Facelifts are the trending cosmetic surgery procedures that the internet seems to be obsessed with. They are chosen by people who want a more youthful, lifted, and enhanced look. Fat in the face is removed, the facial skin is re-draped over the newly repositioned contours, and the excess skin is stitched before the wound is closed.
Sounds fancy, right? Perhaps ideal for anyone whose work involves being in front of the camera and whose career is heavily based in a visual medium. But the 38-year-old mom of two, Erica Wolfe, who works as a realtor, did not have the best experience with the facelift procedure.
According to PEOPLE magazine, the Florida-based realtor makes videos on social media, and as part of that, her face is always visible — in videos, on billboards, and in every client’s mind before they choose her services. Erica was used to using filters to smooth her face in these videos and to boost her career.
However, Erica Wolfe wanted to refresh her look. She ended up spending a staggering $78,000 on multiple cosmetic procedures, including a deep-plane facelift, neck lift, lip lift, and brow lift. The motivation behind it? Life-changing grief.
After going through a divorce following a 15-year relationship and losing 28 pounds through consistent Pilates workouts and a clean diet, she decided to undergo all the cosmetic procedures at once.
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“I kind of felt like, for the first time in my life, it’s about me,” Wolfe told PEOPLE. “I could do whatever the hell I wanted without it affecting anyone else.” The procedures, which she charged to her Amex “for the points,” were the culmination of years of hard work.
Wolfe had been a single teen mom at 17, raising two kids and juggling multiple jobs. Now, after building a successful real estate business and mentoring over 1,400 agents, she felt she’d earned the right to invest in herself.
First, when the mother of two visited her doctor in July 2023, Erica thought she would be getting a lower blepharoplasty, which is basically a surgical procedure that removes skin and fat from the lower eyelid. However, she contemplated and decided also to do something about her droopier jowls, which were a result of her drastic weight loss.
“We kind of just started adding stuff,” she says, laughing while she recalls the consultation. By the end, when she zeroed in on five cosmetic procedures, the cost came up to a whopping $78,000. In 2107, she had done a nose job, but that was nothing compared to the bunch of surgeries she had now.
One week before the procedures, Erica had to stop drinking alcohol and avoid salt and high-calorie food items. She was also given vitamins and a bunch of other medications before going under the knife.
Facial volume loss = aging.
💉 Fillers can help early on, but as ligaments and skin loosen, you’ll need more than filler for lasting rejuvenation.
Think fat grafting or facelift for real, natural results.#FacialRejuvenation #Fillers #Facelift #AestheticMedicine #DrRoyKim pic.twitter.com/rDl4A3fNiM
— Roy Kim 🇺🇸 (@drroykim) November 6, 2025
However, the aftercare was much more difficult than she thought. Wolfe described her post-surgery experience as “intense.” Her face was swollen, peeling, and covered in Aquaphor as she relied on a nurse to manage her aftercare.
Around day 10, she recalled looking in the mirror and panicking: “What the f— did I do?” Despite the swelling and breakouts, Wolfe says she loves her smoother neck, lifted eyes, and fuller lips- though her cheeks still feel puffy.
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“I know I’m swollen,” she told herself. “I just keep repeating it like a mantra.” She recalled the pain and compared it to childbirth. She was on lots of Aquaphor, as all of the skin on her face started peeling off. For help, she even kept a nurse who could monitor her.
Erica Wolfe has been open about her facelifts and healing journey on TikTok without any guilt or shame. The reaction to her story has been mixed. Some supportive, others critical, but Wolfe isn’t bothered. “I’ve been online for a decade,” she says. “People have said worse.”
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