"I don't know what he did, but it changed the texture of my skin, which I was not expecting,” Richards said
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Denise-Richards-Wadsworth-Theater-1998-53rd-Annual-Saturn-Awards-2026-032426-ca31a36d2675409caff1e604120aef8f.jpg "Denise Richards attends a premiere of 'Lion King II: Simba's Pride' at the Wadsworth Theater, Westwood, California, October 20, 1998., Denise Richards attends the 53rd annual Saturn Awards at Hilton Universal City Hotel on March 08, 2026 in Universal City, California.")
Credit: Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty; Michael Tullberg/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Denise Richards said her facelift led to unexpected changes in her skin texture
- The actress made her first post-surgery red carpet appearance in September 2025
- Richards opened up about her recovery, calling it easier than she anticipated
Denise Richards is opening up about the unexpected effects of her recent facelift, including a change in her skin’s texture.
In an interview with Allure, Richards spoke about undergoing a facelift at the end of June 2025 and her return to the public eye shortly after. Her first red carpet appearance following the procedure was on Sept. 4, 2025, at the premiere of Netflix’s documentary aka Charlie Sheen.
“I had a facelift end of June, so this was my first red carpet since my facelift,” she told Allure in the interview published on Monday, March 23. “You know, my face was still settling here. I really wanted a natural look, because I didn't want to put a lot on my face.”
Credit: Unique Nicole/Getty
While Richards acknowledged the visible effects of the surgery, she emphasized that the most notable change was unexpected.
“I love my skin after my facelift. I don't know what he did, but it changed the texture of my skin, which I was not expecting,” she said.
She also addressed her recovery, describing it as less difficult than she had anticipated.
“The recovery was much better than I thought. There's no way before I got it done that I would have thought I could go on a red carpet,” Richards said.
Richards has previously spoken openly about her history with cosmetic procedures. In a separate interview with Allure published on March 20, she discussed undergoing her first surgery at age 19 for breast implants and revisiting cosmetic enhancements decades later.
"I wanted to put things back up, where they were before," Richards told the outlet, adding that despite her past experiences, undergoing facial surgery was “terrifying.”
Credit: Ben Talei, MD/Instagram
"Being in the public eye since my 20s, people know what I look like—a facelift is not something that I could hide," she said.
According to Richards, she began the process after being referred to Beverly Hills surgeon Dr. Ben Talei, whom she met through the physician who performed her breast implant revision surgery. That revision followed an incident in which she ruptured both implants while competing on Special Forces: World's Toughest Test season 3.
Richards said she placed full trust in Talei as she moved forward with the procedure, which included a temporal brow lift, upper blepharoplasty, a lip lift for the outer corners of her mouth, and fat grafting.
“My face was in his hands,” she said.
“I said, ‘You’re the artist. Whatever you want to do,’” she recalled telling Talei. “It is night and day. It's shocking, actually.”
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Credit: Ben Talei, MD/Instagram
Related: Denise Richards Shares Before-and-After Photos of Shocking Facelift Transformation She Was 'Terrified' to Undergo
On March 21, Talei shared before-and-after images of Richards on Instagram, along with a detailed caption describing the procedure and its results. In the post, he characterized Richards as “one of the most lovely and beautiful people to ever walk this earth” and said it was “an incredible pleasure and honor” to be entrusted with her care.
Talei described the work as highly individualized, writing that “there isn’t really a standard to compare it to,” and pointed to what he called “comprehensive improvements” across multiple aspects of her facial features. He also referenced techniques such as PHAT Skin and AuraLyft, and emphasized what he described as restoring rather than altering her appearance.