The latest craze sweeping TikTok is a fat-dissolving injection intended for areas of the body with “stubborn fat,” such as the chin, abdomen and arms.
Videos on social media promoting a cosmetic procedure called Lemon Bottle Fat Dissolving Injections show people being injected (or injecting themselves) with a product containing ingredients that claim to ‘dissolve’ fat.
The product, increasingly referred to as the new blockbuster drug Ozempic, has won legions of fans who may be apprehensive about surgical procedures such as liposuction.
The cosmetic procedure is minimally invasive and requires only a numbing cream and a short injection over several sessions.
Despite rave reviews from estheticians and medical spas, doctors fear this latest craze to emerge on social media could lead to troubling side effects and may not work at all.
Experts warn that the injections have not been clinically studied and can lead to bruising, infections, abscesses and even necrosis – the death of body tissue.
Above is a woman before she received Lemon Bottle injections on her chin, to the left of the results after the injections
Although it is recommended to administer the injections at a medical spa or doctor’s office, many people perform the injections themselves using products purchased online.
Dr. Naveen Cavale, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon based in Britain, said: ‘It’s touted as the fastest fat melter available, but there doesn’t seem to be any clinical evidence behind it to make this claim.
‘My advice is: don’t rush it. It still needs to be assessed and regulated before appearing on my personal treatment schedule. It could turn out great, it could also turn out to be a disaster, so I’d personally say it’s not worth rolling the dice.”
The shots are booming in Britain and are now being administered in US spas. Because it does not require a prescription, Lemon Bottle can also be purchased on Amazon and other online sites for between $135 and $220.
The Lemon Bottle Fat Dissolving injections are usually administered to areas where fat is difficult to lose, such as love handles, the stomach, the back of the arms, the chin and the back.
A medical spa employee maps the areas to be targeted, applies numbing cream and marks the areas to be targeted with the shots.
Fans online have been giving Lemon Bottle shots rave reviews.
Lemon Bottle does not contain the industry standard ingredient deoxycholic acid, meaning it is classified as a cosmetic rather than a medical drug and is therefore unregulated
The TikTok Lemon Bottle trend has amassed a huge following, with some before and after shots racking up millions of views
One woman said ’10/10 recommendation’, another said ‘I’ve had four sessions in four weeks and my results are amazing’, and another said her client ‘looked like she’d lost so much weight under her chin as a result. ‘
Although the injections are available at medical spas for $50 to $200, many people do the injections themselves at home with bottles of the fat cell dissolving concoction they purchased online, increasing the risk of receiving counterfeit products and performing the injections incorrectly.
Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Yannis Alexandrides told Glamour: ‘Lemon Bottle fat dissolving injections may be trending on social media, but my personal review and initial research finds no scientific articles supporting the efficacy and safety of this product.
‘At this point, the current research is too weak for me to feel safe and confident offering this treatment.
‘New non-surgical treatments such as these should be properly assessed and researched by scientific publications.’
The main ingredients of Lemon Bottle are bromelain, riboflavin and lecithin. But none of the ingredients have shown compelling evidence of directly dissolving fat cells, as Lemon Bottle claims.
It does not contain the industry standard ingredient deoxycholic acid, which has been tested for safety and proven to dissolve fat cells. This means that it is classified as a cosmetic rather than a medical drug and is therefore unregulated.
The trend on TikTok is also aimed at attracting Gen Zers, a population especially prone to eating disorders and body image issues.
And while the injections may be a risky venture, it wouldn’t be the first unproven health trend to take the internet by storm, as when buccal fat
Dr. Ahmed El Muntasar, a beautician and general practitioner, said of Lemon Bottle injections: ‘People end up doing these procedures at home because they think it is completely safe, when it is especially dangerous on parts of the face.
‘Even experienced doctors don’t inject fat remover into the face, because people can develop lifelong complications, including nerve and vascular damage, dry mouth and problems with their eyes.’