Exclusive | Nip-buck! Celebrity plastic surgeon reveals shocking difference between $30K and $300K facelift

The high price of a fresh slice.Driven in part by A-list celebrities like Kris Jenner and Denise Richards, facelifts are on the rise.According to the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), facelifts ranked as the second-most popular plastic surgery procedure in 2025.While popularity is peaking, the price point of the procedure varies widely.Rumor has it that Jenner’s lift set her back six figures, while other facelifts clock in at a fraction of that, somewhere in the $30,000 to $70,000 range.Most would assume that when it comes to work done on one’s money-maker, the more expensive, the better the results, right? Not quite, according to Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr.

Ben Talei.“It could be absolutely no difference,” Talei, who’s responsible for Denise Richards’ viral facial transformation and singer Sia’s self-proclaimed “amazing” facelift, told The Post.“The price would suggest that one would be better than the other, but it doesn’t actually mean that the more expensive one is better than the less expensive one,” the surgeon explained.However, for one of Talei’s patients, top dollar equals top tier. “You get what you pay for,” Los Angeles-based real estate agent Pate Stevens of The Agency told The Post. Stevens, who underwent a facial rejuvenation by Talei last fall, to the tune of $224,000, believes that in LA, there’s more bad work than good, and the bad is…loud.“I can spot 90% of facelifts three blocks away,” Stevens told The Post, “The face is pulled so tight, the lips are so big, and the eyes are so open.”The pursuit of a more natural look led Stevens to Talei, who he says offers a subtler East Coast, old-money aesthetic.“He’s from New York, he’s not here to do stretchy face lifts with duck lips,” Stevens said.Stevens shared that aside from a mutual aversion to duck lips, Talei’s goal for facial rejuvenation aligned with his own: to ensure he remained recognizable.“I w...