Plastic Surgeon Dr. Miami on What the Hell Happened to Matt Gaetz’s Face

Was it Botox? Filler? Or perhaps the Congressman's foray into drag performing?

July 18, 2024

It was the question on everyone's mind last night: What the hell did Matt Gaetz do to his face? Screenshot via Twitter

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It was the question that raised eyebrows across the nation last night: What the hell did Matt Gaetz do to his face?

The Florida Congressman appeared to look, shall we say, different when he stepped up to the stage for his speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention. As photos made the rounds online showing Gaetz's Snapchat filter-like face, complete with archvillain-arched eyebrows, social media users were dying to know: Was it Botox? Filler? Or perhaps a foray into drag performing?

New Times caught up with our go-to plastic surgery expert Dr. Michael Salzhauer (AKA Dr. Miami), who generously agreed to unpack the intricacies of #GaetzFaceGate for the edification of our readers.

Salzhauer explained that Botox usually takes about a week to kick in and noted that Gaetz appeared to look more, um, normal when he appeared at the RNC earlier in the week, which points to a few possible scenarios.

Either Gaetz had Botox done last week and it abruptly recently kicked in, Salzhauer says, or he had a combination of a thread lift (a cosmetic procedure also known as an eyebrow lift), eyebrow threading (a hair-removal method), and possibly some makeup.

"I mean, looks good," Salzhauer says of the Congressman's new mug.

Seriously?

"Except for the position of the brows being too high. And, like, surprised and weird looking."

Allrighty then.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, a thread lift (sometimes referred to as a "lunchtime lift" for the simplicity and speed of the procedure and downtime) uses barbed sutures to offer "a tighter, more youthful aesthetic appearance to the face and neck."

"He does have a very big forehead. He's got a five-head," Salzhauer allows. "Not something I would generally accentuate, but whatever!"

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Alex DeLuca is a Miami New Times staff writer who focuses on news, crime, and public safety, education, and cannabis. Prior to joining New Times in June 2020, Alex worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel and freelanced for The Appeal. She holds a bachelor's degree from the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida.

Contact: Alex DeLuca

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Twitter: @alexldeluca