Name: BBL gone wrong: Inside Nigerias booming cosmetic procedure trend
Uploaded: 2026-01-19T13:07:50.925Z
Duration: 7 min 17 s
Description: Nigeria’s beauty industry is booming, but its rise comes with a darker edge. As natural looks fall out of favor, more young women are turning to cosmetic procedures. What is the true cost of beauty?

Nigeria’s beauty industry is booming, but its rise comes with a darker edge. As natural looks fall out of favor, more young women are turning to cosmetic procedures. What is the true cost of beauty?

Abuja

Nigeria is experiencing a significant increase in cosmetic surgery procedures, particularly among young women seeking to meet modern beauty standards. Influencers and celebrities play a major role in shaping these ideals, with procedures such as Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs) and liposuctions becoming increasingly popular.

However, the high cost of safe surgeries is pushing some women toward cheaper, unregulated alternatives, resulting in serious health risks and even fatalities. Despite warnings from medical professionals and reports of deaths, many women remain determined to undergo these procedures, highlighting ongoing concerns about safety and the influence of beauty standards in Nigeria.

BBL gone wrong: Inside Nigeria's booming cosmetic procedure trend

Nigeria's beauty industry is booming. The number of people getting cosmetic surgery has greatly increased. For many, natural beauty isn't appealing enough. Whether it's getting Brazilian butt lifts, liposuctions or tummy tucks, young women are risking it all for the perfect body. We meet 33-year-old Ebi Ebikake. She's a perfume vendor in Nigeria. Her dream? To change her body appearance, she'd like to have a bigger bum. Why I want to do a BBL is to boost my confidence. Nigeria's beauty industry is rising. Lots of women are trying to make their beauty fit the modern day standards. If you feel like you are ashamed of your body, one part of your body is not good enough for you or it doesn't attract people, if you have the money, do it. I wouldn't necessarily say bad or good, I would just say why. I don't think a woman with BBL is more attractive. Most TV stars, advertisements and influencers define the idea of beauty acting as role models for women like Ebi. We are invited to join actress Uche Ogbodo for the filming of her new movie. She is one of the biggest and best-known influencers in Nigeria. Her appearance is her asset, so cosmetic surgery has become her reality. I'm a career woman, you know, I'm a public figure. It is well expected that most public figures should look really gorgeous and beautiful, but at the time in my life, I started seeing the beauty fade for me. So within that period, I got pregnant for my third baby. My body started to change rapidly, yeah, so all that made me start to feel less confident and I felt like I was fading away from the Uche that I believed I am. Looking good or perfect has become an obligation which led Uche to her first liposuction procedure. So I was a bit scared, but then again I said to myself, what could be the worst case scenario? I was like, okay, fine, this is a 50-50 for me. I'm going to take it. So I was so scared that when it was time for me to go into for the surgery, I hugged my husband and I'm like, if I don't come back, well, that's it. I made up my mind. It was for me and not for my husband or my kids. It was for me. It was for me. Uche's transformation is followed by countless fans. She's very open about her surgeries and has become a model for beauty standards among many women. This often artificial lifestyle becomes a life goal for many people. Since Uche can afford the best doctors, her chances of putting her health and life at risk are minimal compared to other women. The average cost of getting a BBL is up to $10,000. Since this is quite expensive, many opt for cheaper options and this puts their lives in jeopardy. I don't advise people who don't have the money to go to Quacks, please, because there's a lot of risk involved. Not inject engine oil, engine oil into your ass to get a big ass. Not inject Veslin, Veslin. I don't know. I'm not, I don't support that. I think you're risking your life. Brazilian butt lifts are among the most dangerous procedures in cosmetic surgery. Qualified doctors are therefore essential. Since Ebi wants to minimize the risk, we follow her as she goes to her first consultation. Hi, how are you? Dr. George Oyengekwe is one of the best cosmetic surgeons in Nigeria. He practices in Lagos and Abuja. So you must be physically fit. You must be medically clad to have the surgery. It's not an emergency. You must be ready also psychologically, right? For example, we do a BBL. I've asked you not to sit for a couple of weeks. So you have to be mentally ready. You have to be financially ready. Very important because the surgery itself costs money, the recovery process, a lot of things that you need to put into consideration. Okay, so any surgeon can do a BBL procedure? Well, I wouldn't say any surgeon can. So you want to make sure that yes, the person you're meeting has a further interest in aesthetic surgery and also performs a lot of those procedures. So for cases like the bad ones that led to death and what not, what do you think could have been a factor? We see people performing surgeries in theater, in hotel rooms. There have been cases of people performing procedures in sterile environments, in different stories from across the world. So all those things can result in poor management, sepsis, infection setting, and all of that. In the recent years, there have been numerous deaths due to cosmetic surgery procedures in Nigeria. However, no exact figures have been documented. A 36-year-old woman has lost her life when she went for a BOTS enlargement injection. Furthermore, co-op doctors or clinics are not always held accountable. Many simply carry on as there is often no legal basis for action. Even without statistics, one thing is clear. The beauty industry has a dark side. And then there's Ebi. The risks are real, but she still dreams of getting a BBL surgery. She aims to raise the needed funds for a competent doctor by selling perfume. As much as there's risk, out of 100 percent, how many percent has gone bad? How many percent of people who have done their body have gone bad? How many? Very few. People are dying every day. As soon as she's saved enough money, she'll get the surgery. Finance is the major thing holding me. Apart from finance, my mind has already been made up donkey years ago. I saw one advert on TikTok for one of these surgeons, I think in Abuja or somewhere, and the lady posted that she used $10,000 to get her body done. That's a lot for me. That's a lot. So would I want to spend $10,000 to get my body done? Yes. If I had it, definitely yes. Until she can afford it, Ebi must wait. Yet the obsession of a perfect body haunts not only her, but countless other women who are chasing beauty that's more of an illusion rather than a reality. you

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