If Instagram is any indication, the plastic surgery business is booming. Behold, one of the newer trends in that industry, apparently: nipple injections.
Dr. Sergio Alvarez, a Miami-based plastic surgeon at MIA Aesthetics, said in the last six months he’s seen a significant increase in patients asking for perkier nipples.
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“We numb up the areola area, and we inject with a filler,” Alvarez said, “not any different from what is used on your face.”
Alvarez, 36, said the trending penchant for perky nipples can be traced back to an origin that surprises no one: a member of the Kardashian family, Kendall Jenner, who has often been seen braless with nipples visibly protruding through her clothing.
“No nipples are created equal,” Alvarez told VICE. “Some people have nipples that are introverted, mini, some people have wide, big nipples.”
Alvarez said he’s conducted hundreds of nipple injection procedures, with the average age of patients who seek that procedure being about 25 years old. The cost ranges from $800-$1,000 on average at Alvarez’s clinic, depending on the patient’s needs.
“All of these things are temporary, which is a good and a bad thing. What may look good today may not look good five years from now,” Alvarez said.
The effects of the nipple injections last about four to six months, and Alvarez described recovery for the procedure as “immediate.”
Though risk is low with the procedure, he said, if you’re pregnant or lactating, you would not be a candidate.
So, what’s next in our corporeal form-obsessed world? Alvarez said that, in the future, we may see a trend toward women wanting to have smaller breasts. Right now, though, the surgeon said there’s no doubt what the mainstay of his practice is: Brazilian butt lifts.
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