Meredith Marks Says Thread Recovery Hurt More Than Her Facelift

By Grace Kim

Meredith Marks says her last thread lift hurt more to recover from than her facelift. "The last time I did my threads, my recovery was actually harder than what my facelift recovery was," the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star said on The Beauty Authority podcast, alongside Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Garo Kassabian, MD.

Marks underwent a facelift in February. She returned to DJing roughly 10 to 12 days after surgery and began filming Season 7 of RHOSLC just shy of a month post-op.

Why did she abandon threads and Botox?

Marks previously relied on thread lifts and Botox. Her final thread treatment left her with bruising and what she describes as a splitting headache. Facial heaviness and asymmetry also bothered her. "I just wanted to be back to the person I knew I looked like before," she said.

Dr. Kassabian said prior procedures shape the surgical plan. Threads can complicate dissection through scarring or residual thread material in tissue. Extensive use of certain biostimulatory fillers can present challenges as well.

A caveat follows the promise. These concerns reflect one surgeon's operative experience, not a consensus that all thread lifts are problematic. NewBeauty has previously reported that the right choice depends on the patient.

What did the surgery actually involve?

Dr. Kassabian did not follow a single trending technique. He 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 said.

The pair also addressed the deep plane versus SMAS facelift debate. Dr. Kassabian emphasized repositioning deeper tissue and releasing retaining ligaments rather than choosing a label first. Anatomy, previous treatments and expectations, he argued, matter more than a buzzy procedure name.

Both patient and surgeon defined success the same way: a familiar face. "I want to look like myself. I just want to look refreshed," Marks said. Dr. Kassabian agreed: "I want my patients to look younger, better, fresher looking, not different looking."

How fast was the recovery, really?

The first 48 hours were "a little rocky," Marks said. After that, her recovery moved faster than she expected. "I was DJing less than two weeks later," she said.

She met her production team around the same time. Filming began in under a month.

One recovery timeline does not fit all, and the source says so directly. Postoperative swelling, activity restrictions and scar healing vary considerably. Marks' 10-to-12-day return to the DJ booth is her experience, not a benchmark.

What did she say about discussing it on camera?

Marks did not hide the surgery from the show. She addressed it directly, especially after watching castmates criticize one another's appearances. "I think people should do what makes them feel good," she said.

For her, the result was not a dramatic reveal. It was looking in the mirror and seeing herself again.

The fuller lesson for prospective patients sits in the details: one celebrity's February facelift, one surgeon's combined technique and a recovery that outpaced her thread lifts — a data point, not a standard.