Face BBLs: Hello to the Era of Undetectable Plastic Surgery

Most people seem to have alternatives to fillers. Doctors say fillers are overdone and the appearance results are aesthetically unnatural and forced.

People have chosen alternatives to filler with face BBLs.

What are Face BBLs?

Face BBLs involve rearranging facial fat to contour the face. According to Caughlin similar to a normal BBL  where a surgeon contours certain portions of the butt, and face BBLs include shuffling of the fat in the face and if the additional fat is not available, fat is collected from the other areas of the body like abdomen.

Caughlin describes the procedure as “creates these peaks and valleys within the face" where procedure includes taking the fat from one position and replacing the fat in another portion of the face.

The term face BBL is trademarked by plastic surgeon Dr Benjamin Caughlin, he describes fat transfer to the face, as a cosmetic procedure that helps boost the volume and is experiencing the revival of the era of plastic surgery.

As fillers are overdone and give a forced and unnatural appearance, requiring a lot of maintenance, most people are turning towards the face BBLs that make an aesthetic appearance more natural.

Caughlin also explained, that by this method he can give a facial appearance with sharper cheekbones and a more defined jaw.

Dr Anthony Rossi, a surgeon and dermatologist, hosted a podcast on the topic “ Give Good Face: Clean Clinical Science”, and explained that fat transfers, for a long time have been used for cosmetic purposes and are getting more people's attention.

More thanks to the new name that is inspired by the celebrity-driven trend- Brazilian Butt Lift. ⁽¹⁾

He says that a renewed interest towards facial fat transfers also stops the filler fatigue.

Injectable fillers are commonly used to increase or add up the volume over the face but require more supervision than face BBLs do.

For good or bad, Face BBLs are compared as more permanent than fillers.

Considerably, the upside of face BBLs is they are easier to maintain, but the downside is they become very hard to reverse. So, if any problematic condition arises, BBLs turn into unexpected or unfortunate situations.

Dr Sean Alemi, a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon says “ Fat transfers are not without risks”. So, need to understand that it can be extremely unpredictable once it is injected into the face, and the way it behaves.

How the treatment goes on

Dr. Caughlin expresses that what technique to be utilized is based on examining the structure of the face, and then deciding from where to bring the fat out of and where to put it in.

1. Fat transfer process

2. The recovery process

Fat transfer process

To do the fat transfer, first need to focus on the area decided, the ideal area to take the fat from the patient. The best is to remove the fat from the neck area and/or the buccal fat pads as this allows to creation of a nice contour in those areas, representing the cheekbones and the jawline.

The fat can also be taken from other areas of the body such as “love handles,” the thighs, or the area of the stomach just below the belly button which is an excellent combination and overall “new look” cosmetic procedure.

Dr Caughlin uses the Dermapose, a syringe-based fat transfer system intended to make small volumes of fat transfer quickly and easily and later harvests between 60 ml to 80 ml of the fat that is equivalent to approximately half a can of soda. 

The gathered fat is transferred to the selected treatment area to improve the volume and optimally develop a specified peak.

The recovery process

It is normally well handled by most patients and may retain mild pain after the treatment. The patients commonly appear a little weird for approximately 7 to 10 days. 

After the treatment, the patient will have a puffy appearance and can do small things like go for shopping. Normally, during the recovery phase, puffiness is noticeable only to some extent, yet, coworkers, family, and friends can understand the difference for the 7 to 10-day recovery phase.

After the puffy look starts to fade, the patient can immediately notice the new contours and specified look. But the final upshots take around 3 to 6 months. 

Once the fat is removed from the face and added to another area of the face, it needs to connect to the new tissues and grow over time. As Caughlin says many patients who have undergone the face BBLs have shown amazing transformation results. 

He says it is not something new, a technical procedure that most people already do with various makeups including highlighters and concealers to form a more contoured look. But those procedures are temporary and the benefit of getting face BBLs results are permanent. ⁽²⁾

“ Be real with amazing results. No more spending hours each day tricking yourself into thinking that various areas of your face are naturally contoured.”

Caughlin said he has performed face BBLs for the past decade but only started to call from a couple of years ago. He explained the procedure as equally popular among males and females. Around 40% of the people are male, whereas Gen-Z guys are all about it, it's kind of crazy.

Caughlin attributes this to a force of social media, and seeking more approval around men caring for their looks. He also mentioned that the mainstreaming of Ozempic and many weight loss medications driving people to look leaner and more contoured overall look.

He says his biggest hater comment,” Oh, you're just taking advantage of women's insecurities” and Caughlin always answers it, 'No, I also take advantage of men's insecurities,' as it's just the reality." ⁽¹⁾

References

1. Trepany, Charles. "People Are Paying Thousands for 'Face BBLs.' Welcome to the 'Undetectable' Plastic Surgery Era." USA Today, February 2, 2025. Accessed February 3, 2025. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2022/12/29/buccal-fat-removal-latest-controversial-plastic-surgery-trend/10950814002/.

2. Dr. C. "FaceBBL© - Fat Transfer Face Sculpting." DrBuccalFat.com. Accessed February 3, 2025. https://drbuccalfat.com/facebbl-face-fat-transfer-treatment-to-sculpt-face-and-jawline/.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Dr. Lakshmisahithi Tanneru/MSM)