The Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL), which became super popular for creating the desired hourglass shape, is now facing a serious backlash because people are experiencing a side effect that’s really bad and is getting attention for all the wrong reasons.
Made famous by influencers and celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Cardi B, buttock enhancement surgeries have increased a lot over the last ten years, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
BBLs work by taking fat from one area of the body and putting it into the buttocks to make them bigger and better shaped. With all the excitement around it, doctors are emphasizing how important it is to have a good plan for after the surgery, which includes help with hygiene and learning how to care for wounds.
However, many people overlook the real aspects of surgery because they are more focused on getting famous online.
BBL smell
If you scroll through social media, you’ll see tons of BBL transformation videos that look glamorous, happy, and edited. But what they don’t show are the real recovery experiences: sponge baths, cleaning wounds, not being able to move much, and feeling embarrassed about odors.
“Many patients are surprised by an unexpected side effect, which is a strange, often musty smell,” says GetSnatched, a cosmetic surgery clinic in Miami, about this shocking side effect. “While this is a common and usually harmless part of healing, it can lead to stress or confusion during recovery.”
The clinic’s website says that after getting a BBL, patients often find it hard to sit, shower properly, or even reach their backsides because of swelling, pain, or just the way things are. When you add in compression garments, bandages, and sweat, it creates a situation that can really stink.
‘Smell is real’
Dr. Eric Anderson, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon from Chicago, told the Daily Mail that “the BBL smell is real,” linking it to serious problems after surgery like tissue death and not being clean.
One issue with BBLs is called “fat necrosis,” which happens when the fatty tissue in the buttocks dies after surgery. This is a sign that a patient got too much fat during the operation.
Dr. Anderson warned, “When there is more fat in an area than the blood supply can handle, the fat will die in a smelly way called fat necrosis, which can lead to infections that need antibiotics, hospital stays, and even sepsis.”
Reaching the rear
But the smell might also be due to not being clean enough.
Dr. Roger Tsai, a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, explains that after a BBL, it can be tough for patients to reach around their bigger butt area after using the bathroom, which can cause bad smells.
Dr. Tsai told the Daily Mail, “Wiping down there is going to be a lot harder because there’s more to reach around.”
‘Assault on my nose’
Meanwhile, on social media, a TikToker raised concerns after going on a date with a woman who had a BBL: “Her body looks incredible… She had it done perfectly. Her entire body was stunning,” he began in the viral video called “BBLs do be smelling.”
The user, who has 4.1 million likes, then revealed that his night with the woman took a sad turn when they got back to his place, where she started twerking with her newly enhanced butt.
“I was like, ‘What the heck?’ [Because] at this point, she’s wearing nothing. And I caught a whiff… it hit my nose… it was an attack on my nose,” he explained.
Trying to be polite, the TikToker then said that he kindly told her she was “not smelling very fresh down there,” and suggested she “hop in the shower” and “freshen up.”
“What I figured out is if someone has had a normal-sized behind their whole life and then suddenly they get this big BBL, it can be hard to reach back there and really clean, you know? And if they’re not used to doing that, they might not realize that, hey, you sweat differently. Everything changes when you add that much more back there,” he added.
‘BBL stinks’
Another social media influencer claimed it wasn’t about hygiene and mentioned that she had the procedure undone because her “sit down” smelled really, really bad.
@donpsoundsoff #fyp #fyf #bbl #surgery #datingstorytime #comedyvideo #blowthisupforme ♬ original sound – Don P Sounds Off
“BBL smells bad, can you believe it?” she told her TikTok fans, clarifying that the bad smells didn’t come from her body but from the “cuts where they put the fluid and fat into your butt.”
“If it doesn’t heal right and your body doesn’t accept it, the [cuts] might stay open and keep draining…it will make your sheets smell, your underwear smell, and everything else smell too,” said the woman, who had her BBL just a year ago.
Would you consider getting a BBL knowing it could have a nasty smell that might last for two months? We’d love to hear your thoughts, and please share this story so we can start talking about it!
