Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) is a surgery that adds volume to the buttock through a fat transfer procedure. To perform the surgery, surgeons extract extra fat cells from another area of the patientโs body using liposuction, process and purify the fat, and inject it into the patientโs bottom.
What is Fluffing?
Following the surgery, patients experience what is known as the fluffing stage, a 6-8 week period in which the skin expands to accommodate the increased volume in the buttock. Once you have passed the fluffing period, you will be able to enjoy the results of your surgery, as your buttocks will look fuller and feel softer.
In this article, weโll give you an insight into what you can expect during the fluffing stage that accompanies a Brazilian Butt Lift surgery and answer the question, “when does fluffing happen after BBL?โ
What to Expect After Brazilian Butt Lift
The recovery process for a Brazilian Butt Lift varies from patient to patient, depending on the number of areas treated with liposuction, among a range of other factors. However, all patients can expect to experience some discomfort and swelling in the affected areas. Also outlined below is a typical recovery timeline for the surgery.
Swelling
For around the first three months after your surgery, you may experience swelling and inflammation on your buttock and areas where you had liposuction. Your surgeon will prescribe pain medication to help make your recovery as comfortable as possible. The swelling and inflammation also cause your buttocks to appear significantly large. However, as outlined in the timeline below, the swelling gradually recedes, and you will enter the fluffing stage of your recovery, in which your results settle and feel natural.
Recovery Timeline
Before your Brazilian Butt Lift surgery, you will receive detailed aftercare instructions from your surgeon to help you manage your recovery. Outlined below is a general timeline for a BBL recovery:
- Immediately after surgery: You may experience swelling, soreness, bruising, and numbness in the treated areas. You must avoid putting direct pressure on your buttocks.
- 1st week: Side effects may persist. In addition, you should wear a compression garment on the areas treated with liposuction to minimise the swelling.
- 2-3 weeks: Post-surgical side effects will significantly decrease. However, you may still experience some swelling. At this stage, most patients return to work and resume light exercises and daily tasks. We will schedule you for a follow-up appointment with a nurse.
- 4-5 weeks: You may still experience slight swelling and discomfort, which will continue to reduce.
- 6-8 weeks: Most patients will no longer feel any discomfort at this stage. After consulting with your surgeon, you may resume your usual exercise routine, including heavy lifting. Furthermore, the results from your liposuction and BBL will become apparent. We will schedule you for a follow-up appointment with our surgeon to assess your healing process.
- 3 months: Most patients enter the BBL fluffing stage around this time as the residual swelling continues to dissipate.
- 6-8 months: By this stage, you will see the final results of your liposuction and BBL procedures. We will schedule you for your last follow-up appointment with our surgeon.
BBL Fluffing Stage
You may still notice residual inflammation and swelling in your buttock up to six months after the surgery, which causes your skin to feel slightly firm. However, for most patients, the fluffing stage usually begins three months after the surgery. As you enter this stage of your recovery, you will notice your skin relaxing as the swelling and inflammation dissipates. The fluffing stage for a Brazilian Butt Lift usually lasts between 6-8 weeks, and once your buttock has fluffed, it will look and feel natural.
Signs of fluffing after BBL
The most important signs that the fluffing stage has begun can be observed in the skin and the shape of your buttocks. The skin of your buttocks will start to become softer, more elastic, and generally less tense. The shape of the buttocks becomes rounder and should start to feel and look more natural as the skin stretches to accommodate the newly introduced fat.
Before and After
Final BBL Results
For most patients, the final results of their surgery will be apparent after 3-6 months following the fluffing stage of recovery. By this time, post-surgical side effects will have subsided to reveal a curvier and softer buttock.
Furthermore, it takes 3-6 months for the final volume of fat grafts to settle, given that the body absorbs 30-50% of fat cells injected into the buttock. The surgeon injects more fat than needed to produce your desired result to account for this volume loss. Therefore, immediately after surgery, in addition to the swelling, your buttock may also look significantly large due to the excess fat cells. However, the final results will reveal your expected enhancement and feel natural.
