If you spend any amount of time researching breast augmentation before your procedure, then you’ve probably run across the phrase “drop and fluff.” This is used to describe the healing process after getting breast implants: the tissues surrounding the implants slowly relax, allowing the implants to settle into their final position.
Although often referenced, the drop and fluff concept is much easier to understand if you have a visual. For this, we turn to some real before-and-after photos.
At 1 Month of Breast Implant Surgery
In this photo, you can see that the breasts still look high and firm at 1 month after breast augmentation. Although her breasts look unmistakably larger than before surgery, the implants still look somewhat compressed by the tightness of the surrounding breast tissue.
At 3 Months of Breast Implant Surgery
By 3 months after surgery, the lower curve of the breast looks softer and fuller, and the “side boob” has more definition. There’s still plenty of upper pole fullness through the top of the breasts, but the transition areas taper more gradually now.
At 6 Months of Breast Implant Surgery
The photo taken at 6 months post-op looks very natural. The inframammary fold where the incisions were placed is now fully hidden by the curvature of the breasts, while the entire upper pole area looks softer and more natural. This is really the earliest point that you could expect to see a look that’s close to your final breast augmentation results.
At 1 Year of Breast Implant Surgery
By a year after your breast augmentation, your results should be fully developed. In this photo, the breast implants have settled into a natural-looking position on the chest, and they have a full, voluptuous look that’s quite different from the firmer appearance shown in the 1 month photo.