Congratulations! You are well on your way to your new, better booty!
● Stay hydrated. During surgery you lose a lot of fluid. You will need to help your body recover the fluids lost from surgery by drinking salty fluids like Gatorade, Pedialyte and soup.
● Don’t sit around. After your BBL, it’s important to not sit on your butt cheeks for at least two weeks in order to minimize compression and help those transferred fat cells while they develop their own blood supply. If you can’t avoid sitting, make sure use a BBL pillow which will place pressure on your thighs, not your butt
● Swelling is normal. It is also normal to have swelling that extends downwards in your genital area and into your legs. It is not uncommon for this swelling to last three to six months
● Sleep Well. Sleep on your stomach or with pillows under your thighs, or your back to ensure there is no pressure on your buttocks. If you didn’t have any fat transferred to your hip dips, you can also sleep on your sides
● Things may look worse before they look better, particularly with your liposuction results through the first two weeks.
● Anxiety and even depression are all completely normal after Brazilian Butt Lift surgery
● Clear or slightly bloody drainage fluid from your incision sites is completely normal. In fact, you should probably take your favorite sheets off your bed before your surgery and keep a towel handy to place under you
● Remember that you can expect to lose anywhere from 20%-50% of the fat transferred, so your doctor will transfer more to compensate even if it extends upwards or downwards. Swelling, especially around your incisions, may take up to a year to completely subside
● Your steri-strips will fall off; if necessary, you can simply replace them with a band-aid. Swelling may occur, causing a blister to form under your steri-strip—this is totally OK; just apply antibiotic ointment twice a day and the strip will be removed in-office. If you develop an allergic reaction to your steri-strips, remove them all, wash with gentle soap and water and take Benadryl or Claritin and avoid steroids or hydrocortisone
● Work it out—or don’t (at first).
○ Starting the day of your surgery, and for the first two weeks of your recovery, it’s important that you do some light waking. Aim for three times a day, every day—but keep it under a mile. This will help to prevent deadly blood clots, in addition to the compression socks you’re likely wearing (and should keep wearing for about three days)
○ After two weeks you can slowly resume normal activity, increasing as your body tolerates it. Remember to listen to your body and take it slow—don’t jump right back into your normal workout routine
○ For the first two weeks, just do some light waking. You don’t want to raise your heartrate, so no strenuous activities and be careful walking up stairs.
○ After two weeks, you can resume some exercise: walking upstairs, incline workouts, isolated leg workouts. Avoid any upper body workouts.
○ After four weeks and beyond, you can do some light jogging. And at week six, you can resume upper body and core workouts.
○ Most importantly, pay attention to your body! If something hurts, take a day or two off before easing back.
Brazilian Butt Lift recovery do’s and don’ts:
- Do take a shower 24 hours after your BBL surgery, but avoid baths, hot tubs, swimming, or any bodies of water —the bacteria and pressure of the water can cause an infection
- Do be your healthiest self. Things like meditation to lower stress, avoiding smoking for at least six weeks and avoiding any alcohol for at least two weeks will all help aid in your Brazilian Butt Lift recovery process
- Don’t smoke for at least six weeks
- Do avoid alcohol for at least two weeks
- Don’t forget the patch! Take off the scopolamine patch behind your ear as soon as you get home—but make sure not to touch your eye and wash your hands immediately after doing so. Leaving it on will cause blurry vision.
- Do take your antibiotics as soon as you get home, and make sure to finish the full course—most infections occur when patients don’t take all their antibiotics as prescribed
Pick up the phone. Call us if you:
- Notice your buttocks is excessively red, warm or irritated;
- Have any drainage that seems infected or pus-filled;
- Have a fever over 101 degrees;
- Have significant bleeding or drainage from any incisions;
- Grapefruit-size abdominal swelling;
- Haven’t urinated in the first 12 hours post-surgery;
- Have persistent nausea, vomiting and can’t keep anything down
How long is BBL recovery?
A minimum of two weeks of downtime is needed for your initial recovery—but keep in mind that it’s really dependent on the individual; some may need longer than two weeks of downtime. The most important thing is to listen to your body and take things as slow as you need.
