There’s no denying that a curvier, fuller backside is in vogue, and Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) procedures have helped thousands of patients enhance their derriere. But did you know there’s more than one way to achieve a better backside? 

Here, the expert team of plastic surgeons at the Swan Center for Plastic Surgery in Atlanta break down the differences between a surgical BBL and an injectable BBL and share their professional insight into the pros and cons of each to help you make an informed decision about which option is right for you.

What is a surgical BBL?

A surgical BBL is a two-part procedure that involves fat transfer. Your surgeon uses liposuction to harvest excess fat from other areas of your body, typically the waist, abdomen, or thighs. This fat is then carefully purified and strategically injected into your buttocks to enhance the size and shape. 

Pros of surgical BBLs:

• Customizable body contouring. A 2-for-1 option is hard to pass up, especially when you consider the complementary benefits. Liposuction not only provides the fat you need to boost your buttocks, it also offers an opportunity for overall body reshaping by slimming other areas that are generally diet and exercise-resistant.
• Noticeable enhancement. A surgical BBL can be tailored to achieve modest enhancements or provide some serious va-va-voom! Your surgeon will discuss your goals and assess your available fat stores to determine how much enhancement is possible.
• Long-lasting results. The effects of a surgical BBL are generally permanent because a good portion of the fat transferred to your buttocks becomes a part of your body’s natural tissue. Most patients enjoy their new, shapely seat for many years!

Cons of surgical BBLs:

• Requires surgery. Since it’s a surgical procedure, there are potential risks associated with anesthesia and surgery, plus possible complications related to fat transfer. (Choosing a plastic surgeon who specializes in surgical BBLs greatly reduces the chance that you’ll experience adverse effects and betters your chances of achieving beautiful BBL results.) 
• Considerable recovery process: Post-operative recovery can be a bit daunting and may require a significant time investment for healing. This isn’t because a surgical BBL is particularly invasive, but rather to ensure optimal results; you’ll have restrictions on sitting and lying down for about 6 weeks to prevent the pressure of your body weight from negatively affecting the shape of your newly enhanced buttocks.
• Initially tentative results: There’s no way to know for sure how much injected fat will stay where your surgeon places it; about 20-40% is reabsorbed by your body. Your surgeon will likely harvest and inject more fat than necessary to achieve your results to account for this factor. Diminishing fat stores may cause asymmetry or dents; some patients will want a secondary “touch up” BBL procedure to add more volume and smooth imperfections.

When performed by a BBL specialist, both a surgical and non-surgical BBL can safely achieve an alluring silhouette.   

What is an injectable BBL?

The injectable BBL is a non-surgical alternative to the traditional BBL that uses injectable fillers to enhance the shape and volume of the buttocks. Two popular products used in this procedure are Radiesse® and Sculptra®, which stimulate natural collagen production in your skin to gradually improve the size and shape of your buttocks over time. 

Pros of injectable BBLs:

• No surgery or downtime required. An injectable BBL avoids the scars and potential risks associated with surgery. You can typically resume your normal activities immediately after the procedure; most appointments take under an hour! 
• Conservative results. The increased collagen stores will add subtle volume over several weeks, mimicking the booty-boosting effects that you might experience with exercise. This means it will not be evident you’ve just had a procedure to help sculpt a rounder, fuller buttocks. 
• No minimum body fat requirement. There’s a chance that if you lack volume in your buttocks, you may not have much to spare elsewhere on your body. The good news is an injectable BBL can help naturally thin patients add natural-looking curvature to their bottom half!

Cons of injectable BBLs:

• Temporary results. The results of an injectable BBL typically last between one to two years. Your individual results will depend on the product used and your body’s response.
• Multiple treatments. Most patients need 2 or more treatments to achieve optimal results, and you’ll need to schedule regular touch-up injections to maintain them. 

So, which one is right for you?

The first step in deciding which gluteal enhancement option is right for you is to have an in-depth consultation with an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon who is highly experienced in both procedures. They will consider your personal goals, anatomy, and lifestyle to guide you in the decision-making process and develop a personalized treatment plan to achieve the level of enhancement you’re looking for.

Schedule your BBL consultation at the Swan Center for Plastic Surgery in Atlanta

Whether you’re leaning towards a surgical BBL or considering an injectable BBL, our practice offers both options, and our board-certified plastic surgeons and fabulous patient support team will work to ensure your personalized procedure is performed correctly and safely. To learn more about your body contouring options and which procedure you are a good candidate for, schedule your consultation by calling 770-667-0904 or fill out our online form to receive a call back from our team—we’ve got your back! 

Gorgeous curves will always be in style

Here’s our answer: buttock augmentation is not going anywhere any time soon! BBL is highly customizable and does not have to be used to create extreme, trendy results that may not stand the test of time. We believe that while the “moment” of over-the-top Kardashian booties might be over, proportionate buttock enhancement will always be in style.

At The Swan Center for Plastic Surgery in Atlanta, we frequently see patients looking for a naturally curvier figure, rounder derriere, or better butt projection. Buttock enhancement is a wonderful procedure for balancing body proportions and emphasizing hourglass curves (which never go out of style). We perform two kinds of buttock enhancement—BBL via fat transfer and non-surgical injectable butt lifts, giving our patients more options to fit their lifestyle and their goals.

Buttock enhancement is a key body contouring tool for plastic surgeons

Our Atlanta board certified plastic surgeons believe a tailored procedure plan including buttock enhancement can help create an ideal shape when upper and lower body proportions are not harmonious. While subtractive procedures like liposuction can somewhat rebalance the figure, an additive procedure like BBL beautifully magnifies contours.

Safely performed, buttock augmentation is often an essential option for patients who desire a more shapely lower body.

Keep in mind that plastic surgeons are “agnostic” when it comes to procedure popularity and think instead of the overall shape the individual patient wishes to achieve. To create a complete result, plastic surgeons may also reach for a range of body contouring techniques, including tummy tuck,  and other lifting options, like arm lift. These procedures have remained popular for years on end because they are proven to help patients modify their shape and counteract the effects of childbearing, weight loss, or aging. We believe that BBL is also part of the canon of classic cosmetic procedures.

Like any body contouring procedure, buttock enhancement can be a key tool for plastic surgeons to help patients meet their goals. Here at the Swan Center, we will continue to offer buttock augmentation as an option as long as our patients continue to seek a more hourglass shape or voluminous, projected buttocks.

You have options: BBL surgery vs. non-surgical butt lift

Brazilian butt lift (BBL, or fat transfer to the buttocks)

Fat transfer to the buttocks, a.k.a. BBL, is a surgical buttock augmentation that takes place in two parts. First, liposuction is used on the waist, flanks, abdomen, or thighs to harvest fat. Then, the fat is placed carefully below the skin of the buttocks to enhance their projection and shape.

Benefits of a surgical BBL include:

• A long-lasting solution in a single procedure
• A comprehensive body contouring outcome, since liposuction of the waist (for example) is used to slim nearby features and help enhance the apparent projection of buttocks

While a traditional Brazilian butt lift (BBL) is a powerful procedure, it also involves liposuction, a surgery usually performed under general anesthesia. This makes BBL best for patients who are looking for customized liposuction to reduce fat in other areas of the body, in addition to more volume in the buttocks. There are some risks associated with the BBL, and technique is absolutely critical to safety—so be sure to choose an experienced, board certified plastic surgeon who uses proven fat transfer techniques, operates in an accredited facility, and has a reputation for being patient-oriented in their care.

Injectable butt lift (non-surgical)

This buttock augmentation is performed with injectable products that help stimulate collagen production to gain desired enhancement. Our Atlanta plastic surgeons and Master Injectors use the products Radiesse® and Sculptra®, both of which are long-lasting formulas (up to 2 years after your final treatment). They work by increasing natural collagen production in your skin to offer even more improvement over time. This achieves gorgeous results without surgery, and without significant downtime.

An injectable butt lift is perfect for either dramatic or more subtle enhancements: our expert providers fully customize each treatment to your desired shape, volume, and projection. Plus, the results are not permanent but last up to about 2 years, so you can easily personalize the amount of “bubble” or projection by deciding when to return for periodic touch-ups.

• View more before and after photos in our gallery »

Schedule your butt augmentation consultation at The Swan Center in Atlanta

At The Swan Center, we are one of the few plastic surgery practices to offer our patients a non-surgical injectable butt lift option in addition to the BBL. This allows us to choose the best butt lift option to meet your goals. To learn if you may be a good candidate for gluteal enhancement, schedule your consultation with one of our board certified plastic surgeons today! Call 770-667-0904 or contact us online to receive a call back from our staff. We can’t wait to help you look and feel your most confident!

That said, many patients want to avoid surgery—and the BBL is no longer the only way to lift and shape up your backside! A safe, non-surgical alternative our patients absolutely love is injectable butt lift with Sculptra®. Today, we’re comparing these two injectable butt lift options so you can decide which is right for you.

Little-to-no downtime butt lift with Sculptra

Injectable technology has given us a large menu of neurotoxins and facial wrinkle fillers, but we think the butt lift with Sculptra is one of the most amazing uses of injectable filler yet. Sculptra is our go-to butt lift option because it’s non-surgical and the recovery requires little-to-no downtime, so most patients go right back to their normal routine soon after receiving injections (with no donut pillows required!).

After Sculptra injections, you’ll see an instantly improved lift and contour to your buttocks, with gradual, cumulative improvements to skin firmness and contour. Sculptra is composed of poly-L-lactic acid, which promotes collagen growth in your skin over time and leads to these ever-improving results. One set of injections lasts about two years, and for most patients, we recommend about 2 injection sessions. Still, you decide how often and when to return for additional treatments, so you control the extent of your butt lift.

Advances in Brazilian butt lift safety

The Brazilian butt lift involves liposuction on the hips, thighs, abdomen, or flanks to retrieve fat to be re-injected in your buttocks. Liposuction is surgery, requiring a recovery time of about two weeks. It is an effective butt lift method, with 70% or more of the injected fat usually remaining in the area long-term, and can have lasting results if you follow after-care instructions and maintain a stable weight.

We pride ourselves on educating our patients on the procedures they’re undergoing and empowering them to make informed choices about their body. When you consult with a plastic surgeon, do not be afraid to ask them about the history of the BBL, and their own history with the procedure. If they deny that there is any safety risk, walk away.

A good surgeon should transparently and honestly explain the safety risk: if the fat is injected into the gluteal muscle or below the muscle, there is a risk that it can enter your bloodstream and cause a pulmonary embolism, or blood vessel blockage. Surgeons should use safer, recommended techniques to prevent this complication, including thicker, blunt-tip cannulas for injection and a shallow injection angle that avoids the gluteal muscle.

Why we prefer the injectable butt lift over the Brazilian butt lift

The choice for your butt lift depends on your lifestyle and goals, and we are happy to be able to offer both procedure options. Still, Sculptra is our go-to in many cases, and we want to take a moment to break down the reasons why Sculptra is our favorite way to enhance the derrière.

1. Sculptra is safe

BBL fat injections are placed in the subcutaneous fat layer, which is close to muscle. Sculptra is injected just below the surface of the skin in the dermis, so you’re far less likely to have any complications.

2. Sculptra gives the injector better control over the aesthetic outcome

Want a strong projection of the upper quadrant of your behind? We can use the right amount of Sculptra to get that shape and visualize your final results in real time. With fat injections, we also endeavor to inject the right amount of fat to get your desired contour, but we cannot know exactly how much fat will “take” in a given area and become permanent. BBL injections typically shrink over the course of 6-12 months as the body loses a percentage of injected fat. In contrast, Sculptra results are very dependable, instantly attractive, and continue to improve as the body produces extra collagen.

3. Sculptra requires no recovery

There’s basically no recovery needed after Sculptra. We apply a topical anesthetic to the treatment area before the injection to minimize discomfort, and after you leave the office, you can return to your routine—including sitting and exercising! You may experience some soreness in the area, and some patients experience mild side effects at the treatment area.

By comparison, recovery from BBL is quite involved. You’ll have to undergo anesthesia for surgery and take pain medication afterwards. The area where your fat was harvested via liposuction will be sore, and you’ll need to wear a compression garment to ensure a good result. Additionally, to help the fat take, you’ll need to avoid sitting, and sleep on your stomach for many weeks. The recovery will also put a crimp in your workout routine, as physical activity must be restricted for some time post-procedure.

Looking for a butt lift in Atlanta? Let’s talk!

When you’re ready to talk to a board certified plastic surgeon about your butt lift options, give us a call. At The Swan Center for Plastic Surgery, we help Atlanta residents enhance their natural beauty with liposuction, fat transfer, and injectables every day. Our team of plastic surgeons is ready to help you make the results you want a reality.