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She first found fame as a Playboy Playmate but taking off her kit is all in the past for Crystal Hefner.
Crystal, the widow of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner, has ditched her sex symbol status in favour of a more wholesome image.
The 35-year-old blonde says she's finally confident enough to share her “authentic” self after removing everything fake from her body.
Crystal, who was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2016, removed her breast implants and got rid of all other cosmetic enhancements in her body because they were causing "brain fog" and "chronic weariness", she says.
Now, she's finally comfortable in her skin.
“I was living for other people before, to make others happy, suffering internally in the process,” she says.
Crystal, who was married to the Playboy mogul for five years, admits she tried to stay relevant over the past few years by posting provocative photos online because "sex sells", she says.
“I don’t know whether I felt empowered by dressing scantily or if I just felt it was expected of me – but now I can confidently and 100% proudly say [that] modesty is what empowers me.”
The former swimsuit model says she lost thousands of followers after she started posting more conservative content, but things have since changed.
“Now my women followers are giving the men followers a run for their money," she says. “I truly feel I have an army of supporters that care and see an actual soul behind the lens.”
Her decision to be more natural was also influenced by a cosmetic procedure that almost claimed her life. Crystal says she almost died while undergoing a fat transfer procedure last year.
During the procedure, fat is removed from one area of the body and grafted to another to increase its size or shape.
“I lost half the blood in my body and ended up in the hospital needing a blood transfusion,” she says.
“I’ve been slowly eating my way back to health and I am now finally feeling okay.”
Although she didn’t elaborate on which body part was involved in the procedure, Crystal said the experience changed her for good.
“I should've learned my lesson the first time, but I guess the universe keeps sending you the same lesson until you learn it,” says Crystal, who's now dating actor Ryan Malaty.
“For 10 years my value was based on how good my physical body looked. I was rewarded and made a living based on my outer appearance.
“To this day I need to write reminders that have nothing to do with my physical appearance to convince myself that I’m worthy and enough.”
Crystal isn't the only celeb who's removed her breast implants. We take a look at other stars who have reversed their cosmetic enhancements.
ASHLEY TISDALE
The High School Musical actress says she removed her breast implants after it caused minor health issues. Though she didn't go into detail on her health problems, Ashley says removing her implants has made her love herself.
“This picture above was taken two months after my explant surgery," she captioned a post-op picture.
"I think you can tell just how happy I am to finally be fully me.”
K MICHELLE
Five years after getting butt injections, the R&B singer started experiencing migraines, fatigue and pain in her back and legs.
Michelle, who believed altering her figure would boost her career, learned the injections had spread to legs and damaged her tissue. She had to have four surgeries to remove the enhancements.
NICOLE KIDMAN
After years of getting Botox injections, Nicole quit going under the needle.
“I didn’t like how my face looked afterwards,” she says. “Now I don’t use it anymore – I can move my forehead again.”
JESSICA SIMPSON
For a few years, the singer-turned-fashion designer resorted to injectables to plump up her lips, but she stopped in 2006.
“My lips are back to what they were, thank God! It looked fake to me. I didn’t like that,” she said at the time.
Sources: dailymail.co.uk, eonline.com, wmagazine.com, insider.com
