Tess Holliday doesn't want people to have cosmetic procedures to fit into a trend.

Tess Holliday doesn't want people to have cosmetic procedures to fit into a trend.

More and more people want to improve their appearance through injections, cosmetic treatments and surgery, and studies show that social media use increases the desire for such procedures. But model Tess Holliday has a message for those seeking elective cosmetic procedures: "Don't do anything to your body to fit into a trend. Don't do it."

Holliday recently became aware that people have been looking to plus-size models, including herself and Ashley Graham, for plastic surgery "inspo" — namely, getting a Brazilian butt lift (BBL), she explained in a recent TikTok video. A BBL – also known as a buttock fat transplant – is a two-part procedure that begins with liposuction on another part of the body (such as the stomach, thighs, or back), which is then strategically injected into the hips and buttocks using a thin surgical tube to create the hourglass shape coveted by so many.

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Chances are, you've seen a lot of BBL chatter on your own social media feeds lately. The New York Times Magazine named BBL one of the most popular procedures of the last decade, and more than 40,000 people had buttock augmentation in 2020 alone, The Aesthetic Society reports. Some corners of the internet believe that Kim Kardashian had a Brazilian butt lift only to have it removed or reduced (although Kardashian has not admitted to either claim). Additionally, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj have both been open to receiving potentially risky butt injections.

It's also impossible to talk about the Brazilian butt lift without acknowledging the problematic nature of treating a body type specifically tied to African descendants as a commodity that people can procure while it's trendy. Promoting BBL as a trendy procedure desired by rich and famous (and often notably non-black) celebrities contributes to the objectification of black women.

While Holliday isn't here to shame anyone for seeking these or any other cosmetic procedures, she doesn't want fans and followers to risk their health and well-being while chasing trends. "I'm for plastic surgery. I'm for doing whatever you want to do with your body. I got Dolly [Parton] tattooed on me for a reason," Holliday said in the clip. “I’m just here to remind you that these are trends.”

As Holliday suggests in her TikTok, a BBL is a potentially dangerous procedure. If done incorrectly, surgeons can accidentally inject fat into a blood vessel and block it, allowing the fat to enter the bloodstream. When this happens, the fat can travel through the veins in the buttocks to the pulmonary arteries and heart, causing fat embolism, Steven Williams, MD, a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon, tells Shape. Fat embolisms can be “incredibly serious complications” that can even lead to death, says Dr. Williams. The procedure can also cause fat migration under the muscle, leading to gluteal tears, he adds.

Back in 2018, several plastic surgery societies formed a joint task force to raise awareness of the dangers of BBLs, which have a "very, very high mortality rate," according to J. Peter Rubin, MD, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and endowed professor and chair of plastic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. According to a 2020 study published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, the mortality rate for BBLs has improved from one in about 3,400 people in 2017 to one in nearly 15,000 in 2019.

Still, no cosmetic procedure is completely without risk, which is why Holliday hopes her fans and followers take the safety of their bodies seriously. "Yes, I got lip fillers years ago, and I occasionally get Botox for ME 💞, but please remember that some of these procedures are life-threatening and do your research," Holliday wrote.

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Dr. Williams agrees with Holliday's advice to do research before a procedure and suggests patients contact board-certified plastic surgeons and inquire about their surgeon's experience, technique and efforts to minimize risks. “Important factors such as follow-up appointments, common complications and their management, and the number of procedures performed successfully should also be discussed,” he adds.

Holliday concludes her video with a message about who is. "I've been told my whole life that the way I am isn't good enough and I made money the way I am. So don't change it. If you want, great, but don't feel like you have to. You're perfect just the way you are," Holliday concluded in her TikTok. It's a solid reminder to avoid the idea that one body type is a trend, no matter what you see when you scroll through social media.