Last year, Brooke Shields announced her partnership with Cynosure’s WarmSculpting, a noninvasive body-contouring treatment that uses heat to melt fat cells under the chin and in the abdomen, love handles, back, and inner and outer thighs—basically all the areas that are notoriously resistant to diet and exercise—for a slimmer look. Now, after experiencing the treatment herself and letting the results take form, she wants to make sure women everywhere know they can do it too, if that’s what they want of course. We sat down with the 54-year-old actress to hear her message.
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“I think this company [Cynosure] and the doctors they work with have created something noninvasive that really works,” says Shields. “We women all work so hard, and then to work that hard and still have stubborn areas or areas you’re ashamed of, that’s tough. It’s not just for women either—I know several men who have had the treatment and are really happy, but their message to women has really impressed me, and that’s why I said yes to this partnership in the first place. They want women to feel strong and confident in their skin.”
The stigma surrounding in-office procedures is still very much a thing, which is something Shields considered before opting in. “The word ‘procedure’ scares me, and I think many women feel that way,” she says. “We also worry what other people will think. We get all this information constantly about how we’re not good enough. I’ve had those conversations with myself, but then I thought, I’ll give this a try. And the fact that I actually saw a result, and it boosted my confidence, that was empowering. It’s not a weight-loss tool; it’s not a magic bullet. But I was working out really hard, and still had trouble areas. If you’re honestly doing your best and still aren’t getting rewarded, then at that point, you say, ‘I deserve this. I deserve to feel better.’”
Fitness has always been a big part of Shields’ life, as she was thrust into Hollywood while still a pre-teen, but it wasn’t always healthy. “I work out a lot—I really work out hard,” she says. “I used to be a classes person; I didn’t like trainers and I didn’t want anything to do with them. I didn’t want any one-on-one attention; I wanted to sit in the back. And that lasted about a good 20 years. Then I had to get my knee replaced, and I had to start rehab. I found a trainer who was just about rehab, and the craziest thing happened: I ended up changing the whole shape of my body. I saw fitness in an entirely new way. I had only ever danced—I danced in a Broadway show, got skinny, and that was rewarded, and then I wasn’t in a show, and then I danced again, and got rewarded again. I was yo-yoing and it didn’t have a real-life quality to it. I was doing six different Broadway shows, and I was destroying my body.”
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Now, Shields feels empowered to make healthy decisions about her body, on her own terms, and she wants all women to hear her message: “I have been equally scared, equally depressed, equally disappointed—afraid of not being enough. And the only thing I can say is, ‘If not now, when? Why the hell not?’ You’ve paid your dues—actually, I don’t know if you ever really pay them—but you’ve probably done everything everyone has told you over the years, and now it’s time for you. Of course not at the expense of everyone you love, but it’s OK to say, ‘I need this.’ It’s a hard lesson for women. People in your life may not want to accept it because it’s not ‘comfortable’ for them, but if you’re feeling frustrated, test it out. If people love you, they’ll support you giving it a shot. At a certain point, you’re entitled to be changed. I think when you hit a certain age, you think, ‘Why not make the best of what I have left?’ It’s not about running away, it’s about running toward. Step out of what’s familiar and just try it out, you might be surprised.”
