Most women dream of having a large, plush derriere like the kind you see on a Kardashian. That’s why BBLs–short for Brazilian butt lifts–have risen to such prominence. If you’re thinking of scheduling this procedure, what do you need to know?
Here are 10 things they never told you about BBLs:
- BBLs are uber-popular right now
- BBLs are two surgeries in one
- The procedure can slim your midsection too
- BBLs don’t use silicone
- The recovery process is long
- And you can’t sit
- Scars are minimal
- Results aren’t forever
- BBLs can be deadly
- Choosing the right surgeon is everything
I’m sure you’re eager to learn about BBLs outside of some bullet points. Well, you’re in luck. In this guide, I’ll go through each point on the list above and explain them. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll be able to decide whether a BBL is worth it for you!
10 Things You Didn’t Know About BBLs
BBLs Are Uber Popular Right Now
Did you know that BBLs have been around as a surgical procedure for a while? They had a moment in the 1990s, but the procedure really caught fire again in the 2020s.
Why is that? Well, of course, social media is a huge influence. BBLs became such a trend on TikTok that some media outlets coined the term “the BBL Effect.”
Women were showing befores and afters of their procedures, including some of the gory details in between (What? A BBL is surgery, so it’s no walk in the park).
By peeling back the curtain on what constituted a BBL, other women felt more confident proceeding with the surgery themselves.
Plus, even outside of direct influences such as TikTok, the rise of picture-perfect Instagram models with perfectly round tushes has surely inspired a woman or two to want that same kind of butt for herself.
Besides the perpetual influence of social media, pop culture has also cultivated the desire for BBLs.
Female celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez are fawned over due to the size, shape, and firmness of their butts.
In fact, sometimes it seems like butts are all we talk about, and of course, that’s going to have an effect.
BBLs Are Two Surgeries in One
A BBL is not one surgery but two.
First, the surgeon will perform liposuction, taking extra fat around the body that will then be redirected to your rear to add more junk in the trunk.
The surgeon will use a cannula, which is a slim tube attached to a vacuum. The vacuum pulls the fat in the cannula through and it’s extracted.
Then it’s time for the augmentation.
The surgeon will next prep the fat to be transferred to your butt, then inject the fat directly into your rear. Most surgeons will add more fat than is necessary, as with some BBLs, the injected fat doesn’t always “take,” so to speak.
If the surgery is successful, then great. If not, then you might need regrafting somewhere down the line.
The surgeon is not just randomly injecting fat into your rear but selecting strategic locations according to your goals of growing your rear’s size and shape.
The Procedure Can Slim Your Midsection Too
Where do you think the fat comes from that’s reinserted into your butt? It’s from your own body, of course!
The surgeon performing the liposuction usually takes from your thighs, lower back, hips, abdomen, or even a combination of these body parts.
If you’re self-conscious about the fat in your midsection and you wish you had a more ample derriere, a BBL could be just the procedure you’re looking for.
With your new larger rear, you’d naturally look slimmer in the middle, but now you actually are slimmer, so it’s a win-win.
BBLs Don’t Use Silicone
Although both BBLs and butt implants can enhance your rear, they are not the same surgery by any stretch of the imagination.
A butt implant procedure requires the implantation of silicone into your backside. It’s sort of like breast implants but for your butt.
Butt implants are invasive procedures and tend not to look as natural, just as breast implants can sometimes look unnatural.
The risks of butt implants include capsular contracture, which is when scar tissue develops a capsule around an implant. The capsule can make the implant look deformed and misshapen.
Another risk is infection, which can be dangerous for your health.
Even without capsular contractures, a butt implant can move with time, requiring another trip under the knife to get the implant moved back into position.
That’s not to say that BBLs are easy-peasy surgeries without complications either, but the two vary in a lot of ways.
The Recovery Process Is Long
You awaken after your BBL procedure and now begin the road to recovery. That road can be a rather long one, as it can take at least four weeks to be fully recovered and sometimes up to six weeks.
Maybe that recovery timeline wouldn’t be such a big deal if…
And You Can’t Sit
That’s right, you can’t sit. Well, at least not for the first two weeks of your recovery, that is.
A BBL is performed on your butt (which I hope I’ve made abundantly clear by this point). If you’ve ever had any other sort of procedures done before, you know that you’re not supposed to use that area while you’re recovering.
Well, that’s true when recovering from a BBL as well.
Staying off your butt means you can’t sit down, only stand up or lie down. Expect to do a lot of the latter as your recovery is underway.
If you usually sleep on your back, get used to sleeping on your side or stomach instead. When you absolutely must sit, such as to use the bathroom or eat, you should use either a pillow or several or an inflatable seat.
This can be rather inconvenient, but you’ll want to lounge around during the start of your recovery process anyway, and it’s not like you can’t sit at all. You’re just supposed to keep it to a minimum.
At least it’s only for two weeks!
Scars Are Minimal
When going under the knife for any procedure, the concern is always that you could end up with scarring. That won’t be true of a BBL though.
As you’ll recall from earlier, when performing the liposuction portion of the BBL procedure, the surgeon will use a cannula, which is a very small tube.
Since the cannula is so little, that means the surgeon doesn’t have to make an overly large incision either.
You could have a scar, but it will be several millimeters in length and will usually fade the longer it’s there.
The best surgeons will select a spot to make the incision that naturally blends into the body’s own lines so the incision scar is even less noticeable.
After all, if you’re getting a BBL done, it’s to feel more confident. You don’t need scars bringing you down, and you shouldn’t have them!
Results Aren’t Forever
Diamonds might be forever, but BBLs unfortunately are not.
Once you recover from your surgery, your rear will begin to develop new fat cells which will enhance the size of your derriere even further. Within three to six months, your butt will be as stabilized as it’s going to get.
Then it’s all about playing the waiting game and enjoying your new manmade tushy. Your larger butt could remain that way for as little as five years and as long as decades, but you might need maintenance along the way. This is what’s known as a touch-up BBL.
You also should keep your weight about the same. Extreme weight gains such as through pregnancy or extreme weight losses will affect your butt in kind, making your surgery look not so cute anymore.
A BBL doesn’t fix loose skin, so if that develops through weight changes, age, or any other factor, you will again need maintenance.
BBLs Can Be Deadly
I’m not trying to vilify BBLs at all, as any surgery can possibly be fatal, but this one doesn’t particularly have the best track record.
An article from The New York Times cites a report published by the Aesthetic Surgery Journal that found that out of every 6,000 BBL procedures, one to two people died.
That doesn’t seem like that much, right? Yet The New York Times article goes on to say that of every cosmetic procedure, BBLs have the highest mortality rate.
The article also mentions how the British Association of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery in 2018 tried to get UK surgeons to stop offering BBLs. Since the association couldn’t ban BBLs entirely, of course, the procedures continued.
So what is it about BBLs that makes them risky? Here’s how The New York Times explains it: “The buttocks contain a multitude of blood vessels, some as large as drinking straws. These drain into the inferior vena cava, which is a direct line to the heart….But it can be difficult for doctors to know where exactly they’re injecting; they have sometimes mistakenly injected fat into the gluteal muscle, or right below it.
Fat can then travel directly to the heart and into the lungs, obstructing blood flow and causing immediate death.”
It’s not a pretty story, but you have to know the truth!
Choosing the Right Surgeon Is Everything
To ensure that you’re safe as you go under the knife for a BBL (if you’re thinking about getting one, that is), I cannot stress enough the importance of selecting a quality surgeon for the job.
Any surgeon who you let work on your body should be certified through the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery. If they’re not, then don’t let them perform a BBL on you!
You should always interview a surgeon before you agree to let them do the procedure. During the interview, ask about how many BBLs they’ve done. Request to see before and after photos.
Quiz them on what the entire surgical procedure is like. Even though you know what a BBL entails, you want to hear it from the surgeon’s mouth. If they say anything that seems amiss, keep looking for a different surgeon.
Discuss post-op procedures as well as BBL touch-ups.
When you visit the surgeon, take a tour of the facility. How is the lobby? Are the staff nice? Do the people there seem glad to be there?
Once you conclude your interview, you still want to go home and investigate the surgeon further. Be sure to read as many reviews as you can.
When you find a surgeon you’re confident in, you can worry less about your BBL going wrong.
Conclusion
Brazilian butt lifts or BBLs are the latest surgical procedure to be all the rage. Women love the idea of getting a shapely derriere ala Kim Kardashian.
While many BBLs go just fine, that’s not always the case. This is considered a risky cosmetic procedure. Even if your BBL happens without a hitch, you need to keep your expectations realistic.
Your body might reject some of the fat injected into your butt. Even if your body does keep the fat, the results of the procedure don’t last forever and require touching up every now and again. Alternatively, you can try fat-burning and firming without going under the knife.
I hope this article helped you develop a realistic set of expectations about everything a BBL is and isn’t!
