Celebrities Seem To Love This Plastic Surgery Procedure. Their Fans, Not So Much.
Celebrities Seem To Love This Plastic Surgery Procedure. Their Fans, Not So Much.
Brittany WongThu, October 29, 2026 at 4:56 PM UTC
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Seemingly out of nowhere, celebrities are obsessed with getting upper “bleph” surgery, while the rest of us long for the days of natural eyelids.
Blepharoplasty ― the procedure’s full name ― isn’t new. The eyelid surgery involves removing or repositioning excess skin, muscle and fat from the upper and/or lower eyelids to make eyes look less tired, reduce undereye bags or restore peripheral vision obstructed by sagging skin.
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Because of what it addresses, it’s usually a surgery for older clients. Several older celebrities have talked about getting the eye tweak, including Jane Fonda, the late Dolly Parton and George Clooney. (“I think it’s important to look awake,” he reportedly joked in a 2007 interview with his “Ocean’s Eleven” co-star Julia Roberts.)
Lately, though, people suspect celebrities still years away from AARP membership are getting upper bleph surgery to “fix” their hooded eyes: Bradley Cooper,Mandy Moore and Emma Stone among them.
“A horrible bleph has taken another historic hottie from us,” someone joked on Threads about Matthew McConaughey earlier this year, alongside photos of the actor from different eras. (None of these people have confirmed or denied having the surgery.)
Jennifer Lawrence is the latest younger celebrity suspected of going under the knife.
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“I would have no idea this was Jennifer Lawrence without the post below mentioning it,” one person said on X after the actor was photographed for The Cut this week to promote her new haircare brand. Some remarked that she had lost her most distinctive features and lamented that “upper blephs are the new veneers.”
Others said they wished they could afford the surgery themselves ― the procedure can reportedly cost anywhere from $6,000 to $15,000 ― or raved about getting it after 40.
While Lawrence, 36, didn’t disclose having any eye surgery, she did tell The Cut that she had undergone a breast lift and plans to get a facelift someday.
“I want to be a sexy mom,” the mother of two told the outlet. “At drop-off, I want to look like a woman that has her **** together even when I’ve just woken up and don’t have my **** together.”
While Jennifer Lawrence, 36, confirmed she'd had a breast lift and plans to get a facelift, but didn’t say she’d had eye surgery as many fans suspect.Christopher Polk/2026GG via Getty Images
Obviously, there’s no right way to age, or appropriate time to get certain procedures, but because the word “bleph” is seemingly on everyone’s lips, we decided to ask plastic surgeons what they think of the trend.
According to Dr. Anthony Youn, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Michigan, anyone with excess skin on the upper lids, especially if it overhangs and covers the upper eyelid or creates a visual field deficit, is a candidate for blepharoplasty.
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“The eye looks more open and alert afterwards, but I’d say men need to be cautious because it can also make the appearance a bit feminized if overdone,” Youn told HuffPost.
The goal is a more defined eyelid that still looks natural. Generally, less is more when it’s done, said Dr. Rod Rohrich, a plastic surgeon at the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute.
“Removing too much skin or fat can cause premature hollowing, dry eye symptoms or difficulty closing the eyes,” he said.
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And it should go without saying that hooded eyes can be just as beautiful as other eye shapes. They aren’t just a normal anatomical variation; they’re often an important part of a person’s identity, Rohrich said.
People of Asian descent, for instance, often have thicker fat pads in their upper eyelids and an epicanthal fold at the inner corners of their eyes. (The popularity of blepharoplasty in the Asian American community — often referred to as double eyelid surgery — is a more complex subject, shaped by historical context, cultural identity and evolving beauty standards.)
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On the left, an eyelid that’s not hooded. On the right, a hooded eyelid.simarik via Getty Images / Juanmonino via Getty Images
To get back to the celebrities, plenty of factors can make someone’s eyes look different, from makeup, lighting and facial expressions to aging, weight changes, injectables and brow position. But Youn suspects that eye surgery may explain some celebrities’ changing appearances. (And they could be getting lateral brow lifts ― also called a mini brow lift ― along with the upper bleph surgery.)
“I believe that several of the celebrities in their 30s and 40s who look like they’ve undergone a transformation recently have had this operation done,” he told HuffPost.
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The scars are easy to hide in the eyelid crease, and it’s often combined with a brow lift for an even bigger change, he noted.
“Some doctors are also adding a cheek lift and fat transfers to the cheeks to create the dramatic changes we see in certain Hollywood stars,” Youn said.
Are more young people getting the surgery, aside from celebrities?
Blepharoplasty ranked as the number one cosmetic surgical procedure globally in recent data from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. In the U.S., the American Society of Plastic Surgeons recorded 118,978 eyelid surgeries in 2025, a nearly 19% increase from the previous year. The procedure ranked fifth behind liposuction, breast augmentation, tummy tuck and breast lift.
Patients ages 55 and over account for a vast majority of blepharoplasty procedures.Illustration: HuffPost; Photo: Getty Images
According to the data, adults in their 20s and early 30s are increasingly opting for the procedure, but this demographic still accounts for under 3% of operations. Patients ages 55 and over still account for a vast majority of the surgical procedures.
That said, Youn said there are always young people coming in curious about upper blepharoplasty, especially now that it’s being talked about online.
“Benefits must outweigh drawbacks for the patient,” he said. “It’s a common cosmetic procedure for people who have hooded eyes, and is reasonable when the hooding is severe and worth trading for a scar, but trade-off of a scar for the skin is what they need to be OK with.”
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Removing that excess skin or orbital fat can also give the upper eyelid a hollow, skeletonized look ― which is what people are commenting about online with the celebrities.
Both plastic surgeons we spoke to said that getting the procedure done too early can sometimes make a person appear older ― or at least markedly different. (Certainly enough for fans on social media to comment if you happen to be a household name.)
Rodrich likes to say that, unless your goal is to get the internet talking, the best plastic surgery is “invisibly visible.”
“A changing beauty trend is not, by itself, a reason for surgery,” he said. “My operating philosophy is that I do not perform a procedure where I believe the benefit is minimal.”
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