Chelsea Handler’s face has become a sort of public record due to the amount of time she has spent on television. With the seriousness of forensic analysts, people watch it, comment on it, take screenshots of it, and debate it in Reddit threads. She also occasionally plays along and occasionally tells everyone to mind their own business, just like she usually does.
When Handler shared a side-by-side image of the outcomes of a ProFractional laser treatment on Instagram in October 2016, it became the most well-known part of this continuing discussion. “No one is paying me to tell you about it, and it’s f—ing awesome. “Bam!” she wrote in her enthusiastic tone, which is brisk and slightly combative. The post moved quickly. It was picked up by skincare blogs. It was sent to newsletters by dermatology clinics via email. Without spending a single penny, Sciton, the laser company, had a celebrity case study.
More fascinating than the picture itself was what transpired next. Dr. Joe Niamtu, a cosmetic surgeon in Virginia, pointed out that the two pictures weren’t truly comparable in a cautious and somewhat irritated blog post. He claimed that the “before” photo was taken in close-up, without flash, without makeup, and while the skin was still irritated from the procedure. The “after” was pulled back, the lighting was uniform, the makeup was applied, and the face was at ease. In essence, he referred to it as photographic trickery. Just deceptive, not malicious. Since the original image had already done its job, this kind of correction seldom goes viral.
Even when Handler is obviously distorting the facts, there is a certain honesty to the way she has responded to inquiries over the years. Interviewers were informed that she does not use Botox. However, she has acknowledged having a breast reduction and fillers, which she has publicly discussed with the same shrug she uses for most things. You get the impression from watching her in interviews that she finds the entire discussion a little ridiculous, in part because she’s been well-known long enough to know it never ends, and in part. After all, she doesn’t seem to think it’s a crime worth lying about to look refreshed.
Around her, the broader culture surrounding cosmetic surgery has changed. Denial was the norm ten years ago. These days, comedians like Kathy Griffin publicly list their facelifts and occasionally make jokes about them on TikTok. The handler hasn’t progressed that far. However, the discussion surrounding her skin, cheekbones, and shifting jawline reflects a larger trend in Hollywood toward partial transparency, where celebrities acknowledge certain things, deny others, and hope the public won’t press too hard.
It’s difficult to ignore the fact that Handler is rarely the one with the greatest interest in her face. Her cheekbones are dissected in Reddit threads. Since her Girls Behaving Badly days, tabloids have coexisted side by side. She has been performing stand-up, writing books about grief and menopause, and posting from ski slopes in the interim. The face is performing its function. She still looks like Chelsea Handler, albeit with a slightly polished appearance, whether it’s due to lasers, fillers, lighting, or some combination that no one outside of her dermatologist’s office can verify. which might be the best you can hope for in this field.