The internet is obsessed with a version of Bella Hadid that doesn't really exist anymore. You’ve seen the side-by-side collages. On the left, a "puffy" teenager with a rounder nose and softer jaw; on the right, the chiseled, "fox-eyed" supermodel who looks like she was carved out of marble. People point to Bella Hadid pre surgery as a smoking gun for the "unnatural" beauty standards of the 2020s.
But here is the thing: the story is way more human than a surgeon’s invoice.
Honestly, the conversation around Bella’s face has become a sort of Rorschach test for how we feel about celebrity culture. We look at those early photos of a 13-year-old girl and compare them to a 28-year-old woman who has spent over a decade under the most intense professional lighting on the planet. It’s not just about the "work" done. It’s about a girl who felt like the "uglier sister" and tried to fix a perceived flaw before she even finished puberty.
The One She Admitted: The 14-Year-Old Mistake
For years, the Hadid camp stayed silent. Then, in a 2022 Vogue interview, Bella finally broke. She confirmed the one thing everyone already knew: she had a rhinoplasty at age 14.
Think about that. Fourteen.
Most kids are worried about algebra or who’s sitting at their lunch table. Bella was sitting in a plastic surgeon's office. She has since been very vocal about her regret, famously stating, "I wish I had kept the nose of my ancestors. I think I would have grown into it."
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That quote hits hard because it touches on heritage. Bella is half-Palestinian, and she’s realized that the "imperfection" she erased was actually a bridge to her family history. When we talk about Bella Hadid pre surgery, we are usually talking about that original nose—a feature she now views as a lost piece of her identity.
Why the timeline matters
- Age 14: The confirmed nose job takes place.
- The "Puffy" Era: Most of those "before" photos are from her early teens, a time of natural baby fat.
- 2014-2015: She enters the modeling world. The face starts to thin out.
- The 2020s: The "Ultra-Chiseled" look. This is where the rumors of jaw shaving and eye lifts peak.
The "Fox Eye" Mystery and Face Tape
If you look at Bella today, her eyes have this incredible, upward-swept tilt. The internet calls it the "fox eye" look. Critics are convinced she had a canthoplasty (surgery to lift the eye corners) or a thread lift.
Bella’s response? Face tape.
"The oldest trick in the book," she called it.
Is it possible? Well, drag queens and old Hollywood stars have been using adhesive tape to pull their skin taut for decades. However, plastic surgeons often weigh in on this, noting that her brow position remains remarkably high even when her hair is up in a tight ponytail—where tape would theoretically be visible. Whether it’s a surgical lift, "pony-tail lifts," or just world-class contouring, the difference from the Bella Hadid pre surgery era is undeniably dramatic.
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Losing the Baby Fat vs. Buccal Fat Removal
One of the biggest misconceptions is that every change in a celebrity's face is surgical.
When you look at Bella at 15 versus Bella at 25, the volume in her cheeks has vanished. This led to massive speculation about buccal fat removal—a procedure where the fat pads in the cheeks are surgically taken out to create a hollowed-out, "high-fashion" look.
But we have to be fair: she was a child in those early photos.
Most of us lose that "puffy" teenage look in our early twenties. Bella also suffers from chronic Lyme disease, which she has said causes extreme inflammation and weight fluctuations. When she is "flaring," her face looks different. When she is at her thinnest for runway season, her bone structure pops.
She has vehemently denied using fillers or Botox. "People think I fully f—ed with my face because of one picture of me as a teenager looking puffy," she told Vogue. "I’m pretty sure you don’t look the same now as you did at 13, right?"
The Psychology of the "Uglier Sister"
We can't talk about Bella Hadid pre surgery without talking about Gigi.
Bella has admitted that she spent her childhood feeling like the "ugly" one compared to her blonde, "all-American" looking sister. That kind of psychological weight is heavy. It explains why a 14-year-old would feel the need to change her face.
It’s a cautionary tale about the modeling industry. Even the woman frequently cited as having the "perfect face" (based on the Golden Ratio of Beauty Phi) grew up feeling inadequate.
What We Can Actually Learn From This
If you’re looking at your own "before" photos and wondering why you don't look like a supermodel, remember that Bella Hadid’s look is a combination of:
- A confirmed teenage surgery (which she regrets).
- Genetic lottery winnings (her mother, Yolanda, was a model too).
- Elite-level makeup and "face tape" tricks.
- Aging (losing baby fat).
- Professional maintenance (lasers, facials, and possibly "tweakments" she hasn't disclosed).
The "perfect" face we see on Instagram is a professional product.
Actionable Takeaways for Your Own Routine:
- Don't rush the knife: Bella’s regret about her 14-year-old self is a huge lesson. Your face changes drastically between 14 and 25. Let your features settle before deciding they are "flaws."
- Master the "Tape" and Contour: Before considering an eye lift, experiment with lifting techniques using makeup. High-placed bronzer and specific ponytail placements can mimic the "lifted" look without the permanence.
- Skin Health over Structure: A lot of what we perceive as "supermodel beauty" is just incredible skin texture. Focus on hydration and sun protection rather than chasing a specific jawline.
- Embrace "Ancestral" Features: Trends change. The "Instagram Face" of the 2010s is already being replaced by a more "natural" aesthetic. The features you might hate now could be the exact thing that makes you look unique and high-fashion in five years.
Bella Hadid is a reminder that even "perfection" is often born out of insecurity. The girl in the Bella Hadid pre surgery photos was beautiful—she just didn't know it yet.