Actress Denise Richards has shared new details about her full facelift procedure, a year after undergoing the surgery. Speaking on the "Dumb Blonde" podcast with host Bunnie Xo, Richards, 55, revealed that she initially only considered surgery for her neck but was persuaded by a friend to opt for a more comprehensive procedure.
"Originally I had been thinking about doing just my neck," Richards told Xo. "Then a friend of mine — she’s very well-known and she’s not public about hers — and she said to me, ‘You have to do the whole thing.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t want to do the whole thing.’ I was scared."
Prior to the facelift, Richards stated she had not undergone any significant facial procedures beyond "a little Botox" and "some fillers." After researching and consulting with Beverly Hills-based plastic surgeon Dr. Ben Talei, she proceeded with the surgery in June 2025. She described Dr. Talei's work as "impeccable," noting that she had reviewed many before-and-after results.
According to Richards, Dr. Talei performed a lower neck lift, lower face lift, and a brow lift, but did not operate on her lower eyelids, only the upper ones. "He did the lower neck, the lower face, the upper, the brow lift. The only thing he didn’t do were my lower lids. He did my upper lid. But I mean, he did the whole thing."
Richards and Xo, who also had a facelift in March, discussed the significant pain associated with the surgery. "When I was told, ‘Oh, it gets better as you heal,’ and I’m like, ‘How with gravity? How are we going to get better?’ And it does," Richards recalled. "It’s like your face settles or something. It was the best thing I did for myself."
Xo added, "I don’t think people realize how big of a surgery it is. I was down for the count. I had to, like, go into hiding for a little bit."
In March, nine months after her surgery, Richards shared before-and-after photos on her Instagram Stories, reiterating that the procedure was "the best thing I could’ve done for myself."