Here we explore the possibility of using butt injections, meant as the infiltration of synthetic biocompatible fillers into the gluteal area, to restore its attractiveness and fullness.
Fat, or adipose tissue as it is scientifically known, is an essential component of butt beauty. Adipose tissue surrounds and coats gluteal muscles providing cushioning and graceful bouncing as well as projection, volume and contour, which are ultimately the attributes that define the beauty, naturalness and attractiveness of the buttocks.
Adipose tissue is embedded in and supported by the so-called extracellular matrix, which is an intricate network of collagen, elastin and fibrin fibers, among other components, that serve as a scaffolding for the adipocytes, the cells that form the adipose tissue; collagen, elastin and fibrin fibers are collectively called connective tissue.
Factors such as genetics, aging, excessive workouts, extreme dieting and certain diseases can significantly reduce the volume of adipose tissue and connective tissue in various areas of the body, especially the gluteal area.
There are very limited options to improve the looks and shape of a gluteal area affected by adipose tissue shortage: on the one side we have the surgical ones, i.e. buttock prostheses and fat grafting (BBL) and on the other one, the only real non-surgical option, i.e. butt injections, also called non-surgical BBL.
Buttock prostheses have many drawbacks. There is a tendency to believe that because in the case of breast augmentation the prostheses have been successful, the same must necessarily happen in buttock augmentation. In reality there are more disadvantages to buttock implants than advantages: lack of naturalness, how noticeable they are to the eye, the fact that they are useless for contouring the hips, a traumatic post-operative period, risk of displacement and rotation within the surgical pocket, risk of extrusion (rejection) and the list goes on.
Surgical Brazilian butt lift doesn’t lag behind in terms of disadvantages. First and foremost, it is a procedure that requires the patient to have sufficient fat in other parts of the body to be transplanted into the buttocks, which is often not the case. Then there is the fact that fat transplantation does not provide real and lasting volume and consistency; the whole process of extracting the fat, refining it and depositing it in the buttocks is very aggressive and generates a lot of fibrotic tissue; it also carries risks, both on the side of liposuction that must be performed “the old-fashioned way” that is to say the tumescent technique, since the less aggressive Smartlipo uses laser that destroys the adipocytes (fat cells).
Then there is the risk of necrosis of the injected fat, since adipocytes are very delicate living cells that die easily with the mere process of removing them from one area to inject them in another.
It is a fact, admitted by cosmetic surgeons, that 60 to 70 percent of the fat does not survive the transplant and the remaining fat that survives does not achieve the objective of projecting the buttocks, with the aggravating factor that it goes resorbed in a short period of time.
For all these reasons, it makes sense to try to volumize the buttocks by the non-surgical way, that is to say, butt injections; the crux of the matter is to know how to choose correctly the substance to be injected because not any dermal filler will be effective for such purpose.
When talking about dermal fillers we must make a clear distinction between those indicated to correct small facial imperfections or at most at the neck and hand level such as certain types of wrinkles, marionette lines, nasolabial folds, lip filling, to name a few, and dermal fillers designed specifically for body use, especially the buttocks. In the United States there are no fillers for use in the buttocks even though they insist on saying that the filler Sculptra® is suitable for buttock injections which really, and it must be said with all honesty, no offense, is a fallacy; Sculptra® produces a temporary effect as poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) biodegrades very quickly and within a few months patients are at the same starting point, well, not really the exact same point, because now they have 8-10 thousand dollars less in their pockets. You can read our article here, where we elaborate on the various dermal fillers available in the United States. And then there are all the other FDA-approved facial dermal fillers that, taking advantage of their harmlessness in face, where they are meant to be used, are injected into the buttocks in tiny amounts, trying to produce a noticeable effect which of course is never achieved, at exorbitant prices and with a duration of a few months.
This is how many people fall into the hands of illegal injectors who basically inject liquid silicone, highly harmful to health.
Outside the U.S., namely in Brazil, there are specifically designed dermal fillers for buttocks such as Linnea Safe, which have the ability to induce the formation of new connective tissue, basically by stimulating fibroblasts which are specialized cells that produce the components of the aforementioned extracellular matrix such as collagen, elastin and fibrin, which together form the connective tissue.
These fillers consist of polymethylmethacrylate microspheres (PMMA) the size of 40 thousandths of a millimeter, perfectly homogeneous, round and smooth, manufactured with an advanced technology called UMSS , suspended in a biocompatible gel that serves as a vehicle for the microspheres to reach the anatomical plane chosen by the specialist and fulfill its function of stimulating fibroblasts to produce connective tissue. The gel vehicle also provides instant and lasting volume while the body manufactures its own extracellular matrix, which will ultimately provide the final volume to the gluteal area, since this is the network that constitutes a solid internal scaffolding that holds the tissues well attached to the muscles, which is vital when talking about firm tissues. Fibroblasts, on the other hand, by multiplying the connective tissue, promote natural volume of tissue as the patient’s own fatty tissue.
The proliferation of fibroblasts, collagen, elastin and fibrin is the most effective and safest means of fatty tissue replenishment in the buttocks.
A great advantage of butt injections with the appropriate substance is that not only the buttocks but also the hips are addressed, which allows shaping and at the same time projecting the entire gluteal region.
In the human body, PMMA microspheres cause reactions in a certain sense, analogous to those that occur inside oysters when a grain of sand is introduced into them, which triggers the production of nacre that completely covers it, forming the pearl; in human tissues, fibroblasts react to the presence of PMMA microspheres and instead of nacre, they cover them with connective tissue.
Butt injections are ultimately the best and safest way to improve definition, volume and firmness of the buttock/hip ensemble, provided the right substance is used.