“Does my butt look big in this?” was once the question asked by millions of women with body image issues. Now, a bigger back is in fashion.
A record 28,600 women in the US had cosmetic surgery to enhance their buttocks in 2022, according to data, a 54% increase in five years.
Their popularity is believed to be due to Instagram, alongside the rise of hip-hop culture and the ‘Kardashian effect’.
Plastic surgeons told DailyMail.com that while some transformations are more obvious – such as on rappers Nicki Minaj and Cardi B and Kim Kardashian – a more subtle form of BBL has emerged in recent years.
KIM KARDASIAN: The photo above in 2008 (left) and in recent years. Now she has gone for reductions in her supposed BBL
Larsa Pippen photographed before and after her alleged BBL. She denied reports that she had previously had surgery, saying her buttocks were “worked out seven days a week”.
IGGY AZALEA, shown left in 2013, was one of the surgeons’ favorite BBL examples. He has admitted in the past that he had the surgery
They alleged that celebrities including Jennifer Lopez and Latin singer Becky G had ‘fits’ – where only a small amount of fat was implanted into the buttocks to slightly accentuate natural curves.
The Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) — also known as buttock augmentation with fat grafting — became popular in the mid-2010s.
At a cost of $8,000 to $10,000 per procedure, it is done by extracting fat from one area of the body — such as the waist or inner thigh — and implanting it in the buttocks.
The most common technique involves making four incisions in the buttocks and using a cannula—a small medical instrument that looks like a tube—to “plant” fat cells in the area of the buttocks that patients want to plump up.
Women who receive BBLs will also have liposuction to reduce the amount of fat around their waist and accentuate their curves.
Some surgeons also use other techniques, including silicone buttock implants to accentuate the buttocks – although this technique is notoriously dangerous.
Dr. Christopher Costa, a plastic surgeon and owner of Platinum Plastic Surgery in Las Vegas, said the best BBLs are those that “have the curves while maintaining the most natural look.”
She showed Iggy Azalea, 33, that she had one of the best BBLs in the business.
MADONNA pictured in 2016 (left) and 2022 has also gone for BBL, according to surgeons. The star, 65, has not previously confirmed that she had the procedure
JAMES CHARLES pictured above in 2017 (left) and 2023. He has confirmed that he underwent BBL
CARDI B, who appears in two Instagram photos, has also admitted to having BBL. She later reduced her butt after complaining about a smell
“One of my all-time favorites is probably Iggy Azalea,” he said.
“She just had the right base for it, carrying most of her weight in her lower body and having a larger hip size.
“I use her photos to help my patients visualize what they might look like when they come in and say they want a dramatic butt.”
Others the surgeon pointed out included Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, who he said both likely underwent multiple BBLs to achieve their large butts.
Iggy Azalea and Cardi B have both admitted to taking BBL, while Nicki Minaj has previously admitted to illegal buttock injections.
Both Nicki Minaj and Cardi B have previously expressed regret about their large behinds, with Cardi B saying that the surgery led to her butt smelling bad.
However, the surgeon said there has recently been a shift away from larger buttocks, with more women now coming forward looking for only minor improvements to their skinned buttocks.
Dr Costa said: “I still have patients who come in and say they want to make their butt as big as possible and bring in pictures of stars like Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea.
But there is also a group that comes for BBL but is turned away by the much bigger buttocks.
“They’ve seen women with big BBLs walking down the beach and thought, ‘Oh my God, I’d never want a BBL, you know.’
“But they still come in for the procedures to get body contouring or curves — to achieve that perfect hip-to-waist ratio.”
Among celebrities, surgeons suggested that Jennifer Lopez may be among those who have gone for the most subtle enhancements.
The 54-year-old star is famous for her bottom, but doctors say as she got older they would have expected it to shrink – which it didn’t.
NICKI MINAJ is pictured above in 2001 (left) and 2015. Plastic surgeons said she likely had two or three operations to achieve her larger rear
BECKY G (pictured above in 2015, left and 2016) may be an example of someone who got a more natural BBL, surgeons said, which only slightly accentuated her figure. Becky G didn’t say she had a BBL in the past
La La Anthony pictured in 2004 (left) and 2021, reported to have received BBL
Dr. Daniel Barrett, a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, said: “She even commented to herself that she lost the nice butt she’s known for.
“I think that’s why it’s possible that some kind of maintenance procedure was done — to help her get back to the same look.”
He added: “Often, with patients over 50 who come in for a tummy tuck or liposuction, I say we might as well do a fat transfer procedure to their buttocks because later in life they’ll regret not doing it.”
But those who get BBL in their 60s and beyond run the risk of their rear looking unnatural, according to Dr Barrett.
As an example of this, the surgeons pointed to Madonna, 65 years old.
Dr Costa said: “If you look at her results, she got a lot of criticism that it didn’t look very good, that it looked kind of weird and out of proportion.
‘[That has] a lot has to do with her age. Anyone in their 60s is not going to have the thickest skin and the best ligaments to hold the transplanted tissue.
“And so if you’re injecting a lot of fat, then it’s hard to get a really beautiful and natural result.”
BBLs are also requested by some men in the gay and transgender community, both surgeons said.
YouTube star James Charles is an example of this, and has now admitted to a BBL to get a bigger sink.
Dr Costa said: “I’ve certainly done a lot of men’s BBL. However, this trend has always been there.
“It’s quite common that most of the men who do it are from South America and Colombia, and it leans more towards the LGBT community.
“They want to make the butt look more sculpted and more muscular. However, there is a group that wants to make the butt look more feminine.”
KYLIE JENNER, pictured in 2013 (left) and 2019, also reportedly had BBL. Kylie Jenner has not confirmed if she received BBL
Jennifer Lopez, 54, may also have had BBL according to surgeons. They said this was likely to preserve her buttocks because they shrink as a person ages. Jennifer Lopez has not confirmed if she had BBL
Another celebrity in the smaller, more discreet BBL club may be Latin singer Becky G, according to Dr Costa.
She said: ‘Now people are coming in saying I don’t want these big crazy butts, I just want to try and get those curves… more like Becky G.
“She’s a very natural prey and I think she may well be a good example of someone who had a fine BBL.”
Becky G also never confirmed the rumors that she had BBL.
One of the most worrisome complications from BBLs is fat embolism, which is when fat cells enter the bloodstream and travel to a vital organ such as the heart or lungs where they can cause internal bleeding and can prove fatal.
Other complications from surgery include fat necrosis, or tissue death, and fluid retention – where fluid builds up in certain areas and needs further surgery to remove it.
Earlier this year, the CDC warned about butt lifts in the Dominican Republic — saying a total of 93 Americans have died since 2008 after heading to the country in pursuit of a discounted BBL price.
