Why is everyone suddenly obsessed with mouth fat?

What is buccal fat?

Before you ask, it is pronounced as loop. Mouth fat became the talking point in parts of the internet this week after social media users began speculating which celebrities might have pulled it off for an extra chiseled look.

Buccal fat is a type of fat found in the midsection of the face that can, in some people, cause a rounder face to appear. Surgically remove some of this fat and the face will immediately look more sculpted. Well, almost immediately. Initially, most patients experience some swelling, but once that subsides, it's hello, cheekbones!

OK, again , what exactly is buccal fat?

"There are facial compartments that define the shape of the face, and there are superficial and deep ones", Dr. Andrew Jacono, a plastic surgeon from New York known for having gave Marc Jacobs a facelift, said. "Buccal fat is one of the deep compartments of facial fat that sort of structure the cheek area." It is unaffected by weight fluctuations, Dr. Jacono explained, "we are born with what we have."

"There are people who have a very sculpted face, whether it's cheekbones or more highlighted. There are people who have a more cherubic face. Some people call it chipmunk cheeks, "he added. He pointed to the faces of two cherubs, the round-faced angels at the bottom of Italian painter Raphael's "Sistine Madonna," as examples of prime candidates for buccal fat removal.

Why are we talking about this now?< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Blame Twitter and TikTok — and, inadvertently, Lea Michele. The "Funny Girl" star posted a glam selfie on Instagram this week, which made its way to Twitter where users speculated that Ms. Michele had the procedure done.

"Wake up, another surgery just happened. fall for Hollywood jaw filling and mouth fat removal," tweeted Agnes Philip, a 21-year-old computer science student in Florida who included images of Ms Michele and other celebrities besides Ms Philip. believed to have mouth. fat surgery.

“They are celebrities. Everyone sees the face every day, and they come back next week with a whole new face,” said Ms. Philip in a phone interview. She was surprised when her tweet went viral and noted in a later tweet that this particular plastic surgery isn't really new.

And people really delete this stuff?

Yes, a lot of them."I'm doing three times as many oral fat reductions this year as I did five years ago," said Dr. Jacono, who bills 40 $000 for the procedure.(Other plastic surgeons say the procedure usually costs between $7,000 and $16,000.)

Chrissy Teigen confirmed in an Instagram Story in September that she had the buccal fat removed. "Since I stopped drinking, I'm really seeing the results and I'm loving it. a," Ms. Teigen said, tagging her Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, Dr. Jason Diamond.

"I think this is one of the plastic surgeries classic celebrity secrets," said Manhattan plastic surgeon Dr. Lara Devgan. "These are all tiny surgeries that alter facial features by 1-2 millimeters each and are ubiquitous among people in contact with the public."

What about those of us who are not in contact with the public?

A quick search for oral fat removal on TikTok will be sure to find people documenting their oral fat removal experience and their results in the weeks, months and even years to come.

Tina Lee, a...