A growing number of celebrities are dissolving filler and stepping back from Botox, as stars including Kylie Jenner, Kristin Davis, Courteney Cox and Megan McKenna embrace softer, more natural-looking features.
The shift, described as the “Great Deflate”, marks a change from the plumped lips, sculpted cheeks and immobile expressions that have dominated celebrity beauty trends for years.
Several high-profile women have spoken openly about reversing cosmetic work, while aesthetic professionals suggest others may have reduced the amount of filler they use rather than abandoning it altogether.
Nicole Kidman prompts speculation over a more relaxed look
Nicole Kidman has become the latest celebrity to prompt speculation after appearing with a noticeably more relaxed face during recent public appearances.
The 59-year-old actress, who has previously admitted trying Botox and later said she regretted it, appeared alongside Sandra Bullock on The One Show while promoting Practical Magic 2.
There has been no confirmation that Kidman has had filler, or that she has reversed any cosmetic treatment. However, fans have commented on recent footage in which her face appeared to show more movement.
Dr Tom Kamal, an aesthetic doctor and founder of The Dr Tom Clinic, said the actress appeared to have less fullness through the mid-face and under-eye area than in an earlier image.
He said the change could be consistent with reduced filler, although the absence of significant volume loss might indicate that smaller, more strategically placed amounts were being used instead.
“In the more recent picture, that fullness has reduced and her face looks softer and more natural,” he said.
Kristin Davis and Courteney Cox lead the move towards natural features
Kristin Davis, 61, has been candid about having filler dissolved after becoming unhappy with changes to her face and facing hostile comments online.
“I have done fillers and it’s been good and I’ve done fillers and it’s been bad,” she said in 2023. “I’ve had to get them dissolved and I’ve been ridiculed relentlessly. And I have shed tears about it. It’s very stressful.”
The Sex and the City star has since adopted a more stripped-back appearance. Anastasia Koles, an aesthetic nurse and founder of ALTA Medi Clinic London, said Davis now appeared to have less facial fullness and softer contours.
She described it as an example of how reducing excess volume can produce a more balanced appearance, rather than adding further filler.
Courteney Cox has also spoken about realising that repeated treatments had changed her appearance. The Friends actress said she had become so accustomed to having filler that she did not initially notice the difference.
After seeing photographs of herself and deciding she no longer “looked right”, Cox had the filler dissolved in 2017.
“I’m as natural as I can be,” she said that year. “I feel better because I look like myself. I think that I now look more like the person that I was. I hope I do.”
Koles said Cox’s face appeared fuller and puffier in earlier images, while more recent photographs showed a more natural appearance without obvious signs of substantial volume loss.
That, she suggested, could mean Cox had not necessarily stopped treatment altogether, but had moved towards smaller amounts placed more selectively.
Melanie Griffith and Kylie Jenner reverse cosmetic work
Melanie Griffith has also described the impact of cosmetic treatments. The 69-year-old actress eventually decided to have work dissolved after feeling that her face had become too altered.
“I didn’t [realise] until people started saying, ‘Oh my God, what has she done?!’” Griffith said. “I was so hurt I went to a different doctor and he started dissolving all of this s*** that this other woman doctor had put in. Hopefully, I look more normal now.”
Professor Ali Al-Hussaini, of Elevate Medical & Aesthetic Clinic, said Griffith appeared to have less filler, particularly around the cheeks, giving her a softer appearance and allowing her natural contours to show more clearly.
Kylie Jenner’s decision to dissolve her lip filler in 2018 was another notable departure from the look associated with the reality star and businesswoman.
After a fan noticed the change in an Instagram post, Jenner replied: “I got rid of all my filler.”
Her previously full lips had helped fuel a major beauty trend, particularly on social media. Koles said Jenner now appeared to have less facial filler, although her balanced facial volume could indicate that smaller amounts had subsequently been used.
Molly-Mae Hague and Megan McKenna choose subtler looks
Molly-Mae Hague has similarly stepped away from the heavily enhanced appearance she adopted before appearing on Love Island in 2019.
In 2020, the reality television star said she had dissolved filler in her lips and documented the reversal of some of her cosmetic treatments, explaining that she felt she had gone “too far” and wanted to feel more like herself.
Dr Kamal said Hague had spoken publicly about dissolving cheek, jaw and lip filler, with her face now appearing softer and more natural. Any later treatment, he added, appeared subtle from photographs.
Megan McKenna has also moved away from the glamorous Essex look for which she was once known.
The former TOWIE star previously said she had become embarrassed by her lip filler because she felt it stopped her being taken seriously as a singer while pursuing a career in Nashville.
Speaking on Loose Women in 2019, McKenna revealed that she had undergone several rounds of dissolving treatment. Dr Kamal said her lips now appeared less filled and more defined, with a natural shape.
The aesthetic professionals’ assessments remain based on photographs and public appearances, rather than confirmed details of treatment. Across the group, however, the movement is clear: less volume, greater facial movement and a return to individual features are increasingly being presented as the preferred look.
