Hip dips are the natural indentations that many people have on each side of their body, just below their hip bones. Sometimes referred to as violin hips due to the shape they create from the waist to the thigh, hip dips are a natural effect of human anatomy and not a deformity. You may not like them, but they're not a "problem," per se. Rather, they're the product of the way your muscles and fat are distributed over the top of your hip bone and the hip socket. (The iliac crest and greater trochanter, for those who wish to be medically correct.)
In truth, everyone with normal anatomy has hip dips. Whether or not they're visible, however, depends on how much fat and muscle you're packing in the hip area. You can't really get rid of your hip dips because they're a product of bone structure. But you can greatly minimize their appearance with a little help from a BBL.
Yes, a BBL can improve the look of hip dips. It does so by injecting your own body fat into the hollows of your hips, plumping them up to smooth out the hip contour. A BBL won't alter the bone structure that caused your hip dips in the first place, but it can essentially bury it under a layer of fat. The exact results you can expect to achieve depend on how much fat you have available for harvest as well as your skin quality and individual anatomy.
A BBL starts with using liposuction to harvest fat to be injected into the buttocks and, in this case, the hips. With good planning, the lipo procedure won't just harvest fat. It will also help lessen the appearance of hip dips by removing fat from the flanks, lower back, and waist. Your hips will appear rounder when the contrast between them and these areas is more pronounced.
The second part of a BBL for hip dips purifies the harvested fat and injects it into the buttocks and hip dips. When focusing on hip dips, fat is placed in the outer hips (lateral gluteal region), upper outer buttocks, and in the hip hollow. This puts fat in all the places you need it to achieve a smoother contour all the way from your waist to your thigh.
How much fat do we need to fill in your hip dips? Just the right amount for you. That sounds a little snarky, but that's not the intent. Every patient is different. The amount of fat we use to fill your hip dips will depend on:
Skinny BBL patients may have limited amounts of donor fat, which can affect the volume of fat available for filling in hip dips. No matter how much donor fat you're working with, your surgeon will tread carefully so as not to overfill your dips. Doing so creates the opposite problem, causing you to have unnaturally wide hips where you once had indentations.
Most patients see significant improvement after a BBL for hip dips. Complete elimination isn't always possible, however, because hip dips are a natural byproduct of your bone structure. We can put fat into the area to minimize and smooth the indentations, but we can't alter the underlying bones. The ultimate goal of a BBL for hip dips isn't to "fix" anything but rather to improve it as much as possible.
Not every candidate is a good fit for a BBL to correct hip dips. The first thing you need is to have realistic expectations about surgical outcomes. We can't alter your bone structure, so if you're expecting perfection, this surgery isn't a good fit for you. Heading into a procedure with unrealistic expectations serves only to frustrate you and your plastic surgeon.
People with very minimal body fat may also be excluded from this surgery. We can't use your own body fat to naturally fill in your hip dips if you don't have enough harvestable body fat.
To be an ideal candidate to get a BBL for hip dips, you must be:
Recovering from a BBL that includes hip dip treatment is essentially the same as it is for a regular BBL procedure. The primary difference is that you will notice more swelling in your outer hips than you otherwise would. This swelling may be asymmetrical, and that is normal.
You will have the same care instructions and limitations on sitting. As always, you will start to look and feel better in a few weeks, but full refinement of your surgical results can take several months as residual swelling takes time to resolve.
A BBL for hip dips is considered a permanent procedure. But things aren't quite that cut-and-dried. Some of the fat cells injected into your hips and buttocks will die. Your plastic surgeon is aware of this and will plan accordingly. The cells that establish a new blood supply and make it through recovery are permanent.
The catch? The fat cells we inject during a BBL for hip dips continue to be a part of your body as they always were, even before we relocated them. And when your body weight fluctuates, so does the size of your fat cells. If you lose a significant amount of weight after your hip dip correction, the fat cells will shrink, and your dips could return. If you gain a significant amount, the fat cells may expand, and your hips will get larger than you might like.
The moral of the story is simply that you need to maintain a stable weight if you wish to maintain your BBL for hip dip results. Slight weight fluctuations are normal and won't matter much, but significant weight changes can alter your surgical results.
Sometimes patients want—or need, in the case of very lean patients—an alternative solution to a BBL for hip dips. While fat transfer is the most permanent and natural option, some patients opt for dermal fillers instead. We highlight the differences between the two here:
| Trait | BBL | Filler |
|---|---|---|
| Longevity | Several years, considered permanent | Temporary, requires ongoing maintenance |
| Cost | Higher upfront costs | Cheaper upfront but maintenance costs add up over time |
| Allergic Reaction Risk | None, procedure uses your own cells | Varies based on type of filler used |
| Recovery Time | A few weeks until normal daily routine resumes | No downtime |
Our skilled team can help you choose the best option or combination of procedures for you during your free virtual consultation.
Sometimes, yes. Skinny BBLs involve careful analysis of your available fat stores and how best to utilize them. Some patients will have enough donor fat to fill their hip dips despite their lean frame. Others may not. For these patients, fillers may provide a possible alternative.
No. Some BBL patients don’t need or want hip dip correction. Whether filling in these dips is part of your BBL depends on your specific needs and aesthetic goals. When uncertain about their hip dips, some patients prefer to have a BBL alone and then use filler to kind of try on the appearance that a fat transfer to the hips would generate.
Better is a relative term. Fillers may be a better option if you are looking for a temporary solution rather than committing to a more permanent one. Some patients only have room in their budget for the lower cost of fillers now and use them while they save for a BBL. Filler is also better option when going under general anesthesia for a BBL is a concern. But a BBL for hip dips offers a much more lasting correction and uses your own body fat, avoiding the addition of anything unnatural to your body. Only you and your plastic surgeon can determine which option is better for you.
Absolutely! At Mia Aesthetics, all of our surgeries are tailored to the unique needs of each patient receiving them. We never push surgeries you don’t want or need. If you only wish to have your hip dips addressed, then they are all that we will change. Understand, however, that your body is a unit. Changing the shape of your hips may make your buttocks look a bit different, even if your surgeon doesn’t touch them.
As explained above, hip dips are a natural product of the way human hips are structured. You might consider it a design flaw if your hip dips bother you, but it’s more of a feature. Hip structure is built for function, not aesthetics. It’s also something we can’t change. We can plump up your thighs and fill in the indentations on your hips, but we can never eliminate them completely.