We’ve all done things in the name of beauty that may have other people shaking their heads. But these celebs took it to the next level by making a permanent change in their appearance.
Tameka “Tiny” Cottle
Earlier this year, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle surprised a lot of people when she popped up with a rounder rump. But apparently she wasn’t done changing her appearance. The former Xscape member has been sporting a new eye color and they aren’t colored contacts. Tiny took to Instagram to confirm that she changed her eye color from dark brown to ice grey. “I permanently changed my eye color with Brightocular and loving it! Thank you Dr. Montasser Menif for the amazing experience and for making my dream come true. I hated wearing contacts just for the color and it made my vision blurry. Blessed to say my vision is perfect after my ice-gray implants.”
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Sammy Sosa
In 1998, Sammy Sosa’s super tight home run race with fellow heavy hitter Mark McGwire dominated the headlines. After he retired, Sosa went back to the Dominican Republic and settled in a life outside of the limelight. But his appearance at a musical award ceremony in 2009 had many wondering what was going on with the former Chicago Cubs star. Sosa’s once dark skin was a lot lighter. He originally blamed it on a facial cream but soon Sosa was wearing green colored contacts and processed his coarse hair into a conk-like style.
Source: Facebook
Alkaline
Dancehall DJ Alkaline innocently posted a couple photos on his Facebook page and it immediately sparked a controversy. The Jamaican star looks like his skin is bleached in the photo, plus he is sporting a perm. A lot of people suspect Alkaline has been influenced by Vybz Kartel who has bleached his own skin. We’re not sure where the permanent Black eyes originated from though.
Vybz Kartel
Speaking of Vybz Kartel, the reggae artist caught a lot of flack back in 2010 when he started bleaching his skin. And he could care less what people thought about it. But he did address the practice of bleaching among the youth in Jamaica on his hit song “School.” “No I won’t stop bleaching,” Vybz Kartel said when discussing the motive behind the song. “It’s my skin. But kids are kids you know. Adults smoke, drink, have sex, and bleach. But none of those actions are for kids. So that’s where the concept came from.”
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Dencia
Dencia believes so much in the Whitenicious bleaching skin care product that she created, she is an avid user of it. The Nigerian singer, described as a cross between Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga, has profited off of the cream handsomely. Whitenicious reportedly sold out in its first day on the market. This summer the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control claimed the product causes cancer. However Dencia and her company have refuted their claims.
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LeBron James
He may be one of the greatest players to ever bounce a basketball but LeBron James was still teased. After 10 seasons in the NBA, the Akron, OH native looked a lot older than when he came into the league. Especially after his hairline started receding. But the Cavalier Cleveland superstar fixed that. Last month, King James started turning heads after people started to notice that he wasn’t as bald as he used to be. Rumor had it that he got so sick and tired of being teased about his receding hairline that he went and got some hair plugs.
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Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson first achieved fame singing with his older brothers as part of the Jackson Five. But his appearance has morphed considerably since he was young. Gone were the huge afro, wide nose and brown skin and they were replaced by long flowing locks, a pointier nose and bleached white skin. The “Black & White” singer blamed his lightened appearance on the skin condition Vitiligo, which can cause de-pigmentation on part of the skin. After his untimely passing, an autopsy confirmed that the King of Pop did in fact have the disease.
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Lil Kim
Over the years, Lil Kim has drastically changed her appearance, hardly looking like she did when she first emerged on the music scene in the 90’s. The Brooklyn rapper has admitted to going under the knife and getting work done on her breasts, but she’s mum on her shrinking her nose and chiseled chin and cheek bones. In addition to getting implants, the “Lighters Up” emcee has also seemingly bleached her skin.
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Dwight Eubanks
For the first couple of seasons of “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Dwight Eubanks was the unofficial sixth castmate. He forged a friendship with several of the women on the show and his bold personality and flair for fashion made him a favorite among viewers. But during a taping of the reunion show even host Andy Cohen was left with his mouth open. That’s because Eubanks revealed that he recently underwent a penile implant.
Mshoza Bhoza
Mshoza Bhoza is one of the first African celebrities to admit to bleaching her skin. She explained why she did it and she doesn’t consider the decision to lighten her skin as a big deal. “It is just something that I wanted to do,” said the singer in an interview. “It has nothing to do with my esteem and issues with being black. It’s just sad that people with weaves and all other cosmetic enhancements to make themselves look western are on high horses judging me. I just wanted a lighter skin. Our parents have been burning themselves with skin lightening creams for decades. It was never made an issue about self-esteem and race. People must calm down.”
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Julie Chen
Looking “exotic” may be a popular trend now but for Julie Chen, it was a professional liability. Chen admitted that early on in her career, she went under the knife to make her eyes look bigger. When she was 25 years old working in Dayton, OH, the future daytime television co-host asked the news director if she could sit in for a vacationing news anchor. “He said, ‘Let’s face it Julie, how relatable are you to our community,” Chen replayed the conversation on “The Talk.” “How big of an Asian community do we have in Dayton? On top of that, because of your Asian eyes, I’ve noticed that when you’re on camera, you look disinterested and bored.'”
