Denise Richards explains why she got facelift as she shares side effect

Denise Richards' plastic surgeon seriously exceeded her expectations after she put the fate of her face in his hands.

The results of the facelift which she underwent in June last year have wowed the world - and have also left a host of stars asking for her doctor's number.

Dr Ben Talei's handiwork has taken years off of her, and according to the mother-of-three, she's also enjoyed another benefit in wake of the procedure which she 'was not expecting'.

Richards, 55, described the difference in her appearance as 'night and day' and explained that she was motivated to go under the knife so she could look more like her younger self.

The actress - who shot to fame thanks to her roles in Starship Troopers, Wild Things and The World Is Not Enough - recently told Allure: "I wanted to put things back up, where they were before."

She admitted she 'was terrified' about the whole thing though, while then adding: "Being in the public eye since my 20s, people know what I look like - a facelift is not something that I could hide."

As a result of this, Richards decided that honesty was the best policy and has been extremely candid about her experience of having a facelift, which is something Dr Talei praised her for.

"I’m so grateful to Denise for being so open about the procedure," he said in the caption of an Instagram post where he shared before-and-after images documenting Richards' drastic transformation.

"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."

Dr Talei also listed off some of the tweaks he had made to the reality TV star's face while she was on his operating table - including a temporal brow lift, upper blepharoplasty and a lip lift.

The celebrity surgeon also noted that Richards had a PHAT (Platelet Hybridized Adipose Transplant) Skin treatment, which involves injecting a combination of the patient's own fat tissue and platelet-rich plasma into the skin to improve its texture and appearance.

Recalling the set of instructions she gave to Dr Talei, Richards continued: "My face was in his hands. I said, ‘You’re the artist. Whatever you want to do'."

Admiring her results, the surgeon himself added: "She looks calmer, happier, brighter now. It's a character difference. I really wanted to brighten her eyes back up to how they used to be - super sexy...I love her face!"

The Wild Things actress also took the opportunity to remind fans that it's 'not just serums and working out and lasers' that make a lot of Hollywood stars look youthful.

And in a new interview, Richards has shared an update on how she's been settling into her new appearance after her facelift.

She explained that she underwent the procedure at the 'end of June' last year and never dreamed she'd be red carpet ready in a matter of weeks - but she was.

Richards attended the premiere of her former husband Charlie Sheen's Netflix documentary, titled aka Charlie Sheen, on 4 September, 2025.

"This was my first red carpet since my facelift," she told Allure. "You know, my face was still settling here. I really wanted a natural [makeup] look, because I didn't want to put a lot on my face."

She then revealed there's another reason she wanted to opt for minimal makeup, too - because she 'loves' the way her skin looks after Dr Talei's help.

"I love my skin after my facelift," Richards went on. "I don't know what he did, but it changed the texture of my skin, which I was not expecting. It was so good.

"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."

If you're someone who can't peel your eyes away from her new face, you'll be glad to know that Dr Talei shared some more images showing off Richards' incredible results.