Kelly Ripa confesses to 'desperate' cosmetic procedure

KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY Thu, April 2, 2026 at 1:12 AM UTC

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Kelly Ripa has a surprising confession about a procedure she's undergone.

When guest Lukas Gage told Ripa, 55, that he was fresh out of a microneedling appointment in Los Angeles as they recorded the April 1 episode of her "Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa" podcast, Ripa replied, "Wait, you got microneedling?"

The "Live With Kelly and Mark" co-host then divulged, "I did that on my ass cheeks."

The "Euphoria" actor quipped, "How does it look?" Ripa had a brutally honest response locked and loaded.

Kelly Ripa attends the 97th annual Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on March 2, 2025, in Hollywood, California.

"Just as old as before," she joked, then added, "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

Microneedling, which involves applying numerous pricks from tiny needles on to skin, can reduce scarring and is also used to treat fine lines and wrinkles, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA regulates certain microneedling products that reach deeper skin layers; the agency has approved these medical devices for treatment of facial acne scars, wrinkles around the face and neck, and abdominal surgical scars.

"Some products have needles that are so short they only touch the topmost layer of the skin, which is mainly dry, dead skin," per the FDA's website. "Other products have longer needles that penetrate the skin and reach deeper layers that have living cells, nerves, and blood vessels."

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Kelly Ripa is 'minimalist' when it comes to Botox

Though she was not as enthusiastic about the effects of this cosmetic procedure, Ripa has previously hailed Botox injections as a treatment that "changed my life."

In a 2013 Elle magazine interview, Ripa opened up about getting injections in her armpits to reduce sweating; during a "Watch What Happens Live" appearance the following year, the "All My Children" alumna said Botox in her face "cut my getting ready time in half."

But the procedure hasn't been without its complications. While hosting "Live With Kelly" in 2016, Ripa revealed "bad Botox" resulted in "a six-month period where people were like: 'What’s wrong with Kelly? She doesn’t smile anymore.' And I was like: 'I am smiling!'"

In the near-decade since, Ripa said, she's been conservative in altering her appearance.

"My Botox is super minimal. If I do it now three times a year, that's a lot. Maybe twice a year, really," she said in the Feb. 11, 2025, episode of her podcast. "I'm a minimalist, really. I do the 11's," or the parallel forehead lines, "and I do the crow's feet, and I do the neck. And that's it."

Most recently, in June 2025, she said on her daytime show that her dentist recommended getting Botox in her jaw to treat her tooth grinding.

Botox is the brand name for one of several botulinum toxin products on the market. Injections are safe, per the FDA, "when a licensed provider follows FDA's guidance, including correctly injecting specific muscles with recommended amounts of FDA-approved botulinum toxin." Potential risks include botulism (a medical emergency), spread of the toxin beyond the injection site, drooping eyelids and other harmful reactions.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kelly Ripa confesses to 'desperate' cosmetic procedure

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