A Lip Lift with Dr. Ben Talei.

I’m a caucasian female, born in 1953. On April 10, 2018 I travelled from the east coast to Beverly Hills for a lip lift with Dr. Ben Talei. I was going to wait until 3 months to review, but I went to a big party on June 9th, and I looked, simply amazing (okay, the lighting was low, but I'm running with this). A distinguished looking man motioned me over to where he stood with his beautiful wife, and said to me, “You’re a beautiful woman.” Another man I’ve known for 30 years, was looking at me with renewed interest...you know what I'm talking about it.
The best was my husband who told me, several times, I was the most beautiful woman in the room. Last night was the first time since my procedure that I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt, I have a beautiful new mouth. So, it’s time to write this review. Now. Since 1988 I’ve interviewed about 15 surgeons for my various procedures, watched countless Youtube videos and read hundreds of articles about cosmetic procedures. Over the past 25 years I've had a full facelift, cheek implants, full face and neck CO2-fraxel laser, twice, and liposuction. There is no substitute for experience. I researched the lip lift procedure for almost two years. After seeing his videos on Youtube and reading everything I could find about him, I chose Dr. Ben Talei. Because, he performs a record number of lip lifts. His website has a significant number of accurate, well done, reliable, “Before and After" photos, that show HIS work. His videos on Youtube are helpful but this interview answers almost all the questions. Bottom line, why would I choose a doctor who has only done 100, 200 or 300 lip lifts when I could choose a doctor who has done thousands of lip lifts? I was Dr. Talei's third lip lift that day. I arrived on April 10th, filled out papers and then waited to be called. Expect to wait. I discovered that even moma Talei has to wait when she comes for botox. Make sure your phone is charged and bring a book. The man is worth any wait. I found Dr. Talei to be so absolutely charming, and so genuinely disarming, that my first instinct was to adopt him. He's young and full of energy. He exudes confidence without the arrogance that often accompanies success at such a young age. He took my “befores", marked me up, explained everything he was doing, and intended to do. Along with Nurse Esther ( a hand holder prepared for patient anxiety) and Danny (who was in his last month of med school and equally attentive) we walked to the operating room. Dr. Talei and I chatted while he painlessly administered the novocaine. No pain. He’s funny, and interesting. He is a master at putting his patients at ease with his small talk.The first thing he did was ask my permission to cauterize a blood spot on my upper lip a.k.a. a venous well, the result of sun damage. Yes, please. It had been bothering me for years and I didn’t know it could be fixed. Some people describe hearing the skin being removed during procedure, I heard nothing. I felt nothing except a pinch from one anchoring stitch, at the base of the septum on the left side of my nose. Still, no pain.I was able to get up and leave by myself to meet my friend. As the evening wore on everything they said would happen, did happen. Swelling and more swelling. Bruising, I'm a bruiser. Tightness. The left nostril gave me pause for thought as I re-felt that pinch but, no pain. I didn’t ice, and Tylenol Extra Strength was plenty effective.I was afraid to move my mouth worried I might stretch the stitches. Drinking from a glass was easy but forget about eating in front of anyone. It was a solid 4 weeks before I felt comfortable eating with company. The tightness of the upper lip affected my chewing and in general the mechanics of eating took a conscious effort.Until the stitches were removed I drank soup, ate yogurt, pudding, anything pureed, including baby food. Avoid chewing. An electric toothbrush created less disruption, and I wanted to believe the vibrations were helping the healing process. Sleeping upright was necessary for the first few nights. I thought about asking for a sleeping pill but decided against it because we all know weird stuff happens on ambien and I didn’t want to wake up and find I had scratched the stitches or slept on them? I wore a surgical mask in public the first ten days. I bruised, big time. A fu manchu bruise. By three weeks the bruises were gone and the swelling was minimal. I didn’t use any of the recommended anti-bruising meds before surgery but I did take arnica until the stitches were out. I did not use a scar cream.After the procedure and for the next week I didn't touch anything except to apply cream with a Q-tip. I didn't stand in front of the mirror second guessing my surgeon. Until the stitches are removed, and for a month after that, I tried to forget I had an upper lip. It wasn't my first surgery. I knew my amazing body was coping, doing what it knows how to do, heal. Everything would be fine. I did the research, followed directions and I was confident I'd chosen the right doctor. Patience, I told myself and tried to keep busy.In the five days immediately after the stitches were removed I had 2 deep tissue massages (not on my face of course). I and everyone who saw me the next day, after each massage, thought each massage helped almost immediately to lesson the swelling. The bruising also seemed to fade more quickly. Back home and a few weeks after surgery I became anxious and kept wanting to call the office. Instead I reread some of the literature I was given by Dr. Talei. “Asymmetry, swelling, and some anxiety are all very normal to experience at this stage as you are still in the beginning phases of healing. At this point around 3 weeks you can also start exercising and return to all normal routines including medications if you haven’t already done so.  3 months is when patients really start to love the results and are looking much better even in photos. Still, you are in the early phases of healing and you would be surprised to see how much improvement is still to come. In our experience, the ultimate healing course of any intervention to the body is that it would be 80-90% healed at 1 year and around 99% healed at 3 years.  It is normal to experience fluctuations in swelling and sensation throughout the entire healing course.”  Every thing it describes is exactly what was happening to me. And continues to happen. At 8 weeks my mouth still swells an imperceptible amount. This also happened with my cheek implants, so I’m not alarmed. The body is coping.It was a full three weeks, April 30th, before I felt comfortable enough to be out in public but I continued to avoid all social engagements for 6 weeks. By week 4 my nose remained distended. I looked normal at first glance. The area under my nose was still stiff and puckered. Of course it looked worse to me, but people told me they knew I had something done. “Too much filler?” they asked?Four weeks out. I bruised. Big time. I had a fu manchu bruise. The bruising is now completely gone. Some minor swelling remains. There is tightness, and puckering. I was warned about the puckering under my nostrils so I expected it. But it was weird. My smile does not show my gums, only half my teeth. I can use a straw, but my top lip still doesn’t seem to do it’s job when I’m eating. I have to consciously remember to use it. I’m so ready for this to be over. My husband is concerned because I do look different. My upper lip is at least twice the size of the bottom and while I love it and wouldn’t mind balancing it out, I know it will go down. The healing still has a long way to go. There is some very minor reddening on either side of my face near my nose. I’m guessing the muscle is healing or relaxing? I’m concerned about the base of the nose, the “ridge” that is the result of the surgery. But again, it’s only four weeks.May 8th My fifth deep tissue massage, because I think the massages help. I try not to look in the mirror more than twice a day. I’m still sleeping with two pillows. Four years ago, after my cheek implants, I trained myself to sleep on my back. Sleeping on the back is the best kept secret beauty product in the world. Now, every morning when I get up, my face is full and unlined. May 14th. 5 weeks. At first glance, I look fine. My face looks different, but no one can figure out what is different. The area under my nostrils is still puckered and my mouth looks a little pulled. May 22nd. 6 weeks. I wonder about the women who say they looked great at 3 weeks, or their healing was complete at 6 weeks. I wonder how that happened? Did their doctors not anchor the same way Dr. Talei does? Did their doctors not anchor at all, sewing the skin to skin? Today is the first day I feel relatively normal and I’m beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. To the side of my nostrils along my cheeks there are still very faint red marks where everything underneath continues to normalize. The area under my nostrils is still a little tight, causing my lip to “lift” a little more than I hope it does in the end. Right now the top lip is about one and a half times the size of the bottom. The ridges under my nose are much softer, still a little numb and much less pronounced. I won’t blow my nose because I don’t want to squeeze the bottom. I have been keeping my hands off the area except to very gently massage my face in the shower. Kissing my husband feels still feels strange. Tuesday, June 5. Day 56. 8th week.When I use the word “micro”, I mean it. Still a tiny, tiny bit numb, nostril sill is micro swollen. Micro pulling to the sides of the nostrils. I continue to smile with a closed mouth but my mile is almost completely back. I would still feel uncomfortable going to the dentist. My mouth is still a little tight. The scar. The scar is the thing most people worry about. Yes, my scar is visible IF one is looking for it. It will resolve over time. I’m not worried. A little makeup works to cover it. You get what pay for and I never complain about paying for experience and expertise. Would you take a Maserati to a Ford dealer for maintenance? No. You would take that gorgeous machine to a certified Maserati mechanic. That Maserati is your face ladies and gentlemen. And the certified mechanic is Dr. Ben Talei. Sell your jewelry on Ebay. Take an extra job. Sell one of your significant other’s guitars. Or their golf clubs. Dr.Talei does a lot of pro bono work so think of a percentage of the cost, as a donation to one of those organizations. I can’t wait to get back to L.A. and the good doctor for my next round of maintenance. The hardest part, as always, is convincing my husband. The funny thing is my husband dislikes his upper lip so much that he has always hidden it behind a mustache. In 36 years, I’ve seen his upper lip clean shaven, only three times. I told him I wouldn’t do a lip lift, if he permanently shaved his mustache. Ended that discussion.

The interview I referred to was omitted by realself. It is at bondenavant (dot) com/lip-lift/. It's excellent.

My mouth looks so damn gorgeous I almost CAN'T STAND IT! Still some minor tenderness on the sill. It's a tin bit swollen every morning. But the confidence! The confidence it gives me to know that my mouth looks younger, and so beautiful. Obsession, officially over. Eventually I will post photographs. In the meantime know that I would do this again in a heartbeat. But only with Dr. Talei. There are just so many aspects to a successful lip lift that demand experience and the confidence experience brings. The man is a master.