When politics shapes faces The "Mar-a-Lago Face" is booming in Washington
With Trump's return to the White House, Washington is experiencing a new beauty trend: the "Mar-a-Lago Face" is an aesthetic ideal that says more about power and gender roles than about beauty.
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- In Washington D.C., the demand for "Mar-a-Lago Face" style plastic surgery has increased significantly since the beginning of Trump's second term.
- The phenomenon is interpreted as an aesthetic expression of political affiliation and emphasized femininity, influenced by prominent female Trump supporters.
- Men are also following the trend towards rejuvenating procedures, while some surgeons warn against exaggerated beauty ideals.
Injected lips, Botox in the forehead and chin and fixed eyebrows. According to the news portal "Axios" and the British newspaper "Guardian", cosmetic surgery to create a "Mar-a-Lago face" has increased since Trump took office in Washington D.C. in January.
Although there are no official figures or surveys, several plastic surgeons in the capital have reported a significant increase in requests. Anita Kulkarni from Washington D.C. told the Guardian that she had hardly received any such requests before Trump's second term, but that they had increased since January.
"Glamor around the new administration"
Troy Pittman told the newspaper: "There's this glamor around the new administration in Washington. People have no problem being beautified." Nor do they have a problem with these embellishments standing out.
The "Mar-a-Lago Face" was coined by the "Make America Great Again" women at Trump's side. From his Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, his daughter-in-law Lara Trump and activist Laura Loomer.
What they have in common is that they looked completely different a few years ago and have undergone a transformation on the outside. They have had lip injections, Botox injections or even new teeth, which the New York Times called "Trumpification".
Two approaches now attempt to explain the trend towards the "Mar-a-Lago Face": Firstly, the influx of people from South Florida, where Mar-a-Lago is located. There, just half an hour away from Trump's private club, there is a beauty clinic that specifically advertises the "Mar-a-Lago Face", which is a "subtly lifted, harmonious and balanced facial aesthetic", according to the website.
Embodiment of traditional gender roles
The second explanation sees the "Mar-a-Lago Face" less as a beauty trend and more as a political ideal of beauty. It is about signaling wealth and privilege and embodying a certain understanding of femininity, thereby emphasizing traditional gender roles.
Behind this is also a form of visual loyalty: an aesthetic signal that marks political affiliation with Trump. In addition to the face, this also applies to clothing - Trump likes his female employees to "dress like women " - and make-up.
At the beginning of the year, a "Republican Make-up Trend" spread on TikTok, which was intended to show that Republican women often put on more eye-catching and stronger make-up.
But more is not always better - especially when it comes to cosmetic surgery. Surgeon Kulkarni spoke out clearly against the trend to the Guardian: "My aesthetic doesn't necessarily have to match yours," she said. "But if you want to go outside the realm of what a normal human face should look like, then that's an area I don't want to go into."
But the trend continues. And it is now also affecting men. According to surgeon Pittman, they are also increasingly having Botox injections or eyelid lifts to look younger and more masculine - including people like Donald Trump Jr, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Republican Matt Gaetz.
