Almost everyone in Hollywood has plastic surgery; it’s just no one talks about it. From faces and breasts to stomachs and butts, there’s no denying that bold-faced A-listers go under the knife here and there for a bit of a tweak or some sort of enhancement. Some celebs, in fact, straight out deny that they’ve had any work done despite living in an age of transparency and realism.
We’re not saying that there’s never been a single bold-faced name to admit to a little nip or a tuck because, of course, some do. Take, for example, Khloe Kardashian, who recently fessed up to rhinoplasty. Or reality star Heidi Montag, who underwent a whopping ten procedures for a complete head-to-toe overhaul in just one day. So yes, we’ll give it to them (or at least some of them). Some celebrities are candid about what they’re doing regarding less invasive procedures, like lasers, Botox, and perhaps lip fillers, while others are more hush-hush about surgeries such as breast augmentation or a facelift. But the trendy Brazilian Butt Lift (otherwise known as a BBL) is still one procedure that most celebrities dare speak its name.
The Brazilian Butt Lift
The BBL takes fat from where it’s abundant, like the stomach, and transfers it to the butt to create a more significant size plus shape, volume, and curves. Even though society’s overall attitude towards the volume-enhancing procedure seems to be on the up and up thanks to new safety guidelines, protocols, and more widespread acceptance, the celebrity set is still pretty much taciturn about butt augmentation procedures.
Celebrities are starting to admit they do procedures like Botox and fillers, but that doesn’t mean they’ll fess up to everything else they’re doing. “I think fans look at celebrities as perfect and who have won the genetic lottery (which they did), but it is hard to admit they may have needed help to get that way,” says Dr. Michael Salzhauer, aka Dr. Miami, a plastic surgeon in (you guessed it) Miami.
While some starlets may say their perfectly round, perfectly defined derrieres are the result of restrictive diets and hard workouts (and, if that’s the case, then more power to them), others vehemently deny any surgical enhancement. Of course, only they know what has really been done and the rest of us can just speculate.
The Downside of Staying Mum
Good work is supposed to go unnoticed and look natural. But Dr. Salzhauer says if a celebrity has a teeny waist and a big butt, that’s usually a giveaway that they had the surgery. “The beauty of the BBL procedure is that it is really hard to tell if it’s been done because we use the patient’s fat, so it looks natural.”
Yet, herein lies the problem. When celebrities don’t openly come clean about which procedures they opt for, namely a BBL, it creates a false sense of reality, unhealthy body image perception, and unrealistic messaging about what is achievable through diet and exercise and what is not. And not discussing it versus flat out lying about it aren’t the same either. Sure, honesty is always the best policy, especially when creating realistic expectations. Still, numerous celebrities have blatantly lied, saying their backsides are au natural. A quick before and after image search on Google provides enough evidence to know who can thank genetics for their voluptuous backsides and who has an excellent plastic surgeon on speed dial.
After all these years, it’s still hard for celebrities to come clean about what they do to augment and improve their bodies. “Celebrities’ actions trickle down to everyone else, making a procedure more desired. The more desirable a surgery becomes, the more people get it, and the more normalized it is,” says Dr. Salzhauer. Plus, it’s sometimes confusing to the public how celebrities these days are open books on pretty much everything else in the realm of body positivity and body acceptance minus this one procedure.
So, will the discussion around celebrity BBLs and admitting to one ever change? We don’t know for sure. However, Dr. Salzhauer hopes that celebrities will be more open about body surgeries in the future. “My crystal ball says yes because I think with social media, it will be hard to hide anything anymore,” he adds.
