We got all the details on the $40,000 “stem cell facelift.”
By Kara Nesvig
January 3, 2025
A goldenbronze scalpel resting on a golden bronze base so it looks like an award against an offwhite background
Getty
If you win a Golden Globe, you get a shiny trophy, the admiration of your peers, and the honor of having your hard work recognized. But why stop there? Winners (and presenters) at this weekend’s event will also receive goody bags to end all goody bags. Their “thanks for coming!” gifts include a five-day luxury yacht charter through the Coral Triangle in Indonesia, a night at the L’Ermitage in Beverly Hills, and a CurrentBody LED face mask worth nearly $500. (And yes, there is also an actual bag involved—a suede weekend tote with an organic cotton lining from a brand called Atlas Bespoke that looks exceedingly expensive.) Some A-listers can also call dibs on a first-come first-serve list of VVIP gifts, like a $2,000 bottle of tequila, a $15,000 NordicTrack treadmill, or an $11,400 custom Italian suit.
Allure Beauty Box November 2025
And in a twist worthy of Hollywood—a town where people seem to age backward if at all—there’s another item that can be claimed backstage this year: One Golden Globe winner or presenter will get a facelift with a celebrity doctor.
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The procedure that’s up for grabs at the Golden Globes is something called a “stem cell facelift” with Simon Ourian, a Los Angeles-based doctor practicing cosmetic dermatology (he is not a board-certified dermatologist).
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Dr. Ourian has a strong celebrity clientele—you might recognize him from Keeping Up With the Kardashians. And this gifted “facelift,” you may be relieved to learn, doesn’t actually involve a scalpel. So, we had to ask: At a value of $40,000, what exactly does it involve? We called Dr. Ourian. He explained that it’s a series of injections—using a patient’s own stem cells—that are designed to lift certain areas of the face. “The term is derived from the utilization of stem cells’ regenerative capabilities to achieve facial rejuvenation effects akin to those of a traditional facelift, but without the need for surgical intervention,” he tells Allure.
Remember that episode of Sex and the City where Samantha has fat from her thighs and butt injected into her face? The “stem cell facelift” starts with a similar process, though as its name would suggest, it’s all about the stem cells derived from a patient’s own body fat. The goal here is not to try to recontour the face with fat—that’s another procedure, called fat grafting, which has been getting more popular as a way to plump up cheeks, temples, tear troughs, even cleavage. In that case, “living fat cells are used as a volumizer, [as you would use] filler,” says Mark Mofid, MD, FACS, a board-certified facial plastic surgeon in San Diego and Beverly Hills and clinical assistant professor of plastic surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. With a “stem cell facelift,” the actual fat cells are removed, leaving behind stem cells that can be injected. The procedure is similar to another you may have heard of—nano fat injections—which use a handful of materials (stem cells, exosomes, peptides) taken from a patient’s own fat “to improve the skin quality of the face,” says Dr. Mofid.
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Dr. Ourian confirmed that the stem cells used in his procedure are “typically harvested from the patient’s own adipose (fat) tissue.” As he explains, the patient is placed under local anesthesia and the fat—generally about 20 to 30 ccs worth—is extracted with a syringe, then processed to isolate and concentrate the stem cells: “This results in a refined, cell-rich solution ready for facial injection.”
The solution is injected into the face via fine needles or cannulas, just as a doctor would inject a neuromodulator like Botox or a hyaluronic acid filler like Restylane. The goal is “precise injection for the enhancement of facial volume and the stimulation of collagen production, leading to a more youthful appearance,” says Dr. Ourian.
Dr. Ourian says the “stem cell facelift” is best for those who are dealing with lax, sagging skin and a loss of facial volume and want a subtle, yet visible improvement. It’s not a good option for those with fuller or “puffy” faces as “additional volume could lead to an undesirable appearance,” he says.
Results are visible after about two to three weeks and, according to Dr. Ourian, his patients often say they’re pleased with the “natural-looking results and minimal downtime,” plus improved skin texture, elasticity, and facial volume. One 2023 study on stem cell-rich nano fat procedures, which are similar to the stem cell facelift treatment, found that while further studies are needed to determine long-term safety and efficacy, this is “a safe and minimally invasive option for tissue regeneration with considerable therapeutic potential.” At Dr. Ourian’s practice, this procedure can cost anywhere between $30,000 to $50,000, which includes the consultation, fat harvesting, stem cell processing, injections, and follow-up appointments. Dr. Ourian told us that the treatment has been popular with his celebrity patients, but as far as we know, none have openly discussed having it done.
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And one more time, to be clear, none of those patients had an actual facelift (at least, not while they were getting the stem cell facelift). “The potential to improve someone’s appearance [with stem cell injections] is accurate, but the concept that these are two similar things is probably inaccurate,” says Dr. Mofid. The words “stem cell facelift” are just good old marketing doing its thing, creating a sticky, memorable phrase that could easily go viral.
Dr. Mofid does, however, believe in the aesthetic benefits of stem cells and has used them for reconstructive surgeries in his practice. While the “stem cell facelift” won’t give a patient the same tightening and lifting as surgery, Dr. Mofid says “it does have the potential to improve not just volume, but also the overlying texture and quality of the skin itself.” He also likes that the procedure is autologous, meaning it uses stem cells from a patient’s own body. If a patient wants a more subtle, lifted look or a bit of plumping to replace lost volume, but isn’t quite ready for a facelift, this procedure might be a fit—as long as it’s performed by a qualified professional, of course. A true facelift should only be performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon.
Dr. Mofid also sees stem cell treatments as a potential replacement for or complement to filler. “There is, I think, a role for stem cells to be injected in a way that you won’t have to inject as much filler, and when you do [use filler], maybe it’s just in certain areas to truly fix contour irregularities or problems,” he explains. “I think [stem cell injections are] going to be used more and more.” But they’re still a long way from giving facelift results. Just like we’re still probably a long way from hearing an actor thank their plastic surgeon in an acceptance speech.
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To read more about facelifts:
I’m 96 and I’ve Had 3 Facelifts — Here’s What I Learned
13 People Get Real About Their Facelifts
These Will Be the Biggest Plastic Surgery Trends of 2025
Now watch Martha Stewart’s 10-minute beauty routine:
Kara Nesvig is a freelance writer based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her writing has appeared in publications like Teen Vogue, People, Apartment Therapy, and Brides. Her love of all things beauty started as a child when she would sneak into her mom’s bedroom to play with Dior Poison bottles. Kara is … Read More
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