Real Housewives of Orange County star Tamra Judge has vowed to stop going under the knife after a “brutal” brow lift, CO2 laser facial and chemical peel left her in agonising pain.
The reality star, who spent a lot of money on the surgical makeover as a gift to herself for her 57th birthday, has spent days recovering in bed from the procedures.
“Grief comes in different ways,” she told DailyMail.com on Tuesday.
“At first my forehead hurt a lot for three days. I couldn’t even hear people talking. I couldn’t turn on the TV. All I could do was lie in the same place,” she continued.
“After a couple of days of that, my teeth started to hurt, then my sinuses started to hurt, and now my face is crusty. So every day is something new.”
Real Housewives of Orange County star Tamra Judge has vowed to stop going under the knife after a “brutal” brow lift, CO2 laser facial and chemical peel left her in agonising pain.
![RHOC's Tamra Judge, 57, reveals the pain caused by her "brutal" brow lift and CO2 laser treatment as she vows never to undergo any more plastic surgery 7 Tamra is seen sporting a fresh face in 2022](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/09/RHOCs-Tamra-Judge-57-reveals-the-pain-caused-by-her.jpg.webp)
![RHOC's Tamra Judge, 57, reveals the pain caused by her "brutal" brow lift and CO2 laser treatment as she vows never to undergo any more plastic surgery 9 The 57-year-old has struggled with extreme swelling and pain since undergoing the procedures.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/09/1725397561_911_RHOCs-Tamra-Judge-57-reveals-the-pain-caused-by-her.jpeg.webp)
Before and after: Tamra is pictured at an event in 2022 (left) and this week after her procedures (right)
The judge said she has cleared her entire schedule for the next two weeks so she can focus solely on her recovery.
When asked why he went under the knife again, Judge admitted he was trying to balance out a lower facelift he had done in 2017.
“I had a facelift on the lower part, so it was like my eyebrows started to get heavy, but the lower part of my face stayed the same,” she explained.
“So I thought, you know what? I’m going to go ahead and get a brow lift!”
When she went to see Newport Beach surgeon Dr. Donald Mowlds, he suggested she also get a CO2 laser treatment and a blue chemical peel to help with the texture and appearance of her skin.
“I have a lot of brown spots and fine lines and stuff like that, so it’s supposed to take 10 years off your skin. So I was like, ‘Sure, let’s do it,’ not knowing the CO2 laser was going to be so brutal!”
The judge admitted that she had decided to spend a lot of money on the proceedings as a gift to herself.
“It was actually my birthday present to myself. I thought, ‘I’m going to do it now because I’m 57.’ Sixty is just around the corner, so I might as well do it now because there has to come an age where I don’t care anymore,” she said.
![RHOC's Tamra Judge, 57, reveals the pain caused by her "brutal" brow lift and CO2 laser treatment as she vows never to undergo any more plastic surgery 11 The reality star, who spent a lot of money on the surgical makeover as a 57th birthday present to herself, has spent days recovering in bed from the procedures.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/09/1725397561_464_RHOCs-Tamra-Judge-57-reveals-the-pain-caused-by-her.jpeg.webp)
The reality star, who spent a lot of money on the surgical makeover as a 57th birthday present to herself, has spent days recovering in bed from the procedures.
![RHOC's Tamra Judge, 57, reveals the pain caused by her "brutal" brow lift and CO2 laser treatment as she vows never to undergo any more plastic surgery 13 On Sunday, she shared an update on the third day of recovery, with her face looking much more swollen and her skin peeling, as she told her followers that she felt like her skin](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/09/1725397562_158_RHOCs-Tamra-Judge-57-reveals-the-pain-caused-by-her.jpeg.webp)
On Sunday, she shared an update on day three of recovery, with her face looking much more swollen and her skin peeling, as she told her followers that she felt like her skin was “going to burst.”
![RHOC's Tamra Judge, 57, reveals the pain caused by her "brutal" brow lift and CO2 laser treatment as she vows never to undergo any more plastic surgery 15 1725397563 618 RHOCs Tamra Judge 57 reveals the pain caused by her](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/09/1725397563_618_RHOCs-Tamra-Judge-57-reveals-the-pain-caused-by-her.jpeg.webp)
![RHOC's Tamra Judge, 57, reveals the pain caused by her "brutal" brow lift and CO2 laser treatment as she vows never to undergo any more plastic surgery 17 1725397563 170 RHOCs Tamra Judge 57 reveals the pain caused by her](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/09/1725397563_170_RHOCs-Tamra-Judge-57-reveals-the-pain-caused-by-her.jpeg.webp)
“I don’t know how it can get any worse. You can see it’s oozing. I can barely open my eyes,” he said.
![RHOC's Tamra Judge, 57, reveals the pain caused by her "brutal" brow lift and CO2 laser treatment as she vows never to undergo any more plastic surgery 19 The Bravo star first shared video of her procedures on Saturday by sharing a photo of her bandaged head.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/09/1725397564_678_RHOCs-Tamra-Judge-57-reveals-the-pain-caused-by-her.jpeg.webp)
The Bravo star first shared video of her procedures on Saturday by sharing a photo of her bandaged head.
![RHOC's Tamra Judge, 57, reveals the pain caused by her "brutal" brow lift and CO2 laser treatment as she vows never to undergo any more plastic surgery 21 The Traitors star said the third day was](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/09/1725397565_131_RHOCs-Tamra-Judge-57-reveals-the-pain-caused-by-her.jpeg.webp)
The Traitors star said day three was “the worst day” of her recovery due to her skin peeling and cracking.
Unlike some of her fellow Real Housewives stars, Judge said it was important for her to be “open and transparent” about the work she had done.
“I don’t want people to think that I don’t do anything and that’s what I look like. And if I can help someone else say, ‘You know what? I want to do that, too. I want to feel better about myself.’ Why not?’
As for the future, the star says she has returned to focusing on leading a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise and has no plans to get any more work done.
The judge has been documenting her painful recovery process on social media.
On Sunday, she shared an update on day three of her recovery, with her face looking much more swollen and her skin peeling, as she told her followers that she felt like her skin was “going to burst.”
“I don’t know how it can get any worse. You can tell it’s oozing. I can barely open my eyes,” she shared.
“Day three and the swelling is noticeable. Progress isn’t always pretty, but it’s happening,” she wrote in the caption.
“The swelling is from the CO2 laser. You can see it’s all the way to the bottom of my chest. You can imagine what that feels like.”
![RHOC's Tamra Judge, 57, reveals the pain caused by her "brutal" brow lift and CO2 laser treatment as she vows never to undergo any more plastic surgery 23 The star has been candid about her plastic surgery, insisting that it is important to be](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/09/1725397565_199_RHOCs-Tamra-Judge-57-reveals-the-pain-caused-by-her.jpeg.webp)
The star has been candid about her plastic surgery, insisting it’s important to be “open and transparent” with her followers (pictured in 2023)
![RHOC's Tamra Judge, 57, reveals the pain caused by her "brutal" brow lift and CO2 laser treatment as she vows never to undergo any more plastic surgery 25 She previously revealed that she had undergone a lower facelift in 2017 (pictured in 2017)](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/09/1725397566_53_RHOCs-Tamra-Judge-57-reveals-the-pain-caused-by-her.jpeg.webp)
She previously revealed that she had undergone a lower facelift in 2017 (pictured in 2017)
![RHOC's Tamra Judge, 57, reveals the pain caused by her "brutal" brow lift and CO2 laser treatment as she vows never to undergo any more plastic surgery 27 The reality star shows off her tense face in a scene from the current season of her hit Bravo TV series.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/09/1725397567_523_RHOCs-Tamra-Judge-57-reveals-the-pain-caused-by-her.jpg.webp)
The reality star shows off her tense face in a scene from the current season of her hit Bravo TV series.
The Traitors star returned later in the day, sharing another update.
“My throat hurts a little from the tube they put in me. I just want to keep you updated on this,” he said hoarsely.
“Now, the explosion and everything else is clearly due to the CO2 laser. We hope to be able to turn things around tomorrow.”
“I have a little bit of discharge on my neck and chest,” she said, showing the skin on her chest. “The swelling is pretty bad, but it doesn’t hurt much. I just feel a lot of tightness.”
“Dr. Mowlds promised me it would get better after this, so I’m excited. But overall, it looks how it’s supposed to look: nice and crisp.”
The posts received mixed reviews from her 1.8 million followers, with some praising her for being candid about her cosmetic procedures, while others expressed concern about the pressure to maintain a youthful appearance.
“I love your honesty with all the cosmetic things you do to yourself that most people lie about,” one wrote, to which Judge responded with heart emojis.
“It’s not worth the risk. We need to stop tearing ourselves down for beauty that’s only skin deep. Why not use your platform to promote self-love and acceptance? Just my personal opinion on the subject,” another person wrote.
Tamra has been open about her experiences with plastic surgery. In 2017, she underwent a lower facelift.
“I call it a comeback,” she told host Andy Cohen during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live in 2018.
“It’s just a miniature. Don’t call it a renewal, call it a comeback!”
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