Buccal fat and Y2K's skinny model obsession. What does it mean for beauty?

By Alessandro Carrara | Published: 26-Jan-2023
Wellness

Between buccal fat reduction and antidiabetic drugs for weight loss, there are social media extremes in pursuit of the 2000s thin obsession. What does this mean for body positive beauty standards?

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Quick slimming trends dominated social media in 2022.

From the bizarre (boiled lettuce water) to the dangerous (antidiabetic medication Ozempic) to promote weight loss.

But as calendars rolled around to the new year, a more controversial face sculpting trend swept across TikTok buccal fat removal.

Searches for the procedure skyrocketed on the Gen Z-focused platform, with the term receiving over 109 million views at the time of writing.

People searching for 'buccal fat removal' also soared by

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