Denise Richards Shares Before-and-After Photos of Shocking Facelift Transformation She Was ‘Terrified’ to Undergo

NEED TO KNOW

• Denise Richards and her plastic surgeon shared before-and-after photos of her facelift transformation on March 21

• The star called the facelift and other cosmetic procedures done by Dr. Ben Talei the “best thing I could’ve done for myself”

• The before-and-after facelift photos come a day after Richards opened up about the procedure in a candid interview

Denise Richards is continuing her streak of transparency surrounding her recent facelift, complete with before-and-after photos.

Richards, 55, and her plastic surgeon, Dr. Ben Talei of Beverly Hills, Calif., shared side-by-side photos detailing the results of the facelift that the actress and reality star underwent eight months earlier in a joint Instagram post on Saturday, March 21.

In the caption, Talei also shared more information about the cosmetic work — a facelift, temporal brow lift, upper blepharoplasty, lip lift for the outer corners of her mouth and fat grafting — he performed on Richards, who called it the “best thing I could’ve done for myself” in a separate post on Instagram Stories.

Alongside the side-by-side shots of Richards, which show a significant difference in her neck, mouth and other areas of her face, Talei began by calling the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum “one of the most lovely and beautiful people to ever walk this earth.”

Denise Richards’ facelift results
Credit: Ben Talei, MD/Instagram

“It was an incredible pleasure and honor to be trusted with her restoration and, more importantly, the preservation of her character and beauty,” the plastic surgeon continued.

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Talei went on to point out that as a result of the facelift and accompanying procedures, Richards’ “stunning, gorgeous eyes were restored rather than changed or just cleaned up.”

“Even her earlobes look better from all views. The sad or tired look around the eyes and mouth have been neutralized and reversed,” he wrote, later adding that “even the furrowing between her eyebrows has been relaxed.”

Denise Richards facelift results
Credit: Ben Talei, MD/Instagram

“I’m so grateful to Denise for being so open about the procedure,” the surgeon concluded the post. “She’s been through so much this past year and her resilience is just astounding. She has a golden heart and her golden face is hers again.”

Several surgeons praised the photos in the comments. Richards’ friend and fellow RHOBH star Kyle Richards also gave her stamp of approval, writing, “So good! @deniserichards looking 🔥🔥🔥.”

Talei’s post detailing the facelift transformation and praising Richards’ openness comes just a day after the Wild Things actress opened up about her decision to have the procedure — which comes more than 30 years after she first went under the knife at age 19 for breast implants — in an interview with Allure published Friday, March 20.

“I wanted to put things back up, where they were before,” she said of her facelift, sharing that while she had undergone plastic surgery before, the prospect of a surgeon touching her face was “terrifying.”

It was something Richards previously said she would “never” do, she told the outlet.

“I’m one who says ‘never say never,’ but I always said I would never get a facelift, because that’s my face. This is how I make my money,” she explained. “I’ve been in this business a long time. People know what I look like. I’ve never done anything aesthetically to my face.”

Denise Richards’ facelift results
Credit: Ben Talei, MD/Instagram

“This is my nose. I’ve done a little Botox. I’ve done very little filler — it made me look like I was heavy; it just did not work for my face,” the star continued. “I’ve never touched anything [on my face] like that. If things go a little sideways when you do some other part of your body, you could cover it. So I was always scared of a facelift, but I did want to do my neck — my late mom would always say that she had a turkey neck. I think it’s genetic. I had tried that [lifting] tape — a makeup artist showed it to me — and I’m like, ‘Well, if that’s where I want it to go, why not just put it back there?’ “

“It was something that I’d been thinking about for two years, going back and forth,” Richards added, “and the last six months [before my surgery], I was like, ‘I have to do this.’ “

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