Getting to the Bottom of the Brazilian Butt Lift

By Nancy Abdou

The surgical Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) is one of the most popular aesthetic procedures in the world today, but it is also one of the most dangerous, with 1 in 3,000 surgeries resulting in death, according to the paper titled ‘Report on Mortality from Gluteal Fat Grafting: Recommendations from the ASERF Task Force.’

The surgical Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) is one of the most popular aesthetic procedures in the world today, but it is also one of the most dangerous, with 1 in 3,000 surgeries resulting in death, according to the paper titled ‘Report on Mortality from Gluteal Fat Grafting: Recommendations from the ASERF Task Force.’

Fortunately, there are much safer non-surgical alternatives available, that are highly effective, affordable, and also provide a healthy return on investment for the clinic... now that’s what I call a cracking trifecta.

Fat freezing, fat melting, muscle toning, skin tightening, cellulite smoothing, body contouring devices – butt, where do you start to navigate the plethora of aesthetic devices and what modality does what?

Each procedure has distinct mechanisms for stimulating apoptosis (programmed call death), lipolysis (process of breaking down lipids) or necrosis of adipose tissue. So heads down, bums up – here are my top picks for a beautiful booty, just keep in mind that these devices act as a supplement to healthy and active lifestyles, not substitutes.

FAT CAVITATION:

An oldie, but a goodie! Fat Cavitation is effective on large areas, pain free and permanent, but slow with results since 6 to 10 treatments are required. Treatment can be laborious and physically tiring for the practitioner and there are limits on how much you can perform in one treatment session, due to the immediate release of toxins. Treatments can be performed every 3 days.

Fat Cavitation works by emitting ultrasound waves to the area, whereby the sound waves create a vibration to cause cavities or bubbles in the fat cell, which both liquefies the contents, releasing them into the interstitial and lymphatic systems where they are drained, in addition to causing damage to the fat cell membrane, beyond repair.

Cavitation is also effective in reducing the appearance of cellulite, especially when used in conjunction with RF. More on that next.

RADIO FREQUENCY (RF)

Depending on the therapeutic temperature achieved, RF can help with skin laxity or it can cause apoptosis and lipolysis. This is where practitioners need to be aware of precisely what they are doing, since fat reduction, especially around the buttocks isn’t always desirable.

RF generates heat via an oscillating current within the target tissue, which leads to both contraction and denaturation of collagen fibres and induces an inflammatory response which activates fibroblasts. As the collagen undergoes repair and remodelling, dermal health improves with decreased skin laxity and increased elasticity, in addition to inducing angiogenesis.

If heat from RF is increased beyond 42 degrees, lipolysis can be seen, which can be beneficial in contouring unwanted areas of fat and a reduction of cellulite over time. 6 to 10 treatments are recommended, weekly.

The amazing thing about both Fat Cavitation and RF is that there is no on-going cost involved, apart from the gliding medium – which can be purchased at an impressive cost from Skindividual. Skindividual RF Glyde reduces sparking and arcing, making the treatment much more comfortable for your clients.

HIGH INTENSITY FOCUSED ULTRASOUND (HIFU)

Although HIFU has been around for sometime in the medical arena, HIFU for fat loss and skin tightening is relatively new and gaining popularity due to only requiring 2 to 3 treatments for skin tightening and just a little over that for fat destruction.

HIFU utilises focused beams of ultrasound, that bypass the epidermis, leaving it completely intact, whilst delivering 60-70 degrees of energy to the desired depth of penetration, depending on what is being specifically targeted. No other modality can penetrate as deep, without causing bulk heating or trauma to the surrounding tissue – which is why HIFU technology seems to be carving the path (HIFU was everywhere at Cosmoprof 2022!!).

Two factors need to be considered: 1. The consumable cost, with cartridges ranging from $1000 to $3000. How many shots per cartridge will depend on the manufacturer and how big an area is being treated. 2. Treatment times can range from 30 minutes to 2 hours – this again will depend on how quickly the device can operate and the size of the area being treated.

CRYOLIPOLYSIS

Whilst the above treatments rely on the operator choosing the right settings and applying the energy where required, cryolipolysis is not dependent on the operator and this should be considered as an advantage for the technique, yet long treatment sessions (roughly 1 hour) are an important factor to consider.

Cryolipolysis uses controlled cooling to freeze and crystallise fat cells at approximately -5 degrees. No other structures are damaged during the process if performed correctly. Studies have suggested that the addition of post treatment manual massage may enhance the effectiveness of the treatment. Highly effective for fat reduction, with only 1 to 4 treatments required and performed every 2 months. Cryolipolysis isn’t necessarily going to help with lifting, although it will help with targeting specific areas of fat and sculpting instead.

ELECTROMAGNETIC MUSCLE/MAGNETIC STIMULATION (EMS)

Rapidly gaining popularity is EMS, which is the generic term to describe the latest technology in Electro Muscle/Magnetic Body sculpting treatments, also known as “High Intensity Electromagnetic Therapy” (Hi-EMT).

EMS delivers pulses of electromagnetic energy (measured in units of tesla) that bypasses the skin to induce muscle contractions similar to muscle mechanism during exercise. Essentially causing 20,000 muscle contractions in 3 minutes, constricting the muscles beyond any sort of norm and targeting fat loss to the area of the muscle.

During these intense pulses, muscles release chemicals locally, signalling fat cells in the area to break down and release an overabundance of free fatty acids, causing their destruction. The muscles undergo cellular changes, thickening and strengthening. For the butt, it aims to build the gluteal muscles.

Bottom line is that BBL requires more than one approach and depth of penetration to lift, smooth and tighten. A multi-modality approach will deliver the best and most effective results to your clients, although HIFU or RF alone can deliver impressive result for that beautiful summer booty!

For a free 30 minute consultation and advice on choosing the right device that integrates into your clinic and budget, go to www.dermalandlaser.com.au and fill in the contact and we will get to the bottom of it together!

Happy holidays, Nancy CEO – The Australian Dermal and Laser Institute. 2021 and 2022 ABIA Educator of the Year.