The Theories About Liam Payne's Drastic Face Transformation

One Direction may have a tumultuous past, but at least Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson are on good terms. Payne proved the former bandmates were still close by attending the March 2023 premiere of Tomlinson's documentary, "All Of Those Voices." He also complimented Tomlinson's project while speaking about their bond in a since-deleted Instagram post, writing, "You were already my friend and brother but getting to look through that window into your world and mind just extends that respect I have for you," (via People). In response, Tomlinson thanked Payne for attending on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Fans were thrilled to see two members of the now-defunct boyband interacting in such a positive manner but their reunion was overshadowed by Payne's appearance. Instead of focusing on the pop star's fashion-forward tuxedo or his movie-star-worthy hair, fans zeroed in on his facial transformation, which saw the "Strip That Down" singer looking a little thinner than usual, especially in the jaw area. As One Direction fans will be aware, Payne always sported fuller cheeks, but his jawline was extra defined during the premiere. Unfortunately, this sparked some major theories about the British star's transformation.

Page Six consulted a team of plastic surgeons to get their opinions on Liam Payne's evolving looks and how he may have achieved such a shocking transformation. "He didn't look bad before, but his face, instead of looking soft and a little bit chubby, it looks model-ish and rugged," Dr. Ramtin Kassir pointed out. "He definitely has a more masculine look with sharper chiseled facial features compared to how he looked previously," added Dr. Thomas Su. 

While the medical professionals considered that Payne may have had fillers, most pointed to buccal fat removal — a face sculpting trend with an unintended side effect. "You can cause premature aging by just randomly taking out people's buccal fat," warned Dr. Kassir. Meanwhile, The Mirror consulted aesthetician Dr. Saleena Zimri, who agreed that Payne could've gone down the route of buccal fat removal. 

She also suggested he could've got a jaw implant too, while clarifying precisely what buccal fat is: "The buccal fat pad is an isolated fat pocket that sits just below the cheekbone on each side of the face, almost directly above the lower lip." Removing it contours the face permanently without the need for makeup. Furthermore, Dr. Zimri also cautioned that removing it can age a person's face prematurely, especially if you already have sculpted cheeks. 

Many people have also theorized that Liam Payne's new look wasn't the result of some stunning plastic surgery transformation, but rather simply from working out or even drug use. As Dr. Ramtin Kassir reasoned to Page Six, "He looks like he's lost weight, so that [chiseled look] can happen if they lose a decent amount of weight or if they use insulin or diabetic medicines like Ozempic." He continued, "It leans out your face a lot more than the rest of your body once you lose weight, so he could have theoretically done that, but even if he went to the gym and lost 20 pounds, his face could get tremendously better and more chiseled."

That said, Payne has yet to confirm any of the theories about his shocking transformation, which also means he hasn't lied about having plastic surgery like some of his celebrity peers. However, whatever it was wasn't permanent, as Payne emerged in 2024 looking more like his former self. If you weren't aware, Payne released a single entitled "Teardrops" to kick off his new era. With it came a whole slew of new promotional material showcasing updated images of the singer. Between Instagram photoshoots and this TikTok video documenting Payne recording "Teardrops" in the studio, it's clear that the pop star's 2023 look was temporary.