
The Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL), that gained meteoric popularity for sculpting the coveted hourglass figure, is facing a grim backlash as people are struck with a side effect so foul that itâs turning heads for all the wrong reasons.
Widely popularized by influencers and celebrities like Kim Kardashian or Cardi B, buttock augmentation procedures have surged over the past decade, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
BBLs involve fat transfer from one part of the body to the buttocks to enhance size and shape, and with its growing hype, medical professionals are stressing the importance of comprehensive post-op planning, including hygiene assistance and wound care education.
But the realities of surgery are often glossed over by several people who are more interested in going viral.
BBL smell
Scroll through social media and youâll find thousands of BBL transformation videos, most of them glamorous, upbeat, and filtered. But what they donât show are the realities of recovery: sponge baths, wound cleaning, limited mobility, and odor-related embarrassment.
âMany patients are caught off guard by an unexpected side effect an unfamiliar, often musty smell,â GetSnatched, a cosmetic surgery clinic in Miami, writes of the shocking side effect. âWhile this is a common and usually harmless part of the healing process, it can cause stress or confusion during recovery.â

The clinicâs website explains that after a BBL, patients are often unable to sit, shower properly, or access their rear ends due to swelling, pain, or sheer logistics. Combine that with compression garments, bandages, and sweat â and youâve got a recipe for olfactory disaster.
âSmell is realâ
Chicago-based plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Eric Anderson confirmed to the Daily Mail that âthe BBL smell is real,â attributing it to serious post-op complications such as tissue death and poor hygiene.
One complication of BBLs is âfat necrosis,â which causes fatty tissue in the buttocks to die following surgery, âan indicator that a patient was overfilled with fat during the procedure.â
âWhen there is more fat in an area than the blood supply allows, the fat will die through a smelly process called fat necrosis, which can lead to infections that need antibiotics, hospitalizations, and even sepsis,â the doctor warned.
Reaching the rear
But the smell may also come from uncleanliness.
Dr. Roger Tsai, a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, explains that after a BBL, it can be difficult for patients to reach around the enlarged buttock area after using the bathroom, which may lead to unpleasant odors.
âWiping down there is going be a lot more difficult because thereâs more to reach around,â Tsai told the Daily Mail.
âAssault on my noseâ
Meanwhile, on social media, one TikToker sounded the alarm after going on a date with a woman who had had a BBL: âHer body look crazyâŚShe had it done right. Her whole body looked amazing,â he started in the viral clip titled âBBLs do be smelling.â
The user, who has 4.1 million likes, then shared that his evening with the woman took a tragic turn after returning to his place, where she started twerking with her recently lifted butt.
âI was like. âWhat the hell?â [Because] at this point, sheâs got nothing on. And I smelled a smellâŚand it hits my noseâŚan assault on my nose,â he said.
Trying to be a gentleman, the TikToker then explained that he gently told her sheâs ânot smelling that fresh down there,â and suggested she âget into the showerâ and âfreshen up.â
âWhat I realized is if someone is having normal size behind for all of their life and then they switch up and now they got this big BBL. To reach back there and really clean, you know? And if theyâre not used to doing that, they might not know that, hey, you sweat differently. Everything is different when you add that much more meat back then,â he adds.
âBBL stinksâ
Insisting itâs not hygiene, another social media influencer said she had the procedure reversed when her âsit downâ was reeking âreal, real bad.â
âBBL stinks, do you hear me?â she told her TikTok followers, explaining that the odors did not come from either of her orifices but from the âincisions that they inject the fluid and the fat in your butt.â
âAnd if itâs not healing properly and your body is rejecting it, the [incisions] will remain open and the drainage will continueâŚit will stink up your linen, stink up your underwear, and stink up everything,â said the woman, who had a BBL for only one year.
Would you have a BBL done knowing that it comes with a putrid smell that can last up to two months? Please let us know what you think and then share this story so we can get the conversation started!
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