The millennial cosmetic surgery trend that's quietly taking off

RealSelf Trends — a website dedicated to sharing statistics and patterns in cosmetic surgery, dermatology, dentistry, and other elective treatments — has released information on the latest contouring trend taking millennials by storm: Buccal Fat Removal and Dimpleplasty. 

Notably, the site has seen a surge in millennials requesting the treatment and searching for information online. Buccal Fat Removal is a procedure that slims the fat pads in cheeks to reveal more defined cheekbones; and Dimpleplasty is a surgical technique to create dimples in someone who does not naturally have them. 

To find out more, Realself Trends spoke some of America's leading plastic surgeons, and the general consensus was that in the age of selfies, millennials are looking to alter their bone structure with more than just cosmetics. 

As Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Sheila Nazarian explained: “I think in the age of selfies, women care more about small changes to their face that can improve their overall image.

“[I] perform a Dimpleplasty about once every two months… the procedure is most popular among women in between the ages of 20-30.”

Another Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, Dr. Brent Moelleken, said similar circumstances lead to people receiving Buccal Fat Remvoal: “Buccal Fat Removal is a little-known procedure, [but I] perform the surgery about three times a month. 

“When people hear they don’t have to live with the chipmunk cheeks that make them look like their older family members, they are excited and get the word out.”

The doctors also noted that both procedures, unlike fillers, are non-dissolvable; with Dr. Moelleken adding: “Very few doctors know how to reverse the effects of buccal fat pad removal, so it is generally an irreversible process.”