I spent £1k getting the fat sucked out of my cheeks with surgery loved by A-listers after seeing myself on Zoom calls
LOOKING in the mirror, Kiri Bennett admired the highly chiselled cheekbones she had always wanted.
The 36-year-old sales manager had spent years trying to disguise her “hamster cheeks” before splashing out £2,500 on surgery.
She went for the latest aesthetics trend — face-sculpting buccal fat removal, which involves removing the fat between the cheeks and the jawline.
Models Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski are among those rumoured to have gone under the buccal fat knife.
And what started with celebrities is now being taken up by the masses too, with #buccalfatremoval racking up more than 185million views on TikTok.
Kiri, from the Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands, has no regrets about her decision to have surgery at 34, even though she had to take out a payment plan to meet the costs.
She says: “I used to hate my cheeks. It was the best decision I could have made.
“I was bullied at school for my hamster cheeks and when I was out with friends I was always trying to suck them in to make my face look thinner.
“I’d insist on editing photos of my face to slim down my cheeks.
“Things got better after I trained to be a make-up artist when I was 23 years old because I learned about contouring, which meant I could make it look as though I had high cheekbones.
“But faking them isn’t the same as having them, and that was what I wanted.”
Kiri had not heard of buccal fat removal until two years ago when she read about Bella Hadid.
After researching online, she made an appointment at the Signature Clinic in Glasgow.
She says: “I spent hours looking it up and I watched YouTube videos shared by people who’d had the surgery.
“Lots of them had lovely thin faces and couldn’t recommend the procedure enough.
“I went for a consultation and they asked all the right questions about why I wanted it done and explained the sort of results I was expecting, so I booked in.”
During the hour-long operation in November 2021, about 2cm of fat was teased from Kiri’s cheeks.
Dissolvable stitches were then used to close the incisions and she was home the same day.
Google searches for “what is buccal fat removal?” have rocketed by 40 per cent over the past year.
In 2021, US model Chrissy Teigen revealed on her Instagram that she had gone under the knife.
Pointing out her contoured cheek area and referring to her surgeon, she wrote: “No shame in my Dr Diamond game.”
Actress Zoe Kravitz, singer Miley Cyrus and even former One Direction star Liam Payne are also thought to have had it done.
Aesthetics practitioner Dr Saleena Zimri, believes that celebrities are causing a spike in public demand.
She says: “I have seen a huge spike in popularity in the past six weeks, as we have seen more celebrities adopting the look.
“The majority are women in their twenties through to their forties with full, round or chubby cheeks who seek a more defined facial appearance.
Kiri, talking about post-op life, says: “The healing and recovery time is a few days.
“After two weeks the swelling went down enough for me to get a good look at my cheeks.
“I’d been warned by the clinic that it would take about three to six months to see a significant difference.
“After around eight months I had the sharply defined face I’ve always wanted.”
Ashton Collins, of Save Face, said: “The surgery is not suitable for everyone.
“As with any surgical procedure, there are possible risks.
“It is important you understand what these are prior to going ahead.
“Possible complications can include asymmetry, prolonged swelling, damage to salivary ducts, haemorrhaging and, in rare cases, nerve damage that may lead to facial muscle weakness.”
Hollie, 26, had cheek fat dissolved
PUBLICITY consultant Hollie Kelly, 26, from Hammersmith, West London, spent £1,000 getting her buccal fat dissolved — which is less invasive than complete removal — after being unhappy with how her cheeks looked during work video calls.
Hollie, who is in a relationship, says: “I have a button nose and very full cheeks.
“At first, I liked people saying my round cheeks were cute, but when I started seeing my face on Zoom calls I was horrified.
“It also made me realise that the lines under my nose were very defined.
“I’d spend ages trying to get the camera at an angle I was comfortable with before meetings.”
Desperate for her face to appear slimmer, Hollie decided to have the fat in her cheeks dissolved, using a clinic in London’s Harley Street.
The process has a quicker recovery time than removal.
She says: “I wanted something that would allow me to get back to life straight away.
“The clinic also recommended cheek filler and a Botox injection into the masseter muscle on both sides of my face to make my cheeks look more defined.
“It took around 30 minutes in total, and the only part that hurt was the buccal fat dissolving injection.
“That really stung, but it was over quickly.
“There was a tiny bit of redness on my face the following morning, but I was able to go back to work and nobody was any the wiser.
“Over the next couple of weeks my face shape slowly started changing.
“There was a reduction in the width of my lower face and the nasolabial folds [creases from nose to corners of mouth] were less pronounced. And my cheeks looked more defined.
“I think my results are a lot more subtle than full surgery, which can leave the cheeks looking very hollow.
“It’s given me so much more confidence, and I’ve really enjoyed friends and family commenting.
“Now, instead of cringing during Zoom calls and constantly adjusting the camera, I love seeing my face on the screen.
“As long as I maintain my weight then the results will last.”
But Dr Saleena warns that anyone thinking about having any type of buccal fat treatment should consider the long-term implications — and advises the over-40s against it.
She says: “I wouldn’t recommend this procedure to anyone over the age of 40 as it may lead to an appearance that enhances the visible signs of ageing.
“Well-defined cheek hollows and less fat on the face looks good in younger patients, but as we age, we lose volume in our face, and this can cause us to look visibly older.
“Also, if your face is already angular, buccal fat removal could make you look gaunt and older than you are.”
Reza Nassab, a consultant plastic surgeon at luxury clinic CLNQ, says women are turning their backs on fillers, which can plump and smooth the skin, because they want the “snatched look”.
He explains: “Fillers add volume to the face, whereas the latest trend, the ‘snatched look’, think buccal fat removal and chiselled jawlines, focuses on slimming and defining.
“It’s the new trend and it seems like the Nineties is resurfacing in 2023.”
Hollie has not ruled out more treatment either. “I still have about an extra half an inch of fat and skin on one side,” she says.
“Getting rid of that would give me the perfectly symmetrical face I’ve always wanted. I’d have it done tomorrow if I could afford it.”
Annie, 34, spent £9k on buccal fat removal and a neck lift
MARKETING consultant Annie Newman, 34, from Southend, spent £9,000 on buccal fat removal and a neck lift 18 months ago because she was convinced that her face looked out of proportion.
She says: “I’ve always had an asymmetric jaw which means my teeth didn’t line up.
“It affected my bite and made my face look twisted to one side.
“When I was little, doctors suggested they could fix the problem by breaking my jaw and fitting me with a head brace which I’d need to wear for months.
“It sounded awful and I refused to even consider it. As the years passed, my jaw got worse.
“By the time I was into my teens, one side of my face was completely crooked.
“I felt so self-conscious about it that I’d refuse to have my picture taken, and I’d be conscious of what side I sat on when out with friends.”
In 2015, Annie agreed to surgery and had her jaw broken and reset but it did not achieve the results she had envisaged.
She says: “I had to wear a head brace for eight weeks after the surgery and when it eventually came off, it was obvious that it hadn’t worked.
“One reason being that I had waited too long to have the operation.
“My teeth and my bite were lined up but my face was still really lopsided.
“I was crushed. I’d gone through all that pain and discomfort for nothing.”
In November 2021, after spending hundreds of pounds on unsuccessful non-surgical treatments to improve her appearance, Annie had buccal fat surgery at PurityBridge clinic in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, combined with a neck lift.
She says: “It took five hours, but even with all the swelling, I could see that my face wasn’t crooked any more.
“To say I was over the moon is putting it mildly. I finally had a face I didn’t want to hide away.
“I feel much more confident then I did before, especially when it comes to meeting new people.”
SAVE FACE
ASHTON Collins, Director of Save Face says: “Buccal fat removal can be an effective treatment for those wanting to achieve a more chiselled, sculpted appearance.
“The best way to mitigate the risk of experiencing any complications is to ensure you only entrust your health and appearance to reputable cosmetic surgeons.
“Save Face is a Government-approved register of accredited practitioners who have all been assessed and verified against a stringent set of standards, offering you the assurance that the person treating you is qualified, insured, and accredited.”
For more information visit saveface.co.uk.
Have these stars had it too?
EMILY RATAJKOWSKI
MODEL Emily, 32, sparked rumours she’d had the procedure when attending the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
Fans online pointed out her more “sucked-in” and “higher” cheek transformation.
LIAM PAYNE
FORMER One Direction star Liam, 29, set social media alight in March after appearing at a red carpet event with what some fans went so far as to call a “brand new face”.
Despite speculation, the singer has not commented on the rumours.
CHRISSY TEIGEN
TAKING to Instagram in September 2021, an upfront Chrissy, 37, proudly shared a video revealing she had “no shame” in getting the cheek-slimming treatment.
The model said of her newly sculpted face: “I’m really seeing the results, and I like it.”
BELLA HADID
LAST year she confessed she’d had a nose job when she was a teenager, but now fans believe model Bella, 26, has had more work done.
They believe she has had her face contoured by removing her buccal fat as it appears slimmed down.