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January 27, 2026
Dr Tim Pearce
Oops, they did it again! This week everyone is talking about Zac Efron and just what has the 33-year-old Hollywood actor had done to his face which has sparked rumours and speculation all over the media, including social platforms.
It seems that a day does not go by without a celebrity being called out for ‘having something done’ or worst case discovers that everyone is busy shouting ‘what the heck have they done to their face?’. Journalists, social media, and gossip columns become obsessed when high profile actors, singers, politicians, or influencers get it wrong and have an aesthetic treatment disaster which makes them look over-done or unnatural, verging on freakish.
Of course, dissecting a celebrity facial cosmetic treatment mistake or botch could be regarded as bullying or body shaming, especially when people feel that they have the right to ‘pick on’ or ‘call out’ celebrities on social media because they are in the public eye; however, we must remember that they are humans too and we should be kind.
In this blog, Dr Tim Pearce shows how he believes that celebrities who have treatments which go wrong are victims of poorly trained cosmetic clinicians who were misguided in the best approach to treating the patient in front of them – the celebrity – which has led to their appearance being questioned. Tim looks at what aesthetic practitioners can learn from these treatments gone wrong which are splashed all over the media with the tagline ‘here’s what not to do’. He explores how to make sure your aesthetic work is not the next headline or viral meme.
Dr Tim will be discussing more medical aesthetic training tips as part of his upcoming webinar series, so if you’re looking to increase your CPD-certified learning and want to learn more skills to make you a better practitioner, then step one is to register for the free webinars by Dr Tim
Overdone fillers are an aesthetic complication
An aesthetic clinician who creates an unnatural look in a patient is creating a complication.
As such, it is important to minimise the risk of making your patient look off balance, unnatural or freakish in their appearance. If we see a person who has been over treated, with too much filler, for example, it will be the first thing we notice when we look at their face. As humans, we are drawn to other human faces and will immediately notice anything that does not look ‘right’. Aesthetic practitioners should not be aiming for results that appear in any way ‘wrong’ and are noticeably unbalanced or over-defined. You would be doing your patient a disservice because anyone they interact with will be distracted by the changes you have made which have caused an aesthetic complication.
Understanding what has gone wrong with certain celebrity ‘looks’ will make you a better aesthetic practitioner, better able to avoid such results with your treatments, and better able to educate and reassure patients why results or outcomes like that will not happen to them when they come to see you for treatment.
Understanding celebrity faces gone wrong
If a celebrity looks overtreated or unnatural, it is good practice for aesthetic clinicians to try and solve the puzzle – analyse and evaluate them as a patient to understand what may have been performed on the one hand, and which technique or treatment approach has failed. A great place to start it by looking back at past photographs of the celebrity to compare their anatomy before and after the over treatment.
There is a lesson to be learnt in knowing when less is more with injecting dermal fillers. Knowing when to stop injecting is an acquired skill, so that you have enhanced or improved a patient’s appearance, but not taken it too far and created a less recognisable version of themselves. It is one thing to follow patterns, treatment diagrams, ratios, and taught techniques, but this is not enough, you need to hone your aesthetic eye, focusing on the patient in front of you so that you can optimise the result for them.
What went wrong with Zac Efron’s cosmetic treatment?
Looking back at past photographs of Zac Efron, we see a young man growing up, and his face has at various stages not been the most masculine of faces, the squareness of his jaw is still developing so it would be fair to regard him as having boyish good looks.
In the most recent photograph of Zac, he has a completely different look. His chin is larger and squarer than before, and definition has been brought to his jawline to give him a more typically masculine look – a superhero jaw if you will – with a widening at his gonial angle, making his jawline proportionally stronger. Now, we cannot wholly attribute this to aesthetic treatments because Zac is known to exercise heavily, practising weightlifting, so there is an argument that some of these facial changes could be a result of extreme workouts and the hormonal effects on his body.
However, the most striking change in Zac’s appearance is in his lips which do appear unnatural. There is a loss of definition and a loss in the visible show of his incisor teeth when his lips are slightly apart. This is a giveaway that the lips are no longer in a natural position. The volume of his lips is also very feminising.
Are we being played by the media?
Of course, all of this is speculation unless confirmed by the celebrities themselves. When viewing such media-hyped images of celebrities, it is worth being a little cynical and not just taking them on face value. There may in fact be a reasonable explanation for why the celebrity looks the way they do – shadows, lighting, make-up, odd camera angles, or simply terrible skills with Photoshop! Other images, taken at the same photo opportunity, may cast doubt on the one being used for the viral news and shed new light on the situation; do not believe everything you see straight away.
Recent examples where the media was a tad economical with the actualité include Demi Moore, Uma Thurman, and Hilary Clinton. They have all been accused of having ‘odd’ cosmetic work done, when in fact it was all down to one single photograph (of many) taken on the day which caught them in a different light, at an unusual camera angle, or simply snapped them whilst they made a momentary odd facial expression or movement
Should you treat celebrities yourself?
As you become more successful as an aesthetic clinician, your profile and success may draw in celebrity patients. Dr Tim has a word of warning about this, especially being cautious if you work with a PR company or journalists. You do not want to be associated with treating celebrities who are just there for a freebie, even as a means of promoting your clinic. In this situation, the dynamic is all wrong. You would no longer be treating using the medical model and thus would be treating for entirely the wrong reasons. You may end up over treating for the sake of finding something to offer the patient, so you can get some PR and social media mentions.
You want to have celebrities coming to you as paying patients because they have heard about you, and value your skills and expertise.
What have we learnt?
Everything we do as aesthetic clinicians is to improve the health and well-being of our patients. You need to understand why your patients might show you photographs of celebrities that they want to look like, as well as ones which they do not think have had a good result. Learn to manage their expectations, discuss the issues, and develop a treatment plan specifically for them. By addressing and talking about celebrity photos, explaining the good, the bad, and the ugly about the treatments they appear to have had done, you will build trust and a good relationship with your patients.
At all times, follow a medical model, only treat what needs treating, be mindful not to over treat or treat other areas for the sake of finding something to do, or to use up a syringe. Do not be pressurised by a patient to add more filler where you do not think it is required – celebrity patient or otherwise, (look for signs of dysmorphia) – you are the expert, you know what’s best for the patient.
Zac Efron – Shocking Celeb Filler Results Explained
See our recent Aesthetics Mastery show, where Dr Tim and Miranda Pearce discuss Zac Efron’s treatments.
Are you still anxious about delivering cosmetic injectables safely?
If you want to learn more about mastering medical aesthetic treatments and complications, or conquering the anxiety of where to place your needle, then register for the next Dr Tim webinar.
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Dr Tim Pearce eLearning
Dr Tim Pearce MBChB BSc (Hons) MRCGP founded his eLearning concept in 2016 in order to provide readily accessible BOTOX® and dermal filler online courses for fellow Medical Aesthetics practitioners. His objective was to raise standards within the industry – a principle which remains just as relevant today.
Our exclusive video-led courses are designed to build confidence, knowledge and technique at every stage, working from foundation level to advanced treatments and management of complications.
Thousands of delegates have benefited from the courses and we’re highly rated on Trustpilot. For more information or to discuss which course is right for you, please get in touch with our friendly team.
