You sit next to them every day and think you know everything about them.
But one day your coworker comes into the office and something seems ‘off’.
Suddenly, their hair is up in a ponytail for the first time in months or they started growing out their beard. Maybe they appear more youthful and alert, or less expressive.
It might not be your imagination. It could be a sign your coworker has had secret plastic surgery.
One in four Americans now report getting cosmetic work, ranging from fillers and Botox to a face lift or nose job. It was fewer than one in 100 in the 1990s.
And plastic surgeons have told the Daily Mail that with modern techniques, high-quality procedures are virtually ‘unnoticeable’ to the untrained eye.
We spoke with three top surgeons who revealed the remarkably subtle signs a colleague, relative or loved one has indulged in a secret touch up…
‘Pixie’ or ‘bat’ ears
Plastic surgeons have speculated that Nicole Kidman may have had a face lift due to her ‘pixie ears.’ She has denied going under the knife
Generally, there are two types of ear lobes: free and attached. While attached ear lobes are directly connected to the head, free ones are floppy and hang down.
But if your colleague’s ear lobes are overly stretched out, it may not be not genetics.
‘Pixie ear’ (sometimes known as ‘bat ear’), says Dr Norman Rowe, a plastic surgeon at Rowe Plastic Surgery in New Jersey, is a ‘telltale’ sign that someone has been under the knife.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘Pixie ear is certainly not normal and not anatomic, and it’s usually a result of as face lift, neck lift, or both.’
The ear lobe normally has a ‘U’ shape that stops before hitting the cheek.
But if someone has had a face or neck lift, and surgeons put too much pressure on the incision site, it can cause the ear lobe to become abnormally stretched.
A face lift, also called a rhytidectomy, involves pulling back a flap of skin on each side of the face to reduce sagging and produce a tightened effect.
There are several types of face lift, but a traditional one involves separating skin from its underlying tissues and tightening the muscles around the face and neck.
About 131,000 Americans get a face lift every year. They can cost anywhere between $11,000 to $30,000.
A neck lift, also called a lower rhytidectomy, is less invasive and is performed about 160,000 times per year. They generally costs between $3,000 and $15,000.
Plastic surgeons have suggested that Demi Moore has ‘pixie ears.’ She has denied having plastic surgery in the past
Dr Sean McNally, a plastic surgeon at the Oregon Clinic in Portland, told the Daily Mail that scarring near the back of the ear could also indicate a recent face lift.
He said: ‘For face lifts the incisions are typically run around the ear. The ones in front of the ear can heal so well it’s hard to tell, but the ones behind the ear are usually more visible.’
Dr Rowe noted that someone who has had a face lift may have a ‘boxier’ tragus, the small, pointed cartilage flap located in front of the ear canal.
He said: ‘It’s normally got a curve to it, but when you cut behind the ear, sometimes it ends up being a little boxy. That is telltale.’
Hair changes
Plastic surgeon Dr Johnny Betteridge has suggested that Kim Kardashian may have had a face lift based on changes to her hairline. He said: ‘Given her facial appearance, I think she had a Ponytail Facelift around two or three years ago, where the scars are discreetly put in the hairline by the temple and behind the ear’
Tom Brady is pictured during the Super Bowl last month. Generally, there should be about an inch of space between the end of a man’s sideburns and the start of his beard. If that space looks like it is closing up, it is usually because of a face lift, since the face gets pulled back
Is your coworker suddenly wearing her hair down for the first time in months? She may have had a face lift, Dr Rowe says.
‘I see it all the time with my patients if they’re one, two or three weeks post op. Their hairstyle automatically changes. They might wear their hair one way for years, then all of a sudden their hair is different,’ he said.
‘That’s to cover up scars. Especially if you’ve had a face lift, you’re not going to pin it back.’
Dr Rowe said the same goes for a man, as he may let his beard grow out to hide swelling and incision sites.
Generally, there should be about an inch of space between the end of a man’s sideburns and the start of his beard.
However, Dr Christopher Costa, founder of Platinum Plastic Surgery in Las Vegas, said that if that space looks like it is closing up, it is usually because of a face lift, since the face gets pulled back.
He also noted that if a person’s hairline starts to shift, it could be due to a brow lift.
Also called a forehead lift, a brow lift involves repositioning the forehead to get rid of wrinkles and raise the eyebrows.
Around 88,000 brow lifts are performed in the US every year, and they cost about $5,000.
A woman may also stop dying her roots if she’s had a brow lift, Dr Rowe says.
‘When you color your hair, the toxic chemicals can affect the incisions and the wound healing. You won’t want someone manipulating the scalp too aggressively because it can cause the incision to open up,’ he said.
Plastic surgeon Dr Jonny Betteridge has suggested that Kim Kardashian may have had a face lift based on changes to her hairline.
He said: ‘Given her facial appearance, I think she had a Ponytail Facelift around two or three years ago, where the scars are discreetly put in the hairline by the temple and behind the ear’
Maybe it’s not just Maybelline
Love Island UK star Alexandra Cane, pictured here, confirmed she had CO2 laser resurfacing done in 2019
Everyone seems to have a skincare routine and nearly three in four US women wear makeup regularly.
But if a co-worker’s skin looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Dr Costa said: ‘Yes, skincare works. But glass-smooth skin with no pores, no fine lines and an almost wax-like glow? That is likely a combination of laser resurfacing, chemical peels and Botox.’
In laser skin resurfacing, surgeons use a beam to destroy the outer layer of skin and heat the underlying layer. This is said to stimulate the growth of collagen, a protein that improves firmness and texture, leading the skin to become smoother and tighter as it heals.
Per procedure, skin resurfacing costs between $400 and $500.
A chemical peel, meanwhile, is another type of ‘resurfacing’ that uses chemical solutions rather than lasers to remove the top layers of the skin.
Depending on how deep the procedure goes, peels can remove wrinkles, acne, uneven skin tones, dryness, scars and precancerous growths, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Light chemical peels cost around $100 to $300, while deeper peels can run up to $6,000.
‘Narrow’ or ‘bunny’ nose
Anne Hathaway has never confirmed or denied rumors about having a nose job, though plastic surgeon Dr Gary Motykie has told the Daily Mail that he has ‘no doubt she had surgery on her nose.’ He said: ‘You see it go from a slightly more plunging bulbous tip with a wide bridge to having a much more defined contour and thinner bridge… That’s the leading sign of having a rhinoplasty’
A radical nose job may be pretty obvious, but sometimes you’ll have to look out for more subtle signs.
Also known as a rhinoplasty, the operation changes the size and shape of the nose.
The surgery may involve making the nose smaller by removing some of the cartilage and bone, or making it larger by adding cartilage from the ears and, sometimes, bone from the hips, elbow or skull.
On average, a rhinoplasty costs around $7,000, though they can range up to $15,000.
Dr Costa explained that while a good rhinoplasty should be undetectable, a narrow nose is often a sign of a recent procedure.
He said: ‘A good rhinoplasty is all about balance, but if the nose tip looks pinched or the nostrils suddenly flare in a way they never used to, it’s a sign of overcorrection.’
Signs of Botox could also show up on a colleague’s nose. Experts point to bunny lines, creases along both sides of the nose that form when someone laughs, smiles or squints.
These typically form if too much Botox has been injected into the area, as it can weaken the muscles that hold our eyebrows down into place. Muscles around the nose then have to over-compensate, causing the bunny lines.
Additional Botox at the sides of the nose can help get rid of bunny lines, though they do also naturally fade in about three to four months.
Dr Costa noted a new ‘tiny shadow above the upper lip’ could be another indicator of a rhinoplasty.
‘That means the angle of the nose has changed, likely from surgery,’ he said.
Cleveland Clinic estimates 350,000 nose jobs are performed every year in the US.
