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Collage of tulisa looking different throughout the years © Getty

Tulisa's facial surgery 'confession': what has star done to her face

The N-Dubz star shared the work she'd had done to her face

Melanie Macleod
Wellness Editor
Updated: November 25, 2024
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N-Dubz singer and former X Factor star Tulisa Contostavlos is back on our screens, flying to Australia to take part in I'm A Celebrity… alongside Coleen Rooney, McFly star Danny Jones and Radio 1 DJ Dean Mccullough.

Before heading to the other side of the world, Tulisa sat down with Loose Women star Olivia Attwood for an access all areas chat, with Tulisa sharing the work she's had done on her face over the years.

Tulisa Contostavlos on the red carpet in a strapless top© Getty
Tulisa said she hasn't had surgery before 2024

What work has Tulisa had?

Tulisa, 36, told Olivia that she hadn't had "any surgery until recently, only fillers," explaining that she first started getting injectables after a bout of ill health left her face inflamed and swollen.

"I hadn't had any surgery until, confession time, recently," she began. "All the time before there was no surgery, it was only fillers."

She went on to share that at 24 she had her first Bell's palsy attack, explaining: "I had a massive burst of inflammation and it went down but my whole face dropped. I couldn't move it, my face remained like that for seven months, I didn't go out, I just hid in the house."

Tulisa Contostavlos smiling with pink lipstick and hoop earrings in 2009© Getty
Tulisa in 2009

"That was very stressful and my face still wasn't right so I started getting fillers to balance out the symmetry," she added, calling it a "vicious cycle" of trying to fix her face.

Can filler restore facial symmetry?

HELLO! spoke to aesthetic doctor and founder of Academy Face Design, Dr. Ivy for her opinion on the effectiveness of filler for restoring facial symmetry and she confirmed this is a good method. 

"Dermal facial fillers are a fantastic way to balance the face and achieve facial symmetry," she confirmed. "Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers are a versatile injectable treatment that can help restore volume, create contour and balance to specific areas of the face, by addressing 3D facial asymmetries.

"The best way to achieve facial harmony is to administer dermal filler by micro-droplet injections to naturally balance and reshape the face. My signature treatment, Face Design, uses the micro-droplet injection technique. So it's not about if filler is the best option for balancing the face, it's about the technique used to administer the filler, which offers a slew of benefits," she confirms.

Tulisa's Bell's palsy 

After her initial attack, Tulisa was then free of Bell's palsy attacks for several years before it flared up again, a time the star called "scary", prompting her to dissolve all of her filler due to the swelling she was experiencing, then having it reinjected elsewhere to match the swelling.

READ: Megan Fox finally admits to having plastic surgery – what she's had done 

"This went all the way up until this year," Tulisa told Olivia, adding: "I had good days and bad days and I'd sometimes take steroids to bring it down. In some interviews I looked fine, in others you'd ask, 'What the hell is going on with her face?'"

This year, Tulisa's doctor finally found three "chronically infected cysts" around her cheek during an explorative operation, with "no idea" of the cause.

Tulisa in 2011 wearing a pink dress on the red carpet© Getty
Tulisa in 2011

"I came out of the operation instantly less swollen," Tulisa added, sharing: "I still have the inflammation but it's less swollen." She explained her doctor plans to operate in two months, adding at present she only has filler in her lips, but the inflammation causes her to have a "plumped look".

READ: Why Botox and filler became the ultimate me-time

Tulisa's teeth transformation

Though Tulisa has had minimal work done on her face, she has undergone several smile transformations, firstly in 2011, when she reportedly spent £12,000 overhauling her teeth, then again in 2022, when she had veneers applied.

three photo collage of Tulisa smiling during several teeth makeovers© Instagram / Getty
Tulisa has undergone several smile makeovers

Tulisa took to Instagram to share she's "so happy" with her smile, which she is no doubt taking good care of in the jungle!

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