Why am I not a candidate for a skinny BBL and how much weight should I gain to move forward? (photos)

Very interesting question! In your case I believe the issue is more about expectations rather then being a candidate or not. For best results possible you do need to gain weight. That said, you can definitely get a skinny BBL and it will make your tummy smaller and you butt or hips slightly bigger. But the overall change while noticeable, will be minimal. It seems there is not much fat on your waist so it will not get realistically smaller with lipo. The amount of fat that can be harvest at your weight might not be enough for “good”results. This is why you are not a great candidate, but if you are ok with this then by all means. …. You can always gain weight after the BBL!

Best of luck,
Dr. Miguel Mota

You are right to be concerned. If any fat can be removed, it can be used for a BBL. Especially in a slender patient, it would be a waste to do liposuction and not use the fat. To the extent that fat can be harvested from your stomach, sides, and back, a BBL can be performed.

Dr. B.

Thank you for your question and photos. You are an excellent candidate for a skinny BBL. You do not have to gain weight. Weight gain will not give you more fat cells, but larger fat cells! These are more fragile to mechanical manipulation with the liposuction cannula. As a Total Definer surgeon, I use the VASER Hi Def Lipo 360 degree technique to create an hourglass figure and fat graft the depressed areas of the hips and buttocks. I use stealth incisions, which means you will have no sign that you had any surgery. This is done under deep intravenous sedation, not under general anesthesia or awake.

You will find different responses to your question from surgeons or other physicians who dabble in liposuction, with varying levels of skill and philosophy. Some surgeons will talk negatively about the VASER, Renuvion, and other technologies that can help deliver excellent results in a well trained surgeon's hands. Why? They cannot offer the advanced techniques or if they have them, never mastered the advanced techniques. It is true that the surgeon's level of expertise will determine your results, but like the VASER technique, it can elevate your results from simple fat reduction technique to an artistic level based on your bony and muscle anatomy. This can be confusing, but the pictures don't lie. Review their (and mine) before and after photos, these will tell the real story. It sounds like the surgeon you consulted with does the "traditional" fat reduction technique. If you want a skinny BBL, find someone who can address your concerns and can deliver the expected results. Good luck.

Dear C6ralin,
based on your photos, you look like a good candidate for a BBL. Liposuction of your abdomen, back and flanks should give you more curves and hourglass shape and fat transfer to buttocks should give you more projection. I would suggest you to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon because only after a thorough examination you will get more information and recommendations.
Daniel Barrett, MDCertified, American Board of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Plastic SurgeryMember, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

With a current BMI of 19.5, it's recommended to target a range of 24-25 for optimal aesthetic results and overall health.

The eligibility for a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) depends on having enough donor fat to transfer to the buttocks. Given your height (5'9") and weight (62 kg), you have a low body fat percentage, which makes it challenging to harvest enough fat for the procedure.
Gaining weight healthily to increase your body fat percentage can make you eligible for a BBL. Focus on a balanced approach to ensure overall well-being and effective results. Always work closely with your healthcare providers to develop a safe and personalized plan.

Anticipating how much fat can be removed with liposuction on thin individuals is one of the hardest parts of the work we do.
The skill and experience among plastic surgeons will vary substantially, and this includes the ability to make accurate assessments.
Based on your picture, I think you can definitely have a BBL with quality liposuction results and quality fat transfer results.
For individuals who have thin layers of subcutaneous fat, it’s important to have a clear understanding of what the patient is trying to achieve.
If more fat is needed than what can be harvested from the torso then sometimes we need to add new areas in addition for Liposuction to harvest more fat.
An individuals who have subcutaneous fat on their arms then arms becomes an excellent option to add for an additional couple of hundred cc of fat.
Your picture doesn’t include images of your upper extremities, so we can’t tell if you have fat on your arms or not.
Some people have substantial amounts of subcutaneous fat under lower extremities as well.
I’ve had patients where I harvested twice as much fat from their thighs as I did from their entire abdomen.
Treating the entire torso should be able to deliver at least a liter or more of fat I would think.
I generally think of the torso as a single anatomic unit and usually treat the entire torso when doing liposuction.
It’s important to understand what your goal is from the procedure.
Are you primarily interested in liposuction or are you primarily interested in gluteal fat transfer?
You have thin layers of subcutaneous fat on your bottom.
This limits how much fat can be successfully grafted in a BBL without grafting any fat in the gluteus muscle, which is considered unsafe and inappropriate.
Sometimes the limits of a BBL is not how much fat can be harvested, but instead, how much fat can be successfully grafted during a single procedure.
Delivering consistent quality, liposuction, and fat transfer results is more difficult than most people realize.
The number of plastic surgeons who approach mastery of this procedure is in reality quite small.
Most plastic surgeons think they’re better at Liposuction than they actually are.
For these reasons, I recommend all patients have several consultations before even considering selecting a provider or scheduling surgery.
Expect to get different opinions from different providers.
During each consultation ask each provider to open up their portfolio and show you their entire collection of before, and after pictures of previous patients who had similar body characteristics to your own.
Bring pictures of your body to use as a reference during the consultation or whenever reviewing before and after pictures.
A highly experienced provider should have access 100’s or preferably thousands of before, and after pictures to choose from.
In the hands of the right provider, they should be able to show you lots of previous patients that had very similar body characteristics to your own.
The overall same general body shape, similar amounts of body fat, similar Skin elasticity, similar age, etc., etc.
By seeing lots of images of previous patients who are the same body characteristics as your own, you’ll have a very clear understanding of what your results are likely to look like.
Being shown only a handful of Pre-selected images representing only the best results of a provider career may be insufficient to get a clear understanding of what average results look like in the hands of each provider or how many of these procedures they have actually done.
I see no reason why you can’t have a BBL with good results from both liposuction and fat transfer.
Based on the pictures provided, I do think that fat grafting of your buttocks is going to be inherently challenging because your subcutaneous fat layers are thin in that part of your body.
I think you’ll have a better liposuction result than you will for fat transfer but the combination of both will give a nice outcome. In other words, you’re a better candidate for Liposuction than you are for fat transfer, but you’re not a non-candidate for either of the procedures.In my opinion, patients should have four or five consultations before considering choosing a provider.
There is simply too much variation in skill among plastic surgeons to not be highly selective for providers when choosing for permanent irreversible body contouring procedures.
Continue having in person consultations.
If every provider keeps telling you the same thing, then they’re probably correct.
From the information presented I do think you have the potential for quality surgery outcomes though the results may be slightly subtle in comparison to chubby people.
I do not recommend anybody gain weight for the purpose of having fat transfer procedures.
Rarely does anybody look or feel better being overweight.
Unless you maintain the weight gain the process of gaining weight for fat transfer is pointless.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD