There are many celebrity beauty secrets that we’re dying to know. Luckily, TikTok is here to expose an interesting one – how famous people are able to divert attention from cosmetic procedures.

TikTokker @corabreilein explains that from living in a community full of wealthy people getting plastic surgery, she has insider knowledge on how they distract from the fact they’ve had work done.

‘I have all the plastic surgery secrets that rich people don’t want you to know about,’ she said in her viral video. ‘If someone suddenly looks different and you can’t put your finger on it, it’s because they’ve had work done.’

We know exactly what she’s referring to. When we see a celebrity on the red carpet and can’t quite work out what’s changed. It’s somewhat comforting and interesting to know that there are strategies in place to defer attention from cosmetic procedures.

‘There are subtle tricks rich people and celebrities do to get away with the illusion that they had nothing done, that they just went on a vacation. So the top secret is that they change their hair colour when they do something drastic.’ Cora explains, calling this strategy the ‘shiny object technique’.

For instance, someone’s bright new hair colour could be used to distract us all from the work a celebrity might have had done somewhere else on their body. Fascinating.

And the revelations didn’t stop there. Cora is insistent that hotels in LA have partnerships with plastic surgery centres so that clients can recover away from prying eyes. When it comes to the procedures themselves, there are specific ones to choose for subtlety, and the trick is to make gradual changes instead of one big before-and-after-style overhaul.

Cora explains: ‘They do slow micro tweaks over time so you don’t notice it, and then all of a sudden you’re like “wait, why does this person look so different?”’

She lists out popular procedures for ‘gradual change’, including eyebrow lifts and neck lift liposuction. ‘There’s a newer procedure called a skin pinch where they can take the skin on your eye, put a scar where your eyeliner line is and you never noticed that the excess of skin has gone.’

‘They get procedures when you’re not paying attention,’ she adds, predicting that the current SAG-AFTRA strikes will have led to an increased amount of cosmetic procedures. ‘I can promise you that plastic surgeons in Los Angeles are extremely busy right now during the strikes. I bet you anything people will come out of the strike looking extremely refreshed and amazing.

‘And it’s not Ozempic, it’s a facelift.’

There are a few different issues at play here – one being the fascination many of us have with celebrities and how they live their lives, as well as how they attain their looks. Is it because, by definition, we think this knowledge makes them more attainable as people if we know their (rather personal) beauty and health secrets? If so, our fascination is then driving us to distraction by a change in hair colour, so we don’t notice a more seismic, less affordable change an influencer or actor might have made to their body.

The other is the worrying pressure on celebrities and those in the spotlight to keep up with intimidating and unrealistic beauty standards. While they’re more likely to be able to afford these procedures, the mental and physical impact on them remains the same. Especially if they’re feeling the need to use certain hacks and distractions to throw us off the scent. It suggests an unsettlingly low level of self-acceptance for both us as fans and those who are getting these surgeries done in secret.

Californian plastic surgeon Dr Monica Kieu commented on Cora’s TikTok a similar sentiment: ‘Although I fiercely protect my celeb (and all) patients’ privacy, I wish they felt safe enough to be transparent about their procedures’.

Another issue is this: what kind of impression is being given to younger generations if it’s a cultural norm for celebrities to look like they’ve aged less and are naturally conventionally beautiful, with the means they use hidden from sight? It encourages a very one-sided, unhealthy perspective on beauty and ageing, concealing an important truth from those who need it most as they come to terms with their own bodies.

While celebrities certainly don’t owe us their personal life updates, whether they should admit if they’ve had cosmetic procedures is a hotly contested, complicated issue. Kylie Jenner recently came under fire for admitting having certain had procedures, and not others. And our obsession with knowing who’s had what is underlined by the hundreds of videos analysing the faces of stars such as Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Zendaya, even teenagers like Millie Bobbie Brown – none of whom have spoken about having surgery.

When it comes to the ‘shiny object’ distraction technique from cosmetic surgery, many famous names have been dropped in the comments of Cora’s TikTok as well: ‘Everytime Kim kardashian does that horrid platinum blonde i know she’s getting work done lololol’ one user posted.

But should these celebrities – a shocking amount of names being called out by people in the comments being women – be morally obligated to disclose surgeries they’ve had, instead of applying smokescreens? Some have suggested that this issue is a question of ethics.

‘Many celebrities look good naturally, but many also have work done,’ Daniel Barrett, a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, told USA Today previously. ‘And when they’re not honest about it, I think they’re being unethical because they’re in the spotlight. They’re benefitting from being a celebrity and have a moral obligation to be transparent about anything they’ve had done that helps them achieve a certain look.’

It’s a fascinating celebrity culture debate – the privacy that famous people are owed as human beings versus the obligation they have to be transparent with their fans for the good of healthier body image expectations and beauty standards.

TikTok videos like Cora’s offer us a peek behind the curtain, with explanations of the mystique around celebrity beauty. But it’s worth considering how content like this reflects an unhealthy appetite for the details of celebrities’ personal lives, not to mention the unrealistic beauty and body image standards it encourages and normalises for both ourselves and those who are getting these procedures.