Denise Richards has opened up about an ‘unexpected’ change she noticed after getting a facelift.
The 55-year-old actor and TV personality had the procedure around eight months ago, and after giving herself time to recover, she’s been sharing how the results have settled in.
Richards previously said she chose to go ahead with surgery because she ‘wanted to put things back up where they were before’.
Her surgeon, Dr Ben Talei, has said Richards underwent multiple procedures, including a facelift, a temporal brow lift, upper blepharoplasty, and a lip lift.
Now, the former Bond Girl has revealed that one of the biggest differences she noticed wasn’t only about lift and tightness — it was about her skin itself.
“I love my skin after my facelift,” she told Allure. “I don’t know what he did, but it changed the texture of my skin which I was not expecting.”
Richards also reflected on returning to public events after the operation, explaining that her recovery ended up being smoother than she had anticipated.
“There’s no way before I got it done that I would have thought I could go on a red carpet.”
This wasn’t Richards’ first experience with cosmetic procedures. She previously had breast augmentation at 19 and has since had revision surgery for her implants, along with what she described as a ‘little Botox’ and filler.
But when it came to facial surgery, she said she’d long been certain it wasn’t something she’d do, describing the idea as intimidating because of how closely her face is tied to her career.
“I wanted to put things back up, where they were before,” she said. “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.
“I’ve been in this business a long time. People know what I look like. I’ve never done anything aesthetically to my face.”
Even though she admitted she was nervous about the idea, Richards said a smaller concern — improving the look of her neck — helped push her toward taking the next step after a makeup trick made her think differently about what she wanted.
“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?’”
Ultimately, she said she’s pleased with how everything turned out, describing the difference as major.
Richards also shared that her daughters, Sami and Lola, initially didn’t like the idea of her having surgery, though she believes their concerns were rooted in general worry about a procedure.
“I told them that this is something that I want to do, and you may not agree with my decision, but I just want your support. I understand that you feel the way you do, but please know that this is something that I want to do for me.” the actor said.
“I’m grateful that I did it. It’s changed my life in such a good way. I had no idea. I wish I did it earlier, but I’m grateful I did it when I did,” she added.