The buccal fat removal trend has suddenly consumed us all, thanks to social media. We live in a peculiar era of beauty standards. While there still very much is a beauty standard, we are simultaneously told that it’s better to be natural. Dramatic cosmetic surgery has largely begun to be demonised in the aftermath of overdone lips and excess filler. Cosmetic work before-and-afters have become more subtle, so buccal fat removal no doubt feels like a shock to the system. A stark before-and-after is the whole point of buccal fat removal. Some even celebrate the dramatic transformation. Buccal fat removal may represent the actualisation of the ultimate y2k fantasy. But does this signify an undoing of the valuable work done by the body positivity movement?
How did y2k lead us here?
Y2K is ultimately technology inspired, having developed from mesh tops and metallic skirts. Gen Z took a liking to the trend, thanks to TikTok, and has allowed them to tap into a sense of nostalgia for an era they never really knew. With their interpretation, a more modern take on beauty has emerged. However, there are inklings of an affinity for thinness. Bleached brows, for example, celebrate an alien-like look, that ultimately relies upon a thin, angular facial structure.
Y2k’s affinity for thinness is somewhat at odds with the body positivity discourse Gen Z has grown up around. Plus-sized influencers have often made a point to ‘reclaim’ the style of y2k to challenge beauty standards. So far, the y2k trend seemed more inclusive than the era it was referencing. Because of this, y2k had avoided a direct reckoning with body positivity. It’s important to remember that 90s and early 2000s fashion wasn’t just a look, it was a lifestyle too. Lindsay Lohan’s drug and alcohol issues gave us ‘iconic’ mugshots, but romanticising this in the first place was toxic. The low-rise jeans looked good but the ‘party girls’ wearing them were often extremely thin.
Y2k is at odds with our newfound emphasis on body positivity in the digital age. For the most part, online culture now encourages us to live with health and wellness in mind. Though social media still pedals unrealistic beauty standards, many public figures have showcased their natural bodies in defiance of this. Thanks to body positivity, thinness arguably isn’t as pervasive of a goal for young women as it once was. However, y2k has often come close to asserting the need for a specific body type. Maybe buccal fat has finally made the decisive statement.
Are chiselled cheeks the ultimate y2k fantasy?
Buccal fat removal seems reminiscent of the real y2k i.e. the coked-up white girl of the early 2000s. It makes women look ‘chiselled’, almost gaunt and borderline unhealthy. The link between buccal fat removal and the y2k aesthetic is obvious when we see models like Amelia Gray Hamlin. She was one of the first people I saw online to have allegedly undergone the procedure. Complete with dark eye makeup and pencil-thin brows, her buccal fat removal ties in perfectly with the y2k fantasy. Though she is already thin, her newly defined facial structure only enhances this.
Though hinting at an affiliation for thinness throughout its resurgence, buccal fat removal has finally said the quiet part loud. It’s no longer simply about defining your own relationship to the y2k style and accommodating your own body type. It’s about being the perfect, stick-thin mannequin. I myself was unaware my buccal fat was a problem until the TikTok algorithm bombarded me with photos of Amelia Hamlin. It’s the gua sha trend on crack, no longer under the guise of wellness. How is anyone’s bone structure that chiselled? The body positivity movement has done so much valuable work to provide an alternative to the unrealistic standard of unhealthy thinness. There was a time when it was customary to go to extremes, such as rib removal, to achieve the perfect small waist. After all this time, extremes may be in vogue thanks to buccal fat removal.
Is it time to add buccal fat to our list of insecurities?
The buccal fat removal procedure certainly is extreme. The surgery can cause permanent damage to facial nerves, but of course, this information isn’t as widespread as the trend itself. As well as the physical damage done by the surgery, many women point to the damage this new trend is doing to the self-esteem of social media’s impressionable audience. One person tweeted, “what the f*** is buccal fat how are they still inventing new flaws for us“. It’s no secret that many companies have, and continue to profit off of women’s insecurities, and after the success of the body positivity movement, perhaps a new insecurity was long overdue. From ‘violin hips’ to now buccal fat, there’s barely a body part free from scrutiny.
But will buccal fat truly take off amongst non-celebrities? There was once a time when celebrities dominated the cosmetic surgery market. Instagram then shared these cosmetic procedures with a wide audience and as a result, they became more affordable and accessible. Thanks to Instagram, lip filler has taken off amongst ‘normal’ people, and it’s now a commonplace procedure for women in their early 20s. Is it possible that buccal fat removal could meet the same fate? In 2020, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) said doctors had seen a 70% increase in requests for virtual consultations during the pandemic, including invasive procedures. Though now, buccal fat removal remains within the realm of the celebrity, there is potential for this to change, as we saw with lip filler.
How to love your buccal fat
In a world where companies profit off of our every insecurity, loving yourself is an act of social defiance. As buccal fat removal is yet to enter the lives of the everyday person, there’s an opportunity to use this time to learn to love our chubby cheeks. I myself am the perfect candidate for buccal fat removal, and deep down, I’ve taken on much of the messaging delivered to me by social media. I understand that I don’t look like the girls on TikTok and Instagram, but I’ve learned to find joy in the normality of my appearance. If we all strive for the same look, won’t we all end up looking the same?
In the age of social media, it seems almost impossible to avoid comparing yourself to others. But we can start by unfollowing celebrities and influencers who make us dislike the way we look. I also think there’s something to be said about the damage fashion trends can do to your self-esteem. Strictly adhering to a fashion trend like y2k only narrows the scope of what we are permitted to look like. Caring less about what people think allows us to find our own sense of style and sense of self. The buccal fat trend has exposed the negatives of committing to a specific look. Hopefully, the criticism of buccal fat removal will soon dominate popular discourse.
By accepting ourselves on our own terms, we can take part in fashion trends in a more lighthearted way. After all, trends should fit us, rather than us fitting them.
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Written by Emily Holditch
Illustrated by Francesca Mariama
