Do you ever just wonder if the shape of all the mainstream butts out there will still be on-trend in the year 2020? I do.
Sometime around the four millionth time I was exposed to a press release about Kim K’s butt it occurred to me that her ever-so-trendy butt was likely just a physical appearance bubble, much like ombre highlights circa 2013, orangey faux tanner from 2011, and the even more antiquated concept of tiny, upward-tilted noses. Butts, just like any other female body part, are subject to fads. I asked Constantino G. Mendieta, MD to help guide me through the future butt trends so we can stay ahead of the curve (sorry, lame but necessary pun). Dr. Mendieta is regarded as the Brazilian Butt Lift pioneer of pioneers, and an ASAPS member plastic surgeon.
“In the beginning it was all about size, but now that people are getting educated that you can make it perky, round, petite, and nice, it’s becoming more about shape.”
So, you’re saying the Kim Kardashian and Nicki Minaj tushes are about to die the slow, horrid fashion deaths of bandage dresses and glittery shoes?
“The majority of patients are coming to me for size, about 60%, and the remaining 40% are coming to me for shape. The most popular shape is what we call ‘the rounded egg’ where you’ve got the smaller waist. How wide of a hip the patient wants will vary culturally, but like I said, about 60% of patients are asking for a Kim Kardashian and the other 40% are asking for Jessica Biel.”
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What has history told us about all trends from all spans of history? If the majority of people latches on to one particular trend, it has already reached critical mass. Something else, by the laws of human reality and Sir Isaac Newton (what goes up must come down), is bound to take center stage soon enough. It looks like Jessica Biel’s butt is the next big medium thing in town.
“When I started my career it was all about size,” Dr. Mendieta tells me emphatically. “In 1999 Jennifer Lopez came out in the green see through dress which excited everybody, and they all wanted to have a bigger, more curvaceous body with a bigger butt. And the trend now, as I’ve started to lecture all over the world, is that people want shape– not necessarily volume.”
Now, I know most of us with shallow hearts and butts are wondering one thing: but what will the cool butt be in 2020 or 2025? That’s the butt I need to know about now. I feel you. I asked.
“This procedure is coming on like gangbusters, and I see an increase in phone calls on the Brazilian Butt Lift. I see more and more people in the audience when I lecture asking questions about it, and so in 5-10 years I only see these numbers increasing and I think it’ll be the highest increasing procedure over the next 3-4 years. Not everybody wants size, but a lot of people want shape. So as more and more people see that it’s not about size, it’s not about being grotesque, it’s about being sexier and being prettier with better curves.”
But, does a more curvaceous butt come with more risk? I’m obviously not a scientist, but sitting on one’s newly purchased ass-ets can’t be good, right? Are some butt shapes better than others?
“First of all, it’s a very safe procedure, but you can get things that are concerning. Number one would be a fat embolism, that’s where fat goes into the bloodstream and then into the lungs, and that can be extraordinarily serious. But that and even infections are very, very rare. They all fall into the ‘very, very rare’ category. It’s mainly the same complications as liposuction.”
Overall, the word on the street seems to be that buttock fat transfer is the way to go to stay on top of the coming rear-related trends. It’s using your body’s own fat to enhance and re-shape the butt area, so there’s no foreign substance swimming around your tush and you can achieve whatever shape (or size) you desire with relative ease.
This post was written as part of a series of aesthetics procedures articles I am writing for Smart Beauty Guide.
