Am I a Good Candidate for Brazilian Butt Lift Surgery?
Posted March 11, 2025 in Brazilian Butt Lifts
A full, curvy, and proportional backside is a beauty standard for many people across the globe. The Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) is a popular procedure that helps many patients achieve this figure, creating shapely curves in all the right places. This procedure continues to grow in popularity, but is it ideal for you? Let’s dive into some of the factors that determine if you are a good candidate for a BBL.
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What Is a Brazilian Butt Lift?
Usually, traditional procedures such as butt implants use synthetic material to enhance your behind’s size and appearance. However, a Brazilian Butt Lift utilizes fat transfer to add volume to the buttocks, making it a perfect option for people going for more natural results. Brazilian Butt Lift surgery involves three major steps:
- Liposuction: Your cosmetic surgeon removes fat from areas of your body such as the thighs, abdomen, back, or hips.
- Purification: The extracted fat goes through processing, purification, and preparation for re-injection.
- Re-injection: The healthy, purified fat cells are meticulously injected into your butt to give it a full, firm, and shapely appearance.
Since a Brazilian Butt Lift uses fat from your own body, it produces results that look and feel more natural. This procedure also has the added benefit of contouring the other parts of your body from which fat was harvested, giving you a more balanced and attractive silhouette.
Who Is an Ideal BBL Candidate?
While a BBL is an effective contour-enhancing procedure, it is not an ideal option for everyone. That said, it is crucial that you consult with your plastic surgeon before moving forward with this procedure. Generally, you are a good candidate if you meet the following criteria:
Have Realistic Expectations
A Brazilian Butt Lift is meant to enhance the natural curves of your body—not make you look like a completely different person. Before committing to a Brazilian Butt Lift, you need to have realistic expectations for your results. While added volume and more voluptuous curves can be achieved with a BBL, a highly qualified plastic surgeon will craft a result that proportionately fits your body type, not create the exaggerated results often seen on social media. Discussing your expectations with your surgeon is crucial in helping you set realistic goals based on your anatomy, among other factors.
Are at a Healthy and Stable Weight
Your weight can also impact the success of your BBL procedure. The right candidate should:
- Be at or near their target weight.
- Patients must have a BMI between 25 and 30. Otherwise, they may be at a higher risk of surgery-related issues.
If you are thinking of gaining or losing a significant amount of weight, you might want to do so before getting your BBL to avoid compromising your results.
Extra Fat in Other Areas
Generally, BBL uses fat from other parts of your body to enhance your butt. That means that you must have enough fat in areas such as your hips, abdomen, lower back, and thighs for liposuction. Naturally small-bodied people might not have extra fat for transfer and might not be ideal candidates for this procedure. In this case, you might want to consider other alternatives such as butt implants.
Are There Risks with a Brazilian Butt Lift?
Like any other surgical procedure, a BBL comes with some potential risks:
- Infection: Most surgeries carry the risk of infection and scarring, particularly when patients do not adhere to the aftercare guidelines. Follow your plastic surgeon’s post-op instructions as closely as possible to reduce the risk of infection.
- Injury to the nerves or blood vessels: While rare, the cannula used during the liposuction portion of the procedure can potentially injure the nerves or blood vessels in your buttocks. The chances of this occurring are small when you choose a qualified, board-certified plastic surgeon to perform your BBL.
- Fat embolism: Very rarely, fat can be unintentionally injected into the bloodstream, causing blood clots that quickly travel to the lungs. This is one of the most severe safety risks of a BBL.
One way to minimize the above risks is to work with an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon. During your initial consultation, ask about their experience, techniques, certifications, and safety protocols to make sure they are a good fit for you and your goals.
Interested in a Brazilian Butt Lift in New York City?
If you have been thinking about enhancing your curves, a BBL might be the perfect way to achieve your desired look. Dr. Eric Cha is a Brazilian Butt Lift specialist with over two decades of experience and patient-centered care. Contact Fifth Ave Plastic Surgery at (212) 717-2222 or complete our online form to schedule your consultation with Dr. Cha today.