In this guide17 sections
- Key Points
- What Are Banana Rolls?
- Are Banana Rolls Normal?
- What Causes Banana Roll Fat?
- Banana Rolls vs Cellulite: What’s the Difference?
- Banana Rolls vs Saddlebags and a Saggy Bum
- How to Get Rid of Banana Rolls Without Surgery
- Banana Roll Liposuction
- Banana Roll Surgery: BBL, Buttock Lift and Thigh Lift
- Surgical vs Non-Surgical Banana Roll Treatment
- Banana Roll Liposuction Before and After
- Banana Roll Surgery Cost
- Do Banana Rolls Come Back After Liposuction?
- Am I Suitable for Banana Roll Surgery?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Banana Roll Treatment at Centre for Surgery
- References
Key Points
- Banana rolls (banana roll fat, under butt fat) are a crescent of fat sitting just below the buttock crease, on the back of the upper thigh. They are common at every body weight and are largely set by genetics and fat distribution.
- You cannot exercise away one area of fat. In a 12-week trial, training one leg with around 1,000 leg-press repetitions a session reduced fat in the arms and trunk, but not in the trained leg.
- Liposuction is the most direct treatment, but it has to be done conservatively. The buttock crease is held in place by fibrous attachments, and over-suctioning them can make the buttock drop and create a double fold, a recognised cause of a banana roll in the first place.
- Fat removed from the thighs stays gone. In a randomised trial, the thigh area was still reduced a year after liposuction, although some fat returned around the abdomen, so a stable weight matters.
- Loose skin changes the answer. Where the roll is mainly sagging skin rather than fat, a buttock lift or thigh lift treats it; where the buttock also lacks volume, a Brazilian Butt Lift moves the fat to where it is wanted.
- We do not offer fat freezing for banana rolls, because results in this area are inconsistent and it carries a rare risk of the treated fat growing rather than shrinking.
Banana rolls are one of the most common body-contouring concerns we see, and one of the most misunderstood. They are often assumed to be a sign of carrying too much weight, when slim and athletic people have them just as often, and they are often treated as a gym problem, when the fat itself does not respond to targeted exercise. They also sit in an area where surgery needs care: the crease beneath the buttock is a structural landmark, and removing too much in the wrong place can make things worse rather than better.
This guide explains what banana rolls are, what causes them, how they differ from cellulite, saddlebags and a sagging buttock, what exercise can and cannot do, and when liposuction, BodyTite, a Brazilian Butt Lift, a buttock lift or a thigh lift is the right treatment. If your main concern is fat on the outer thighs rather than beneath the buttocks, our guide to saddlebags covers that instead.
What Are Banana Rolls?
Banana rolls, also searched for as banana roll fat, banana fat, banana roll butt, under butt fat or underbutt fat, are crescent-shaped deposits of fat that sit where the buttocks meet the back of the upper thighs. The name comes from the curved shape, which can look like a banana lying just beneath each buttock. Anatomically, they sit along the infragluteal fold, also called the gluteal fold or buttock crease.
A banana roll changes the contour of the lower buttock and upper thigh. Instead of a clean line where the buttock ends and the thigh begins, there is a soft extra roll beneath it, which can make the buttocks look lower or saggier than they are, even when the rest of the body is lean and toned.
Banana roll fat is not an indicator of overall body weight. Slim, athletic people can have prominent banana rolls just as much as people carrying more weight, because the area is governed more by genetics and fat-cell distribution than by general fitness. Like other stubborn subcutaneous fat, it sits just under the skin and can be pinched between the fingers.
Are Banana Rolls Normal?
Yes. Banana rolls are extremely common, and whether they bother you is entirely personal. Some people are unconcerned by them or do not notice them at all. For others, they affect confidence in fitted trousers, leggings and swimwear, and can cause physical discomfort from skin rubbing against skin during exercise or in warm weather. Neither reaction is wrong. If banana roll fat is affecting your confidence or causing irritation, it is reasonable to look into treatment, and if it is not bothering you, there is no medical reason you need to.
What Causes Banana Roll Fat?
Several factors influence whether banana rolls develop and how prominent they are:
- Genetics. Genes play a major role in where the body stores fat. If close family members have prominent banana rolls, you are more likely to develop them too.
- Weight changes. Weight gain can deposit fat in this area, and significant weight loss can leave loose skin behind if the fat goes faster than the skin can retract.
- Hormones. Oestrogen favours fat storage around the hips, buttocks and thighs, and changes around pregnancy and the menopause make women more prone to banana rolls than men.
- Ageing. Skin and the connective tissue that supports the buttock lose elasticity over time, so existing fat in the area looks more pronounced and the crease becomes less defined, even without a change in weight.
- Previous surgery. A banana roll can also be caused by earlier liposuction or body-lift surgery that disrupted the tissues holding the buttock crease in place. This is described in the surgical literature and is covered in the liposuction section below.
Banana Rolls vs Cellulite: What’s the Difference?
The two are often confused, but they are different problems. Banana roll fat is a genuine volume of fat in the crease beneath the buttocks. It is a contour problem, treated by removing or repositioning that volume. Cellulite is a texture problem: fibrous bands beneath the skin pull down at fixed points and create dimpling, most visible on the buttocks and thighs regardless of how much fat lies underneath.
You can have banana rolls without cellulite, cellulite without banana rolls, or both. That is why some people who have liposuction for a banana roll are surprised the dimpling is still there afterwards. If cellulite is also a concern, it is treated separately; our guide to stubborn fat, skin laxity and cellulite explains how to tell the three apart, and what the evidence says about cellulite creams is worth reading before spending money on them.
Banana Rolls vs Saddlebags and a Saggy Bum
Three different problems can make the lower buttock and upper thigh look heavy, and they need different treatments.
- Banana rolls sit directly beneath the buttock crease, on the back of the upper thigh. They are mostly fat, and liposuction treats them.
- Saddlebags sit on the outer thigh, below the hip bone. They are also fat, but in a different place, and are treated with outer thigh liposuction. See our guide on how to get rid of saddlebags.
- A saggy bum (buttock ptosis) is the buttock itself sitting lower because of loose skin and lost volume. The fold beneath it deepens and can look like a banana roll, but removing fat from the crease makes this worse. It is treated with a buttock lift or a Brazilian Butt Lift, and our guide on how to get rid of saggy buttocks covers it in detail.
Many people have more than one, which is why the assessment at consultation matters more than the label.
How to Get Rid of Banana Rolls Without Surgery
Banana roll exercises: what they can and cannot do
Exercise cannot remove fat from one chosen area. In a 12-week study, young adults trained only their non-dominant leg with around 1,000 light leg-press repetitions three times a week. They lost about 5% of their total body fat, but the fat came off the arms and trunk, not the trained leg [1]. The same applies to the back of the thigh: squats and lunges will not selectively burn a banana roll.
What exercise can do is build the gluteal and hamstring muscles around the crease, which lifts and shapes the buttock, and support overall fat loss through a calorie deficit, which reduces every fat store including this one. Squats, lunges, hip thrusts, glute bridges, Romanian deadlifts and step-ups are the most useful. If your weight has been stable for a while and the banana roll has not changed, further training is unlikely to shift it on its own. Our guide on how to lose thigh fat explains the same principle for the rest of the leg.
Morpheus8
Morpheus8 combines microneedling with radiofrequency energy to stimulate collagen and tighten skin. It does not remove meaningful amounts of fat, so it suits people whose main concern is mild skin laxity in the area, or is used to refine the skin after liposuction or BodyTite.
TightSculpting
TightSculpting uses laser energy to heat the tissue beneath the skin and promote collagen, tightening the area below the buttocks without surgery. Results are more subtle than surgery and usually need a course of sessions and maintenance.
Why we do not offer fat freezing for banana rolls
Cryolipolysis (often known by the brand name CoolSculpting) freezes fat cells to destroy them. We do not offer it for banana rolls: results in this area are inconsistent, and there is a recognised, if rare, risk of paradoxical adipose hyperplasia, where the treated fat grows larger rather than smaller. Our guide on whether fat freezing works sets out the evidence.
Banana Roll Liposuction
Liposuction is the most direct way to remove banana roll fat. Through small incisions, a thin cannula removes fat from beneath the crease and blends the contour into the back of the thigh. It is a fat-only procedure: it does not tighten skin, so it works best where the skin still has good elasticity and the buttock itself is not sagging.
Why the buttock crease has to be preserved
The crease beneath the buttock is not just a skin fold. It is held in place by fibrous attachments between the skin and the deeper tissues, and those attachments support the lower edge of the buttock. If liposuction is too aggressive directly across the crease, those attachments can be weakened. The buttock then sits lower, the crease softens, and a second fold can appear beneath it.
This is well recognised in the surgical literature. A report on correcting the banana fold notes that an iatrogenic cause, meaning one produced by previous treatment, is a recurring reason for it [2], and in a series of patients treated for buttock sagging, six of eight had previously had liposuction or body-lift surgery elsewhere [3]. The practical lesson is that banana roll liposuction should be conservative and carefully planned, treating the fat below the crease rather than the crease itself, and that more removal is not always a better result.
VASER liposuction
VASER liposuction uses ultrasound energy to loosen fat before it is removed. It is often preferred for denser, more fibrous fat, and allows fine contouring in delicate areas such as the crease. Your surgeon recommends the technique based on your anatomy.
BodyTite
BodyTite is radiofrequency-assisted liposuction: fat is removed while controlled heat beneath the skin tightens it. It fills the gap between liposuction alone, which does not tighten skin, and excisional surgery, which removes skin through a longer scar. It suits people with mild to moderate laxity around the banana roll who want more improvement than liposuction alone can give.
Banana Roll Surgery: BBL, Buttock Lift and Thigh Lift
Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL)
A Brazilian Butt Lift combines liposuction with fat transfer. Fat is removed from the banana roll area, and often the abdomen and flanks, then purified and injected into the buttocks. This suits people who want to reduce the roll and add volume and lift to the buttock at the same time. A flat or deflated buttock can make a banana roll look worse, so adding volume above the crease sometimes improves the contour more than removing fat below it.
Buttock lift
A buttock lift removes excess skin and fat to raise and firm a sagging buttock. Unlike a BBL it does not add volume. It suits people whose banana roll is mainly loose skin, often after significant weight loss, and it can be combined with an outer thigh lift or performed as part of a wider body lift.
Thigh lift
A thigh lift treats a banana roll that is part of wider loose skin on the thigh, most commonly after major weight loss. Excess skin is removed and the remaining skin tightened, giving a cleaner transition between buttock and thigh. Liposuction is usually combined in the same operation where fat is also a concern.
Lower body lift
For extensive laxity across the lower body after major weight loss, a lower body lift treats the abdomen, flanks, outer thighs and buttocks, including the banana roll area, in one circumferential procedure.
Surgical vs Non-Surgical Banana Roll Treatment
| Aspect | Surgical (liposuction, VASER, BodyTite, BBL, lifts) | Non-surgical (Morpheus8, TightSculpting) |
|---|---|---|
| Fat removal | Yes, direct and measurable | No, or minimal |
| Skin tightening | Yes, depending on technique | Yes, but gradual and subtle |
| Results | Visible change, long-lasting at a stable weight | Subtle, usually several sessions |
| Downtime | Days to weeks, depending on procedure | None to minimal |
| Risk profile | Standard surgical risks, plus the risk of disturbing the crease | Low |
| Permanence | Fat removed does not return to the treated area if weight is stable | Needs maintenance sessions |
Banana Roll Liposuction Before and After
More results are in our liposuction, BBL and thigh lift before and after galleries.
Banana Roll Surgery Cost
Banana roll treatment is tailored to your anatomy, so the cost depends on which procedure, or combination, is right for you. Your price is confirmed in writing after consultation. For current prices, see our liposuction cost, BodyTite cost and Brazilian Butt Lift cost guides, and our thigh lift cost guide for thigh lift surgery. Buttock lift and lower body lift are priced individually at consultation, based on the extent of skin and fat to be treated; the buttock lift page explains what it involves.
Banana roll surgery is cosmetic and is not available on the NHS or covered by private medical insurance. Finance is available; see our Finance Options page.
Do Banana Rolls Come Back After Liposuction?
Not in the treated area, provided your weight stays stable. In a randomised controlled trial of women who had small-volume liposuction of the lower abdomen, hips or thighs, the thigh region was still significantly reduced a year later. Total body fat, however, had returned to baseline by one year, and it had reaccumulated around the abdomen rather than the thighs [4].
That is the realistic picture: liposuction permanently reduces the number of fat cells in the area treated, but it does not stop you gaining weight, and if you do, the fat is laid down elsewhere. A stable weight and regular exercise after surgery are what keep the result looking the way it did at six months. Skin-excision procedures such as a buttock or thigh lift remove tissue that does not grow back, although natural ageing continues to affect skin quality over time.
Am I Suitable for Banana Roll Surgery?
You may be suitable if:
- You have a banana roll of pinchable fat that has not changed despite a stable weight and regular exercise
- You are close to your goal weight, in good general health, and a non-smoker or willing to stop
- Your skin has reasonable elasticity, or you are willing to consider a skin-tightening or lift procedure if it does not
- You understand that the aim is a smoother transition between buttock and thigh, not the removal of the crease itself
Liposuction alone is not the right answer if the buttock itself is sagging, if the roll is mostly loose skin, or if you are still losing weight. In those cases a buttock lift, thigh lift or BBL, or simply waiting until your weight is stable, is likely to give a better result.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are banana rolls?
Banana rolls, also called banana roll fat or banana fat, are crescent-shaped deposits of fat just below the buttock crease, on the back of the upper thigh. They are named for their curved shape and are common at every body weight.
What causes banana rolls?
Genetics, weight changes, hormones, ageing and loss of skin elasticity. They can also be caused by previous liposuction or body-lift surgery that disrupted the tissues holding the buttock crease in place.
Are banana rolls a sign of being overweight?
No. Banana rolls are largely determined by genetics and fat distribution. Slim, athletic people can have prominent banana rolls, and people carrying more weight can have very little.
How do you get rid of banana rolls?
The most reliable method is conservative liposuction, sometimes with BodyTite to tighten the skin. Where the problem is loose skin or a sagging buttock, a buttock lift, thigh lift or Brazilian Butt Lift is more appropriate. Non-surgical treatments can improve mild skin laxity, and overall fat loss helps, but neither targets the fat itself.
Can exercise get rid of banana rolls?
Not on its own. You cannot choose where fat comes off: in a study where people trained only one leg for 12 weeks, the fat they lost came from the arms and trunk. Glute and hamstring exercises can lift and shape the area, and overall fat loss can reduce it, but a stubborn banana roll at a stable weight rarely disappears with exercise.
What are the best banana roll exercises?
Hip thrusts, glute bridges, squats, lunges, Romanian deadlifts and step-ups, which build the gluteal and hamstring muscles around the crease. They improve the shape of the area rather than removing the fat.
Can liposuction make banana rolls worse?
It can if it is done too aggressively across the buttock crease. Over-suctioning can weaken the attachments that hold the crease in place, so the buttock drops and a double fold forms. Conservative, carefully planned liposuction below the crease avoids this.
Is banana roll surgery painful?
Surgery is performed under TIVA, so you are asleep throughout. Discomfort afterwards is generally mild to moderate and managed with simple pain relief, easing over the first few days.
Will there be scarring?
Liposuction, VASER and BodyTite use small incisions, usually hidden in the buttock crease and barely visible once healed. Thigh and buttock lifts involve longer incisions to remove skin, placed in natural creases where possible; your surgeon will show you where at consultation.
Do banana rolls come back after liposuction?
Not in the treated area if your weight stays stable. If you gain weight later, the fat tends to be laid down elsewhere, particularly around the abdomen.
Banana Roll Treatment at Centre for Surgery
Banana roll treatment at Centre for Surgery is performed by GMC-registered plastic surgeons at our CQC-regulated private hospital at 95–97 Baker Street, Marylebone, rated Good overall. We offer liposuction, VASER, BodyTite, BBL, buttock lift, thigh lift and lower body lift, as well as Morpheus8 and TightSculpting, so the recommendation at consultation is based on what your anatomy needs rather than on a single procedure. The £100 consultation fee is redeemable against treatment, and we recommend a two-week cooling-off period after any consent. For related concerns, see our guides to bra bulge removal and hip dip surgery.
Finance is available through Chrysalis Finance, subject to status. See our Finance Options page for details.
Phone: 020 7993 4849 | Email: contact@centreforsurgery.com | Address: 95–97 Baker Street, Marylebone, London W1U 6RN
Contact us to schedule a consultation
References
- Ramírez-Campillo R, Andrade DC, Campos-Jara C, et al. Regional fat changes induced by localized muscle endurance resistance training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 2013;27(8):2219–2224. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e31827e8681
- Gonzalez R. Treating the banana fold with the dermotuberal anchorage technique: case report. Aesthetic Plastic Surgery 2005;29(4):300–303. doi:10.1007/s00266-004-0133-2
- Handschin AE, Mackowski M, Vogt PM, Peters T. A new technique for gluteal lifting using deepithelialized dermal flaps. Aesthetic Plastic Surgery 2010;34(1):96–99. doi:10.1007/s00266-009-9447-4
- Hernandez TL, Kittelson JM, Law CK, et al. Fat redistribution following suction lipectomy: defense of body fat and patterns of restoration. Obesity 2011;19(7):1388–1395. doi:10.1038/oby.2011.64
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