mixed’ feelings about the extreme facelifts.
‘I don’t look like those Forever-35 people because I haven’t done that yet,’ she said. ‘There’s a piece of me like, “Wow, I love that.” And then, there’s another piece of me that thinks, “Well, if I don’t do that, I’ll get all the roles in all those shows and movies because everyone else is going to look 35.”‘
While Dubrow isn’t opposed to enhancements outright, he insists on safety and respecting natural aging. In fact, he said that many people might benefit from modest, carefully applied treatments, like targeted fillers, conservative lifts or non-surgical skin rejuvenation, rather than dramatic full facelifts demanded by societal pressures.
The Forever-35 has gained popularity among patients in their 30s and early 40s who are beginning to notice early signs of aging.
Rather than relying on dramatic surface tightening, the technique commonly involves a deep-plane facelift, which works beneath the skin to reposition underlying fat and muscle layers, known as the SMAS layer.
The goal is not transformation, but restoration: lifting sagging cheeks, defining the jawline, tightening early neck laxity, and creating a refreshed appearance.
The procedure has skyrocketed in recent years as A-listers have become more transparent about cosmetic procedures, fueling demand for results that appear natural and undetectable, with shorter recovery times than traditional facelifts.
According to Dr Samuel J Lin, a double board-certified plastic surgeon, the desire to remain frozen at a certain age reflects broader cultural shifts.
‘There is a greater emphasis on overall self-care and confidence, particularly in the age of social media,’ Lin told The Daily Mail. ‘The ideal age for patients to undergo any facial surgical procedure is unspecified and varies by patient. However, most patients counseled about facial procedures are aged 40-75 years.’
While appearing on The Skinny Confidential Him & Her podcast alongside his wife Heather Dubrow (right), the surgeon shared his thoughts on how chasing that look can go horribly wrong
Dubrow explained that the current wave of cosmetic enhancements aims for ‘ageless,’ barely-detectable results – but some celebrities have crossed the line into the uncanny
Lin explained that the definition of ‘good work’ has dramatically changed over the past decade.
‘Social media perpetuates an almost competitive need for youth and beauty in order to maintain followers and gain new ones – a more daunting task when content creators are constantly compared against unattainable AI-perfected enhancement filters,’ he said. ‘Plastic surgeons are performing the same technical procedures… but they are no longer compared against the “before” surgery look – they are compared against AI and filtered enhancements.’
While Hollywood’s openness about facelifts can help demystify cosmetic surgery, Lin warned it can also complicate patients’ decision-making.
‘Celebrities have long influenced mass purchases of products… [and that extends] to unintentional endorsements of plastic surgery,’ he said.
‘Although new openness about procedures in Hollywood has provided a lens into beauty standards it sets… openness about these procedures also inherently makes more patients aware of the surgeries available.’
Dr Samuel J Lin (pictured) is a double board-certified plastic surgeon
However, he emphasized that what works for one patient may not work for another, and expressed concern when patients seek youth for external validation rather than personal well-being.
‘When a patient is interested in altering their appearance to achieve goals for external validation, it becomes more challenging to attain a satisfactory outcome,’ he said, noting that it is far more realistic to aim for a refreshed version of oneself.
Addressing common misconceptions about deep-plane facelifts, Lin said that the technique is neither inherently overdone nor reserved for older patients, stressing that outcomes depend on surgeon skill and patient goals.
He urged patients to prioritize credentials over trends, encouraging them to verify board certification and to ask surgeons detailed questions about experience and potential complications.
But there is one myth in particular he was eager to debunk: facelifts are only for women.
‘Men experience the same signs of aging… as women,’ he said. ‘Men can, and do, undergo facelifts, and techniques are being adapted to fit their needs.’
Board-certified New York plastic surgeon Dr Lara Devgan said she is seeing the same shift.
‘More patients want to hold onto the mid-30s version of themselves rather than chase a dramatically younger look,’ Devgan told the Daily Mail.
‘It reflects a new philosophy of aging: people want continuity, not reinvention. They are trying to stay within their natural range so the face ages in a steady, believable arc.’
According to Devgan, interest in deep-plane facelifts has grown precisely because the technique aligns with modern expectations. (Pictured: one of Devgan’s patients)
Board-certified New York plastic surgeon Dr Lara Devgan says she is seeing the same shift
She explained that ‘Patients today understand that aging is a slow accumulation of changes – collagen and elastin breakdown, bone loss, descent of soft tissue – not a single event.’
‘Most patients are not striving for perfection,’ she added. ‘They are trying to protect proportion, identity, and the quiet details that make their face their own.’
According to Devgan, interest in deep-plane facelifts has grown because the technique aligns with those modern expectations.
‘The deep-plane approach works on the foundational anatomy rather than tensioning the skin, which allows the face to look refreshed rather than rearranged,’ she said, likening the evolution of facelift surgery to technological progress.
‘Smaller incisions, discreet scars, deeper lifting and better longevity are the new standard,’ she added. ‘The goal is not only to reverse aging but to restore proportion and clarity while preserving identity.’
She also noted a widening age range among patients, explaining that anatomy – not getting older – determines candidacy.
‘When someone has roughly one centimeter of pinchable laxity in the midface, jowl or neck, a facelift becomes structurally meaningful,’ she said. ‘The timeline is written in tissue architecture, not birthdays.’
As for the future of facial rejuvenation, Devgan said the industry is actually moving in another direction.
‘We are not chasing agelessness,’ she said. ‘We are building a version of aging that is elegant, intentional and aligned with who the patient is at every decade.’
The debate around Forever-35 Face exploded into the mainstream in 2025 after Kris Jenner publicly confirmed she had undergone a facelift.
The debate around the so-called ‘Forever-35 Face’ exploded into the mainstream this year after Kris Jenner (pictured) confirmed she had undergone a facelift
Jenner pictured left in 2025 and right in 2024
Back in May, a representative for Jenner confirmed that the Kardashian matriarch had seen celebrity plastic surgeon Dr Steven M Levine (pictured)
Back in May, a representative for Jenner confirmed that the Kardashian family matriarch had seen celebrity plastic surgeon Dr Steven M Levine, widely known as the ‘facelift maestro,’ according to Page Six.
Jenner later addressed the procedure during an August interview with Vogue Arabia, framing it not as an attempt to look decades younger, but as a personal choice rooted in confidence.
‘I had a facelift about 15 years ago, so it was time for a refresh,’ she explained. ‘I decided to do this facelift because I want to be the best version of myself, and that makes me happy.’
She pushed back against the idea that aging should look the same for everyone.
‘Just because you get older, it doesn’t mean you should give up on yourself,’ Jenner said. ‘If you feel comfortable in your skin and you want to age gracefully – meaning you don’t want to do anything – then don’t do anything. But for me, this is aging gracefully. It’s my version.’
The momager has long been candid about cosmetic procedures, having previously undergone a facelift in 2011 with Dr Garth Fisher, as well as Botox, a breast augmentation in the 1980s, and earlobe reduction surgery in 2018.
Over the years, celebrities like Sharon Osbourne, Jane Fonda, Marc Jacobs, Kathy Griffin and Sonja Morgan have also openly confirmed getting facelifts.
But lately, a number of Hollywood stars – including Brad Pitt, Anne Hathaway and Lindsay Lohan – have become the focus of speculation about their own transformations.
Jane Fonda previously told Vogue she’s ‘not proud’ of her facelift, but said: ‘I had a facelift and I stopped because I don’t want to look distorted’
Kathy Griffin has been open about her plastic surgery
Lohan’s youthful looks sparked speculation that she might have seen a plastic surgeon, which her representative has previously denied. (Pictured left in 2025 and right in 2013)
Brad Pitt left in 2022 and right in 2025
This year, Anne Hathaway also sparked feverish rumors about how she looks younger than ever
The Daily Mail has contacted respective representatives for Lohan, Pitt and Hathaway.
While Pitt and Hathaway have not commented on any rumored aesthetic enhancements recently, the actress denied going under the knife back in 2008.
‘Your face needs to have character if you’re going to be an actor,’ she said at the time, ‘or you’re just kind of a face.’
In early 2025, it also was rumored that Lohan, 38, got plastic surgery, though she insisted her looks are the results of good health.
‘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,’ her publicist told Glamour in May.
‘The haters can hate and be jealous. It just sucks that that’s where they go with women in today’s world. Women can’t just look good to look good and change their lifestyle to be more healthy.’
