Drastic Things The Kardashians Did To Alter Their Looks
There's an old saying: The only thing constant is change. That may well apply to the ever-evolving physical appearance of the Kardashians. The women of the world's most famous reality TV family look almost unrecognizable today compared to when they first hit airwaves in 2007. Some of that is growing up — Kendall and Kylie Jenner, for example, were just kids when the show first debuted — but some of it is the result of some heavy handed makeup artists, and, possibly, doctors.
The Kardashians have admitted to some bizarre self-care practices (remember Kim's "vampire facial?"), but there are certain changes to their faces and bodies about which they remain coy. The average person knows contouring and squats can only do so much for most women. Some of the Kardashian and Jenner transformations have been obvious, like when Khloe went back to her natural dirty blond hair, but others were gradual, subtle changes that you may not have noticed right away. Here, we examine the drastic measures that the Kardashians and Jenners may have taken to look the way that they do.
Kim Kardashian's face looks really different
Kim Kardashian's face looks markedly different in 2019 (right) than it did when she first became infamous around 2007 (left), and some experts speculate that it's not just the result of aging. Specifically, Kardashian's petite proboscis has often come into question. Kardashian has denied ever getting a nose job, despite widespread speculation that she's had rhinoplasty. She told Wonderland in 2016, "People think I've had my nose done. I haven't. I used to hate this bump on my nose. Hated it. Now I love that it makes me look more ethnic." However, plastic surgeon Dr. Zara Harutyunyan, who hasn't treated Kardashian, speculated to Radar Online that Kardashian actually has had work done, specifically "a rhinoplasty to make her nose slimmer and the tip more pointy."
Kardashian's cheekbones also have a different appearance than they did when she first hit the Hollywood scene. Sources told Us Weekly (via The Daily Mail) that Kardashian regularly uses injectables all over her face except around her eyes. The insider said that Kardashian got filler in that area of her face, and was "uncomfortable," so she avoids it now. Kardashian herself said as much in a 2010 blog (via E! News), explaining that when she got Botox in the past that she freaked out over the bruises it left on her skin, but that it's a normal side effect and that her doctor didn't do anything wrong.
Kim Kardashian has a complicated relationship with lasers
Kim Kardashian used laser hair removal to get rid of the baby hairs on her forehead and neck, but regretted it later. She wrote on her blog in 2016 (via People), "I lasered my baby hairs off years ago, because my forehead had all these little baby hairs, and I would always break out because of them ... I also lasered my neck because I had such a hairy neck." She added, "Every photographer would photoshop them out anyway, and I thought I looked better without the baby hairs, but now I miss them. I think they look youthful!"
Of course, Kardashian left out two important details about her experience with laser hair removal. She endorsed a home laser hair removal system, Tria, and was sued in 2012 by a competitor's manufacturer over alleged false claims over the efficacy of the Tria laser. She later had a paid partnership with Sugar Bear Hair, a supplement used to — you guessed it — allegedly help grow your hair.
Has Kim Kardashian spent big bucks on plastic surgery?
Plastic surgeon Dr. Tabasum Mir speculated that Kim Kardashian has spent a whopping $100,000 on various procedures to alter her appearance. Dr. Mir, who's never treated Kardashian, alleged that the reality starlet had a "tummy tuck," "liposuction," "cellulite reduction," and possibly even breast implants after giving birth to her son, Saint, in December 2015. Kardashian's rep denied the allegations to the Daily Mail. However, Kardashian did share a snap (via Us Weekly) of her self getting a "not particularly invasive" tummy tuck in August 2016.
Another plastic surgeon told The Mirror that Kardashian's infamous derriere was likely the result of a Brazilian butt lift procedure, telling the outlet that though Kardashian once took an X-ray to prove she didn't have implants in her backside, "This does not rule out fat transfer/fat injections to the buttocks. This would not show on an x-ray as it is the patient's own body fat and not an implant. It is possible she has had fat transferred from less desirable areas such as the waist or stomach and had it put into her buttocks and hips to create a curvier frame."
Kylie Jenner confessed to lip injections, but nothing else
After years of denial, Kylie Jenner confessed in 2017 to getting lip injections, explaining that her pre-plumped pout was a major insecurity. "I was 15 and I was insecure about my lips. I have really small lips," she said on an episode of Life of Kylie (via People). "And it was like one of my first kisses and a guy was like, 'I didn't think you would be a good kisser because you have such small lips.' But I took that really hard." In summer 2018, Jenner said she'd dissolved her fillers, but eventually went back to getting lip injections, albeit in much more "conservative" amounts, according to the registered nurse who claimed to have given Jenner her rebooted injection regimen.
Some experts speculated to Hollywood Life that Jenner also had injections (or implants) elsewhere — specifically, her derriere, which is significantly plumper than her waist, while others speculated she may have breast implants to boot. Jenner denied it, writing in her app (via In Touch Weekly) that she's terrified of going under for surgery but that she wouldn't necessarily discount going under the knife in the future. "Truth is, as I've gotten older, I've gained 15 pounds and my body has changed; I've definitely filled out ... But I'm also someone who says 'never say never.' If, down the line, I get to a point where I'm really uncomfortable with something on my body, I'm not against changing it."
Kendall Jenner swears the drastic change in her face is au naturale
While supermodel Kendall Jenner isn't believed to have had any work done below the neck, plastic surgeons who haven't treated her speculate that she's had surgical tweaks to her face. Dr. David Alessi told Life & Style that he thinks Jenner got a nose job, noting, "The lower lateral cartilage outline in the tip can be seen clearly and appears to have been reduced. The nasal bridge appears to be smaller. This is more than one would expect with just makeup and smiling."
It was also suspected that Jenner dabbled in lip fillers like her sister, Kylie, which she denied. Kendall explained the seemingly drastic transformation in her looks in a post on her app (via E! News) in 2017, claiming she simply let Kylie "over-line" her lips, writing, "All of a sudden, photos of us came out with headlines like, 'OMG Kendall got her lips done and got full facial reconstruction — look at her cheekbones, look at her nose!' I was like, this is CRAZY." She added, "It's all so exhausting. As a model, why would I have my face reconstructed? It doesn't even make sense," she said. "It's crazy because sometimes I feel like people just want me to lose."
Khloe Kardashian said botched fillers made her 'look crazy'
In March 2016, Khloe Kardashian confessed on Botched that she previously had facial fillers, but hated the way that they made her look, so she got them removed. She told Dr. Terry DuBrow (via the Daily Mail), "It did not work for me. I looked crazy, and I still think the effects are in there — I went to have it all dissolved like three times." Kardashian said that she got her fillers around the time that her then-estranged husband, Lamar Odom, overdosed and nearly died, and says her doctor told her that she was too stressed for the fillers to work properly. Prior to the episode, she'd denied having fillers.
In May 2015, Kardashian got cellulite lasered off of her rear end while her sisters ate pastries off of a metal cart on an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Of the futuristic-sounding blemish removal procedure, she told Glamour, "I think the reason I like lasers more is because I feel like they're less invasive. Maybe. But I will try literally any lasers. I've done it on my neck and my face — even for redness and wrinkles, for tightening and cellulite, anything."
Khloe Kardashian has denied nose jobs and other facial surgeries
Khloe Kardashian's face went through some major changes between 2018 and 2021. Her nose and chin look drastically different in red carpet photos and candids, and even more so in her own social media posts. In July 2018, she denied getting rhinoplasty, writing in the comments of one of her Instagram photos (via Us Weekly) that her slimmed-down schnoz was the result of "Great contouring!! We go overboard but my nose spread during pregnancy so I'm just waiting for it to go back lol." A plastic surgeon who hasn't treated Kardashian (yet, that we know of) explained to Insider, "You can achieve some of these effects with appropriate makeup and photo filters, but the amount of decrease in width of the tip [of her nose] suggests to me a rhinoplasty procedure." Another surgeon speculated, "There's definitely modifications to filler in her jaw line, cheek, bone, chin area and lips. And then after that it's contacts and lashes and makeup and Photoshop and filters."
For her part, Kardashian says she finds the dissections of her mug upsetting. "I don't want anyone to kiss my a**. I'm not asking for that," she wrote in March 2021 (via Us Weekly). "But what I am asking for is for people to realize just what articles like this does to someone's soul and confidence."
Kourtney Kardashian regrets her big bust increase
Kourtney Kardashian has been relatively candid about the fact that she's had a breast augmentation, admitting that she regrets getting implants. She told Showbiz Spy (via People) in 2011, "I had my boobs done but if I could go back, I wouldn't have done it. I was so cute before. I've realized that I was made to look a certain way and I'm considering removing them."
Has she had more work done? Maybe. California-based plastic surgeon Dr. Tim Sayed, who hasn't treated Kardashian, admitted that whatever she may or may not have had done is subtle enough to leave even experts guessing. He told Radar Online that Kardashian may have had a "liquid nose job," which is done with dermal fillers instead of traditional surgery, noting that the bridge of her nose appears slimmer today than it did several years ago. Other surgeons also suspected she's had lip fillers and Botox, but that unlike her sisters, she's never gone overboard with it.
Kris Jenner televised several of her surgeries
Kris Jenner chronicled a facelift on Keeping Up With The Kardashians in 2011. The momager was openly nervous about the procedure, telling her daughter before going under the knife that was scared, and didn't "want to die." In 2012, Jenner admitted she had a previous breast augmentation and documented the replacement of her implants on the show. She said of filming her implant surgery, "You know, take them out and change them after 10 years. That was a big message and important for me to sort of put out there in a comical way ... But it was so important, health-wise, to remind women to check your expiration date because it's a health risk."
It wasn't the only procedure she had on TV. In 2018, an episode of KUWTK aired featuring Jenner undergoing earlobe reduction surgery, People reported. Surgeons who haven't treated Jenner told Radar Online they believe she's undergone other procedures as well, including cheek contouring, facial fillers, Botox, fat grafting and a possible brow lift.