Meredith Marks is entering Season 7 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City with a new look, and she has no interest in keeping the reason a secret. On the latest episode of The Beauty Authority, the reality star joins Beverly Hills, CA plastic surgeon Garo Kassabian, MD, to talk about her February facelift, why she moved on from threads and what it was like to return to filming less than a month after surgery.
Press play below for the full video and keep scrolling for takeaways from our conversation.
Why Nonsurgical Treatments Were Out
Marks previously relied on thread lifts and Botox, but her last thread treatment left her with bruising and what she describes as a splitting headache. “The last time I did my threads, my recovery was actually harder than what my facelift recovery was,” she says. She was also increasingly bothered by facial heaviness and asymmetry. “I just wanted to be back to the person I knew I looked like before.”
For Dr. Kassabian, previous procedures are part of the surgical conversation. He says threads can complicate dissection because of scarring or threads remaining in the tissue, and that extensive use of certain biostimulatory fillers can present challenges, too. Those concerns reflect his surgical experience, not a consensus that all thread lifts are problematic. NewBeauty has previously explored the pros and cons of these treatments and why the right choice depends on the patient.
A Facelift Designed Around Her Face
Rather than follow a single trendy technique, Dr. Kassabian combined an endoscopic approach with deeper-plane lifting to address Marks’ brows, cheeks, corners of the mouth, jowls and neck. “Everybody gets individualized or combination treatment so that overall the picture looks good,” he explains. Their conversation also addresses the debate over a deep plane versus SMAS facelift: Dr. Kassabian emphasizes repositioning the deeper tissue and releasing retaining ligaments rather than choosing a label first.
The goal was a familiar face, not a different one. “I want to look like myself. I just want to look refreshed,” Marks says. Dr. Kassabian agrees: “I want my patients to look younger, better, fresher looking, not different looking.” For anyone considering a facelift consultation, the larger takeaway is that anatomy, previous treatments and expectations matter more than a buzzy procedure name.
Returning Quickly to Filming and DJing
Marks says the first 48 hours after surgery were “a little rocky,” but her personal recovery progressed faster than she expected. “I was DJing less than two weeks later,” she says, recalling a return to the booth roughly 10 to 12 days afterward. She met with her production team around that time, too, and began filming Season 7 just shy of a month after surgery. That was her experience, rather than a recovery timeline to expect; postoperative swelling, restrictions and scar healing vary considerably.
She was equally straightforward about discussing the surgery on camera, especially after seeing castmates criticize one another’s appearances. “I think people should do what makes them feel good,” she says. For Marks, the change was less about a dramatic reveal than looking in the mirror and seeing herself again.
Watch the full conversation above. Follow The Beauty Authority on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, visit NewBeauty.com and follow @thebeautyauthoritypod on Instagram.