I just saw a splashy headline in the news, “Face BBLs cost thousands. What is this plastic surgery?”
I was curious. I hadn’t heard this term before, but after being in plastic surgery for 25 years, I see many people create catchy phrases to market their practices- scarless facelifts, vampire facials, laser lifts. Frequently, these surgeons are doing what many other surgeons are doing. They just are good at marketing and branding.
So what is “face BBL?” Trademarked by plastic surgeon, Dr. Benjamin Caughlin, the buzzy name describes fat transfer to the face. I get you can trademark the name. But the procedure? Fat grafting is not new. It is actually quite low tech. It uses cannulas, a centrifuge, and syringes. I think part of why fat grafting hasn’t been more buzzy and popular sooner is there is no giant company with a marketing budget behind it to build awareness. Let’s break this down a bit.
- Fat transfer to the face is not new. Fat grafting to the face has been a significant part of my practice for over a decade and was originally popularized by Dr. Coleman in NY in 2013. Dr. Coleman taught courses at our meetings (where I originally learned), has a line of cannulas to harvest and graft, and wrote textbooks on it.
- I agree – Fat grafting is AWESOME, but it is a cosmetic procedure that’s long been used to boost volume. I have called it liquid gold for years, though I didn’t trademark it. Fat graft to the face page
- It is scarless to inject into the face. I use an IV gauge needle to access, and then I use very small cannulas to inject the fat. Have you ever had an IV or blood draw? Do you see a scar?
- Fat grafting has the advantage of more supply of material. When in the office, doing filler is very effective, but you are having to pay by the syringe, so you may not fully correct. There are also different thicknesses of filler depending on where you are injecting (ie temple vs. tear trough vs. cheek vs. lips).
- Doing the whole face gives a much more balanced, natural look. It is a real advantage to fat.
- Fat has stem cells, which improves the quality of the overlying skin. You can see it in my patients’ skin quality months out from surgery- pinker skin, more dewy, improved fine lines and wrinkles. Many patients say people ask them, “What skin care products do you use? Your skin is fabulous!” The improvement is real, and has been shown in histologic scientific studies. Studies here and here
- Nanofat. This is where I break up the fat to just get the stem cells in areas where I don’t want to add volume- just the stem cells. It is awesome for those very superficial wrinkles in the cheek, the “11”, fine lines around the mouth,and the necklace lines in the neck (tech neck crease).
So why the new hype? We are being told that we are “experiencing a resurgence amid the “undetectable era” of plastic surgery.” Fabulous! For some of us, we have always focused on “undetectable” plastic surgery. Glad to see it is finally catching on.
My thoughts?
I am thrilled fat grafting is getting to be better known. I am a huge fan. There are issues with it, which I discuss with you in your consultation, but it is a fantastic and necessary tool in the toolbox for helping fix facial aging.
Original article: ‘Face BBLs’ cost thousands. What is this plastic surgery?