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The BBL has become one of the most popular cosmetic procedures in recent years, as millennials are particularly interested in achieving the hourglass figure sported by celebrities like Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, and Kim Kardashian.
A Brazilian Butt Lift or BBL is a buttocks enhancement surgery that makes the buttocks fuller, rounder and curvier than before. Before your BBL, it is important to ensure you know everything there is to know about preparation, what’s involved, recovery, and what to expect from your results.
When considering a BBL, it is also vital that you pick the right surgeon for your surgery. Dr. Reza of GraceMed Burlington is renowned for his BBL techniques and delivers some of the best results.
Make GraceMed your destination for a Brazilian Butt Lift in Toronto and the GTA. We have specialists available to perform the procedure at our North York and Mississauga clinics.
Utilize our guide to improve your understanding and equip you with the information you need to make an informed decision and plan accordingly for your BBL.
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How Does a Brazilian Butt Lift Work?
How does a Brazilian Butt Lift work? A Brazilian Butt Lift is a fat transfer procedure where a surgeon collects fat via liposuction from various parts of the body (thighs, abdomen, hips and/or back) and then injects that fat into the buttocks.
The technique enhances the size, shape and projection of the buttocks while carefully contouring the surrounding areas to give patients a more defined hourglass figure.
Who Is a Good Candidate for a Brazilian Butt Lift?
First, a good candidate for this procedure is someone who feels like their buttocks lack fullness, size and shape. If you think that your buttocks are small and flat, then this could be the solution for you.
A candidate should be in good health, as an unhealthy patient may not respond well to surgery, general anesthesia or recovery. Our surgeons look for this qualification to ensure patient safety and well-being.
Candidates should also have realistic expectations about what this procedure can do for them. A BBL isn’t meant to recreate your buttocks — it’s meant to enhance the buttocks that you already have. It’s important to keep that perspective so that you don’t overestimate the results.
If you want bigger results after a BBL, you could go through the surgery again in the future to add more volume and contour. You will need to have enough fatty tissue elsewhere to inject into the buttocks, otherwise, you may want to look into a non-surgical solution like Sculptra for buttocks enhancement.
BBL Recovery
What Is Recovery Like After a Brazilian Butt Lift?
Recovery time is essential after Brazilian Butt Lift surgery. Transferred fat requires a new blood supply in order to survive, as any force against the treated area could undermine your recovery. It could cause the blood vessels to break, and the fat can’t survive when this happens. If you don’t follow the steps of recovery, you won’t get the results that you’re hoping for.
Recovery time isn’t only crucial for your results — it’s crucial for your health, too. Following your surgeon’s aftercare instructions and resting for the upcoming weeks will help you heal from the surgical procedure and avoid any unwanted complications.
What is the BBL Recovery Timeline?
You can expect between one to two weeks to recover from the procedure. It will take four to six weeks to return to your regular physical activities (for example, working out at the gym). After six weeks, the transferred fat should have adhered to your buttocks, and you should be fully healed from the procedure.
What Do You Do During Your Recovery?
Certain precautions are necessary during your recovery. You should avoid rigorous physical activity for six weeks and you should only resume this activity after getting a green light from your surgeon. They will let you know when you’re ready to ease back into your usual routine.
It’s important that you don’t put direct pressure on the buttocks while you heal. This is the most challenging part of the recovery process. For at least two weeks, you should not sit down directly on your buttocks. After that period, you can sit on a post-operative pillow — this will allow you to sit comfortably without applying too much pressure on the area. For six weeks, you will have to sleep on your stomach.
You will have to wear a compression garment for six weeks. A compression garment will improve your blood flow, which will reduce swelling post-surgery and help the fat adhere to the new location. The garment can also help your body maintain its newly contoured shape.
Otherwise, you should try your best to take care of your health. Avoid smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol, drink plenty of water, eat a well-balanced diet, and get plenty of rest.
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How Do You Get the Best Results?
Following your aftercare instructions (sleeping on your stomach, wearing compression garments, etc.) will help you achieve better results. Ignoring them can cause the transferred fat to stiffen, deform or get reabsorbed during your recovery.
Another way to improve the results of a BBL is to do exercises that strengthen the gluteus muscles, as stronger muscles will enhance the shape and lift of your newly enhanced buttocks. Here are some examples of exercises that you can try:
- Squats
- Lunges
- Glute Bridges
- Hip Thrusts
- Step-Ups
- Deadlifts
- Hamstring Curls
It’s important that you wait at least six weeks to resume exercise, since you want to make sure that you’re fully healed before trying anything strenuous.
To guarantee that you have long-lasting results, you should strive to maintain your current body weight to the best of your abilities. Fluctuations in weight could affect your results, and the risk with dramatic weight loss is that you could shed the fat in your buttocks and shrink the overall size. Another risk with dramatic weight gain is that you could lose the contouring around the buttocks that give you an hourglass figure.
Alternatives to the Brazilian Butt Lift
Someone who doesn’t have enough fatty tissue to do a fat transfer will not be a good candidate for a BBL and will need to look into other options to enhance their buttocks, like butt implants or Sculptra.
Implants
Butt implants are another surgical option for enhancing the size and curvature of your buttocks. Similar to breast augmentation, silicone implants are inserted through incisions in the area and positioned so that they are symmetrical and proportional.
How Does This Procedure Compare to a BBL?
The results from implants will not look as natural as a Brazilian Butt Lift. The surgery does not involve contouring or sculpting the area surrounding the buttocks, so the shape will look more fabricated. In some cases, the shape of the implants may be visible underneath the skin.
On the cosmetic surgery platform RealSelf, butt implants were given an 80% Worth It rating by patients who went through with it. In comparison, BBLs were given an 85% Worth It rating.
GraceMed clinics do not perform butt implants, but we have alternative procedures to help you get the results that you are looking for.
Sculptra
A Sculptra Butt Lift is a non-surgical enhancement procedure. Sculptra is a long-lasting dermal filler that can be injected into the buttocks. The filler includes poly-L-lactic acid, which will stimulate your body’s collagen production. Collagen is the protein that provides essential structure to your skin, making it firm, smooth and supple. By boosting your collagen production in your buttocks, you can improve their shape and appearance without undergoing surgery.
Patients who are concerned about going through surgery can choose this option as opposed to a Brazilian Butt Lift. It’s also an ideal choice for patients that don’t have enough fatty tissue to harvest for a BBL.
How Does This Procedure Compare to a BBL?
One of the main benefits of a Sculptra Butt Lift is that it has no downtime. The procedure takes 30 minutes to complete, and then you can resume your regular activities. You can sit down, sleep on your back, and continue your exercise routine. If you can’t afford to take time off to recover from a BBL, this could be a convenient alternative.
An important thing to note is that Sculptra requires multiple treatments. The average patient needs approximately three to four treatments of the dermal filler to get the best results. The results will last between two to three years whereas, in comparison, a BBL only requires one procedure. Its results can last for several years to several decades, depending on the patient.
Other Options to Achieve an Hourglass Shape?
Liposuction
If you don’t want to get a BBL, but you want to get the hourglass physique, you can still opt for liposuction. This will help you remove fatty tissue in the same areas that would normally be included in a BBL, like the hips, stomach, back and thighs.
How does it work? The surgeon makes incisions in the areas that you want to cover during the procedure. They insert a cannula (a stainless-steel tube) into the incisions. Then, they use that cannula to break up the fatty tissue and suction it out. This fat will be removed instead of harvested and reinjected.
GraceMed offers Liposuction in Mississauga as well as at our Burlington and North York clinics.
Non-Surgical Body Sculpting
Of course, if you’re not comfortable going through any type of surgery, you can try our non-surgical body sculpting in Burlington to get the physique you want. Treatments like Vanquish, Exilis and EmSculpt can help you improve the appearance of your stomach, hips, thighs, back and buttocks.
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Why Do You Have Flat Buttocks?
If you’re asking yourself this question, there are several things that could contribute to having this feature.
Genetics
If your immediate family members have small/flat buttocks, you’re likely to have this feature, too. Your body shape will probably reflect your closest genetic relatives.
Age
People often lose subcutaneous fat (fat underneath the skin) as they get older. They lose this fat in their cheeks, their chests, and, of course, their buttocks. So, if you find that your buttocks aren’t as full and round as they used to be, this could be the reason behind it.
Pregnancy
While you may be happy to add size to your buttocks due to weight gain during your pregnancy, the process can make your buttocks flatter. Your hips widen to prepare for childbirth, and the shifting of your hips changes the structure of your buttocks and makes them look wider and flatter. The weight of your growing belly also disrupts your posture, forcing you to jut the pelvis forward. The posture forces your glute muscles to become inactive and lose their strength and support.
Sedentary Lifestyle
An inactive, sedentary lifestyle is a common culprit for flatter buttocks. If you’re sitting all day long and getting minimal exercise, your gluteus muscles are not going to be very strong and supportive. You can remedy this! Making some simple lifestyle changes could give your behind more strength and definition, like switching to a standing desk or exercising more often.
Brazilian Butt Lifts at GraceMed
GraceMed is a leading destination for plastic surgery in Mississauga that specializes in various treatments including BBL. If you’re thinking about getting a Brazilian Butt Lift, book a consultation at our clinic.
We can go over the steps of the procedure and determine whether you’re the best candidate. If a BBL doesn’t seem like the right fit for you, we can find other options offered at our locations to help you get the transformation that you’re searching for. We offer many different types of plastic surgery that may suit your needs.
