Most people in the English-speaking world have heard of Santa Claus. The Tooth Fairy is another popular mythical creature most of us have been familiarized with since childhood. And if you grew up celebrating Easter, you are probably no stranger to the Easter Bunny. But what about the ambiguous and mysterious “Fluff Fairy”?
For plastic surgery patients, especially those undergoing a Brazilian butt lift (BBL), the fluff fairy is a term that gets thrown around often. Patients often discuss the fluff period, what it is, and when they should expect to experience it. So what is the legitimacy behind this popularized term, anyway?
What is the Fluff Fairy?
The fluff fairy is a mythical creature that comes in to give you the SNATCHED body you’ve been dreaming of. After you have undergone a Brazilian butt lift, the fluff fairy comes in to create the finishing touches, expanding your booty and giving you more projection and defined curves. It’s just like magic!
Is it Real?
While in reality, there is no actual little fairy that flies around your body to expand your newly enhanced booty and give you the curves you’ve always wanted, from a medical sense, yes, the fluff fairy is real! While there is some misconception about what the fluff fairy is and what the fluff period refers to, we can confirm that the rumors about the mythical fairy are true.
What can Patients Expect During the “Fluff” Stage?
There is a period of time after you’ve undergone a BBL that you can expect your skin to stretch out to accommodate the newly inserted fat that’s been harvested there. This is the fat that has been taken from one or more donor areas, including the stomach, hips back or thighs. When the fat is initially inserted into the buttocks, your skin will feel very tight and have a sort of burning sensation because it is now learning to accommodate fat that was not there before. The skin eventually stretches out to accommodate the newly inserted fat and “fluffs” out. Think of your skin like a rubber band: eventually, if you hold it out and put pressure on it for long enough, it stretches out and doesn’t go back to its original size. Skin works in exactly the same way. This process of stretching out is what patients refer to as the fluff period!
When Does this Time Period Begin?
Although there is not an exact time period to expect skin to begin stretching out or “fluffing” due to the unique anatomy of each patient, a rough estimate of when to expect this phenomenon to occur is about six to eight weeks after your procedure. However, patients should expect that their “fluffing” stage will not be identical to every other patient’s. The manner and extent to which your body expands and stretches after a Brazilian butt lift will depend on your build and whether or not your skin is elastic or inelastic. Skin elasticity can depend on your age, your ethnicity, your weight, your genes and a variety of other factors. What’s important is to remember that the results you see immediately after your BBL will change. While some of the grafted fat will be lost due to the body absorbing it, you can still expect for your skin to stretch out to accommodate the remaining fat, resulting in that fluffy appearance you are craving.
Will my BBL get bigger after fluffing?
Yes! Your BBL will get bigger after the seemingly magical fluffing phenomenon occurs. After a BBL, your skin holds in more buttocks fat than it is used to accommodating. As a result, it serves as sort of a corset, squeezing your newly injected fat cells together.
In a few weeks, your skin will stretch and expand a bit as it adjusts to your body’s new shape. When the skin relaxes, your backside will fluff up. During this fluffing stage, your buttocks will start to look rounder and will both feel and look more natural. Your BBL will also get a little bigger as the fat cells are able to relax and stretch their legs in their new home.
So while the oft referred to fluff fairy clearly isn’t real, BBL fluffing certainly is. And it will make your BBL bigger.
In Conclusion…
In conclusion, the fluff fairy, while different for everyone, is very much real. The fluff period refers to the time around six to eight weeks after your Brazilian butt lift where the skin around the booty expands to accommodate the newly transferred fat. The phenomenon can be compared to a rubber band stretching out to a new, bigger shape when pressure is applied to it for an extended period of time. How much your skin expands will depend on how elastic your skin is. Be patient, follow all your post-op instructions and wait out your recovery to see the full extent of the fluff fairy’s work!