Buccal Fat Removal: Why This Trending Procedure Isn’t Right for Everyone

Social media has made buccal fat removal one of the most talked-about facial procedures of 2025, with countless videos showcasing dramatically sculpted cheekbones and razor-sharp jawlines. From celebrities like Chrissy Teigen openly discussing their procedures to viral TikTok transformations, the pressure to achieve that coveted “snatched” facial contour has never been higher. However, at Avance Plastic Surgery Institute in Reno, Dr. Erez Dayan has witnessed firsthand the devastating consequences when this seemingly simple procedure goes wrong or is performed on inappropriate candidates. While buccal fat removal can create stunning results for the right person, it can also accelerate facial aging, create an unnatural gaunt appearance, and lead to irreversible hollow cheeks that require complex reconstruction. Understanding who should—and shouldn’t—consider this procedure is crucial for anyone influenced by social media trends.

The Buccal Fat Removal Phenomenon: Understanding the Hype

The explosive popularity of buccal fat removal represents a perfect storm of social media influence, celebrity culture, and the desire for instant facial transformation, but this popularity often overshadows the complexity and permanence of the procedure.

• Social Media Driving Demand: Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have amplified the visibility of sharp, angular facial features, with hashtags like #buccalfatremoval generating millions of views. Young users see dramatic before-and-after photos and assume the procedure is a simple solution for achieving model-like cheekbones.
• Celebrity Influence and Speculation: When celebrities like Chrissy Teigen openly discuss their buccal fat removal, it normalizes the procedure and creates widespread interest. However, the speculation surrounding other celebrities like Bella Hadid and various influencers has created unrealistic expectations about what the procedure can achieve.
• The “Snatched” Aesthetic Trend: Current beauty standards emphasize sharp, defined facial features reminiscent of high-fashion models. This aesthetic preference has made fuller, rounder faces seem undesirable to many young people, driving them to seek surgical solutions for naturally youthful features.
• Minimally Invasive Appeal: The procedure’s reputation as a “quick fix” with hidden scars inside the mouth makes it seem less intimidating than traditional facial surgeries. This perceived simplicity leads many to underestimate the permanent nature and potential consequences of the procedure.
• Age Demographics Shifting: Unlike traditional facial surgeries that attracted older patients, buccal fat removal is increasingly popular among people in their twenties and early thirties—an age group that may not fully understand the long-term implications of permanently removing facial fat.
• International Accessibility: Medical tourism has made the procedure more accessible and affordable, with some patients traveling abroad for dramatically cheaper procedures without proper consultation or follow-up care.

This combination of factors has created a demand surge that often overlooks the critical importance of proper patient selection and long-term planning.

Who Should Never Consider Buccal Fat Removal

Understanding contraindications for buccal fat removal is crucial for preventing surgical regret and long-term aesthetic complications that can be difficult or impossible to correct.

• Patients with Already Narrow Faces: Individuals who naturally have slim, angular faces should never undergo buccal fat removal. The procedure can create an overly gaunt, skeletal appearance that looks unnatural and ages the face prematurely. Dr. Dayan emphasizes that facial harmony is more important than following trends.
• Young Patients Under 25: While there’s no official age restriction, patients under 25 are at high risk for regret as their faces haven’t finished maturing and their aesthetic preferences may change significantly. The brain’s decision-making centers aren’t fully developed until age 25, making major permanent aesthetic decisions particularly risky.
• People Seeking Weight Loss Effects: Buccal fat removal won’t make an overweight face appear slim. Patients who are overweight or have significant facial weight should achieve their goal weight through traditional methods before considering any facial contouring procedures.
• Those with Naturally Thin Facial Fat: Some people have naturally minimal facial fat distribution. For these individuals, buccal fat removal can create an unnaturally hollow appearance that requires expensive fat grafting procedures to correct.
• Patients with Unrealistic Expectations: Those expecting to look like specific celebrities or influencers are poor candidates. Facial bone structure, skin quality, and individual anatomy determine results far more than the removal of buccal fat alone.
• People with Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Patients with BDD or obsessive focus on perceived facial flaws should receive psychological evaluation before any cosmetic surgery. Buccal fat removal won’t address underlying psychological concerns and may worsen body image issues.
• Those Seeking Quick Social Media Results: Patients motivated primarily by social media trends or seeking dramatic transformation for posting online often have unrealistic expectations and may not consider long-term consequences.

Proper patient screening and psychological evaluation are essential components of responsible buccal fat removal practice.

The Aging Factor: Why Your 20s Decision Could Haunt Your 40s

The most critical aspect that social media influencers rarely discuss is how buccal fat removal affects the aging process, often accelerating facial aging by decades.

• Natural Facial Aging Patterns: As we age, facial fat naturally diminishes, particularly in the cheek area. The buccal fat pad provides crucial support and volume that becomes increasingly important as other facial fat compartments deflate with time.
• Accelerated Hollowing: Patients who undergo buccal fat removal in their twenties often develop severe facial hollowing by their thirties or forties—an appearance typically seen in much older individuals. This premature aging can be psychologically devastating.
• Foundation Fat Principle: Buccal fat serves as “foundation fat” that supports the facial structure. Unlike superficial fat that changes with weight fluctuations, buccal fat provides stable, deep support that becomes crucial as skin elasticity decreases with age.
• Irreversible Consequences: Once buccal fat is removed, it never regenerates. Patients who experience facial hollowing have limited options for correction, often requiring multiple fat grafting procedures with varying success rates.
• Celebrity Examples: Some celebrities rumored to have had buccal fat removal have later appeared to undergo fat grafting or other procedures to restore facial volume, suggesting regret over their initial decision.
• Genetic Factors: Family history and genetic predisposition to facial aging should be considered. Patients from families with naturally angular faces or early facial volume loss are at higher risk for severe hollowing after buccal fat removal.
• Lifestyle Impact: Factors like sun exposure, smoking, weight fluctuations, and stress can accelerate facial aging. Patients who remove buccal fat may find these factors create more dramatic aging effects than they would have naturally experienced.
• Professional Longevity: For patients in careers where appearance matters, the long-term aging effects of buccal fat removal could impact professional opportunities decades after the initial procedure.

Understanding these aging implications is crucial for making informed decisions about permanent facial alterations.

Alternative Approaches to Facial Contouring

For patients seeking enhanced facial definition, numerous alternative approaches can achieve similar results without the permanent risks associated with buccal fat removal.

• Strategic Fat Grafting: Adding volume to specific areas like the cheekbones, temples, or jawline can create the illusion of facial sculpting without removing any tissue. This approach enhances natural features while preserving facial support structures.
• Non-Surgical Jawline Enhancement: Injectable treatments can enhance jawline definition and create facial angularity without surgery. Dermal fillers, neurotoxins for masseter reduction, and combination approaches can achieve dramatic contouring results.
• Targeted Facial Liposuction: For patients with genuine excess facial fat, micro-liposuction techniques can selectively remove fat from areas like the jowls or submental region without affecting the crucial buccal fat pad.
• Thread Lift Procedures: Advanced thread lifting techniques can provide facial lifting and contouring effects that enhance natural bone structure and create the appearance of more defined features.
• Radiofrequency and Energy-Based Treatments: Non-invasive skin tightening and fat reduction treatments can improve facial contours gradually without permanent tissue removal. These treatments can be repeated and adjusted over time.
• Orthodontic and Dental Solutions: Sometimes, facial fullness is related to dental or orthodontic issues. Addressing these underlying problems can dramatically improve facial proportions without surgery.
• Combination Approaches: The most natural-looking facial contouring often results from combining multiple subtle techniques rather than relying on a single dramatic procedure like buccal fat removal.
• Gradual Enhancement Philosophy: Dr. Dayan often recommends starting with reversible treatments to see how patients adapt to facial changes before considering permanent alterations.

These alternatives provide the opportunity to achieve enhanced facial definition while preserving options for future changes as patients age and their preferences evolve.

The Consultation Process: Red Flags and Green Lights

A proper consultation for buccal fat removal should be comprehensive, educational, and focused on long-term outcomes rather than immediate gratification.

• Comprehensive Facial Analysis: Dr. Dayan performs detailed analysis of facial bone structure, soft tissue distribution, and aging patterns to determine if a patient is an appropriate candidate for buccal fat removal.
• Computer Imaging and Projection: Advanced imaging technology allows patients to see potential results and understand how the procedure might affect their appearance as they age. This visualization is crucial for making informed decisions.
• Psychological Evaluation: Assessing patient motivation, expectations, and psychological readiness is essential. Patients seeking to emulate specific individuals or those with unrealistic expectations may not be suitable candidates.
• Alternative Treatment Discussion: Responsible surgeons always discuss alternative approaches and explain why other treatments might be more appropriate for achieving the patient’s goals.
• Aging Projection Counseling: Patients must understand how their decision will affect their appearance in 10, 20, and 30 years. This long-term perspective is often missing from social media discussions of the procedure.
• Recovery and Risk Education: Comprehensive education about potential complications, recovery requirements, and long-term maintenance needs helps patients make informed decisions.
• Cooling-Off Period: Reputable surgeons often recommend a waiting period between consultation and surgery, allowing patients to fully consider their decision without pressure.
• Family History Discussion: Understanding genetic predisposition to facial aging and family patterns helps predict long-term outcomes and identify high-risk patients.
• Before and After Gallery Review: Seeing long-term results from previous patients, including those who experienced complications or suboptimal outcomes, provides realistic expectations.

Red flags include surgeons who pressure patients to proceed quickly, don’t discuss alternatives, or fail to address long-term aging implications.

When Buccal Fat Removal Goes Wrong: Correction Challenges

Understanding the potential complications and correction challenges associated with buccal fat removal illustrates why careful patient selection is so crucial.

• Overcorrection and Severe Hollowing: The most common problem is removal of too much buccal fat, creating an unnaturally gaunt appearance that can be extremely difficult to correct. Fat grafting may be required but often provides unpredictable results.
• Asymmetrical Results: Uneven fat removal can create permanent facial asymmetry that may require multiple corrective procedures. Achieving perfect symmetry in revision cases is often impossible.
• Nerve Damage Complications: Injury to facial nerves can cause permanent numbness, altered sensation, or even partial facial paralysis. These complications may not be fully correctable and can significantly impact quality of life.
• Salivary Duct Injury: Damage to the parotid duct can cause chronic salivary problems, including painful swelling and dry mouth. Repair procedures are complex and not always successful.
• Premature Aging Acceleration: Patients who develop severe facial hollowing may require multiple fat grafting procedures throughout their lives to maintain a natural appearance as they age.
• Fat Grafting Challenges: Attempting to restore volume after excessive buccal fat removal is technically challenging. Fat grafting to the buccal area often requires multiple procedures and may not achieve natural-looking results.
• Psychological Impact: Patients who experience significant complications or unsatisfactory results often suffer psychological trauma, including depression, anxiety, and regret that can last for years.
• Revision Surgery Limitations: Unlike some cosmetic procedures, buccal fat removal cannot be easily revised or undone. Correction options are limited and often provide only partial improvement.
• Long-Term Maintenance: Patients with overcorrection may require ongoing treatments throughout their lives to maintain acceptable facial appearance as natural aging progresses.
• Legal and Financial Consequences: Complications from poorly planned buccal fat removal can result in significant medical expenses and, in some cases, legal action against the original surgeon.

Understanding these potential complications emphasizes why choosing an experienced, conservative surgeon who prioritizes long-term outcomes is essential.

The Responsible Surgeon’s Approach

Ethical plastic surgeons take a conservative, long-term approach to buccal fat removal, often declining to perform the procedure on inappropriate candidates despite patient demand.

• Patient Education Priority: Responsible surgeons spend significant time educating patients about the permanent nature of the procedure and its long-term implications, even if this means losing potential patients to more aggressive practitioners.
• Conservative Removal Techniques: When the procedure is appropriate, experienced surgeons remove minimal amounts of fat, preserving facial support structures and maintaining natural contours.
• Multi-Generational Thinking: The best surgeons consider how their decisions will affect patients throughout their entire lives, not just their immediate appearance goals.
• Alternative Recommendation: Ethical practitioners frequently recommend alternative treatments that can achieve similar results without permanent tissue removal.
• Collaborative Approach: Working with patients’ mental health professionals, when appropriate, ensures that cosmetic surgery decisions support overall well-being.
• Long-Term Follow-Up: Responsible surgeons maintain long-term relationships with patients, monitoring results and addressing any concerns that arise over time.
• Honest Outcome Discussion: Ethical practitioners show patients examples of both excellent results and complications, providing a balanced perspective on potential outcomes.
• Trend Resistance: The best surgeons don’t chase social media trends but instead focus on time-tested techniques that provide lasting, natural-looking results.
• Continuous Education: Staying current with research on facial aging and procedure outcomes helps surgeons make better recommendations for individual patients.

Dr. Dayan’s approach emphasizes patient safety and long-term satisfaction over short-term profits or social media popularity.

Making the Right Decision for Your Face

Choosing whether to pursue buccal fat removal requires careful consideration of numerous factors beyond social media trends and immediate aesthetic desires.

• Long-Term Vision: Consider how you want to look not just next year, but in 10, 20, and 30 years. Facial enhancement should support lifelong confidence, not create future regrets.
• Individual Anatomy Assessment: Your unique facial structure, bone prominence, and soft tissue distribution determine whether buccal fat removal is appropriate. Generic social media results don’t apply to individual anatomy.
• Lifestyle Factors: Consider your career, social environment, and personal style. Some professions and social circles may not support dramatic facial changes.
• Financial Investment: Factor in not just the initial procedure cost, but potential future correction procedures, fat grafting, and ongoing maintenance treatments.
• Support System: Ensure you have emotional support from family and friends who understand your decision and can provide honest feedback about potential changes.
• Surgeon Selection: Choose a board-certified plastic surgeon with extensive facial surgery experience who prioritizes patient education and long-term outcomes over profit.
• Alternative Exploration: Thoroughly investigate non-surgical alternatives that might achieve your goals without permanent tissue removal.
• Psychological Readiness: Ensure your decision is based on personal preferences rather than external pressure from social media or others.
• Realistic Expectations: Understand that no procedure can completely transform your appearance or solve underlying self-esteem issues.
• Future Flexibility: Consider whether you might want different options as you age, your preferences change, or new technologies become available.

The decision to undergo buccal fat removal should never be rushed or based solely on social media trends.

Your Face Deserves Expert Guidance

Social media trends come and go, but your face is permanent—and deserves the expertise of a surgeon who prioritizes your long-term well-being over short-term profits. At Avance Plastic Surgery Institute, Dr. Erez Dayan’s Harvard training and internationally recognized expertise in facial surgery provide the knowledge and experience necessary to guide you toward the best decisions for your unique anatomy and goals. Unlike surgeons who chase every social media trend, Dr. Dayan takes a conservative, scientific approach that considers how your choices today will affect your appearance for decades to come.

Whether buccal fat removal is right for you or whether alternative approaches would better achieve your goals, you deserve honest, expert guidance from one of the world’s leading facial plastic surgeons. Don’t let social media pressure lead you to a decision you might regret for the rest of your life.

Contact Avance Plastic Surgery Institute today to schedule your comprehensive consultation and discover why Dr. Dayan’s thoughtful, individualized approach to facial enhancement has made him a trusted choice for patients seeking natural, long-lasting results that enhance rather than compromise their natural beauty.