What's Up With Teen Stars Having Cosmetic Surgery?

"We are going to Botox that in order to get it flat so she will have a cuter face," Belo told AccessHollywood.com. "We want to give her the apple cheek look because it's cute, right?"

Her rep confirmed the news but denied it was for cosmetic reasons, saying instead it was "to relieve a jaw condition similar to TMJ."

No matter what was behind her decision, Charice isn't alone. Lindsay Lohan's sister Ali reportedly had her lips plumped with collagen filler when she was only 14. Hilary Duff famously got noticeable, overly large veneers on her teeth when she was 18. And countless other pop tarts have had cosmetic procedures in the hopes of making themselves look better on camera and land the roles they're after.

"Many more younger stars and emerging stars are coming in with their agents and with their parents to ask what we can do," Southern California plastic surgeon Dr. Grant Stevens, who has several celebrities as patients, told PopEater. "These stars live in a world where their talent is judged based on their appearance."

Michigan plastic surgeon Dr. Tony Youn, who writes the Celebrity Cosmetic Surgery Blog and has been featured on the TV series 'Dr. 90210,' said the pressure is high to look perfect, even for the younger actors and actresses.

"What we're seeing is that a lot of teens are undergoing plastic surgery," Youn told PopEater. "It's more of a problem in Hollywood because celebrities are held to a higher standard. They need to look good all the time."

The advent of Botox, a competitor wrinkle-fighting chemical called Dysport and fillers have made getting work done much more accessible to segments of the population who wouldn't normally do it, like teen stars.


Last year, Botox was the No. 1 most performed cosmetic procedure in the U.S., with 5 million treatments recorded, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. There were a total of 11 million minimally invasive procedures done in 2009, the ASPS said.

But most 18-and-under pop tarts aren't looking to get Botox to erase wrinkles, since they don't have any yet. They want the injections for other reasons.

"I have teenagers [in Hollywood] who come in seeking Botox to change the shape of their face or the arc of the brow," said Stevens, whose practice is in Marina del Rey, near Los Angeles. "It can change the smile, making it softer and friendlier or more menacing. They're also coming in to ask about cheek implants, chin implants and neck liposuctions."

Nose jobs are common procedures in Hollywood too and usually happen before celebrities become household names, when they're in their teens.

"A lot of girls in Hollywood have nose jobs before we know who they are," said Youn. "About 1 out of every 3 or 4 celebrities appear to have had their noses done, but most before they made it big."

The number of 13-19-year-olds who get plastic surgery is still relatively small -- only 2 percent of the total in 2009. But the uptick in teen stars going under the knife and getting cosmetic injections stems in part from an influx of media attention on plastic surgery and TV shows that glorify it, like 'Extreme Makeover.'

"Unfortunately, the media and the makeover shows have made it look so darn easy, like going to get a hair cut," Stevens said. "So they just don't understand the gravity of plastic surgery."

It also can be blamed on the excessively nipped and tucked celebs idolized by young up-and-comers, like Lohan, Kim Kardashian and Heidi Montag, to name a few.

"The people who are popular right now have these overly exaggerated, Barbie-doll type bodies," said Youn. "These are the role models."

Stevens says he counsels teen stars to make sure they're aware of the risks and it's not their mothers or agents who are forcing them to get something done.

"I think the surgeon and the patient should be very circumspect about embarking on this alteration of their body or face at such a young age," he said. "It is my preference to postpone most of these procedures."

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