How Bryan Johnson’s 'Project Baby Face' Went Wrong

The quest for eternal youth is not always successful, even for biohackers like Bryan Johnson, who recently shared how a donor’s fat injection “blew up” his face.

Johnson, a tech billionaire turned biohacker who seeks to live forever, has repeatedly made the headlines for his unusual age reversal practices. From taking 100 supplement pills each day to replacing all of his plasma, Johnson shares his victories and failures on social media.

"Project Baby Face," as he calls it, is a recent example of some therapies not working as planned. The procedure to restore face volume, which was reduced as a result of weight loss, caused a severe allergic reaction, according to Johnson’s post on a social network X.

The injection of a fat-derived extracellular matrix is supposed to stimulate the body’s natural fat growth, leading to restored face volume.

Johnson says that while people can use their own body fat for injections, he didn’t have enough fat in his body to extract; therefore, he used a donor.

“Immediately following the injections, my face began to blow up. And then it got worse, and worse, and worse until I couldn’t even see. It was a severe allergic reaction,” he wrote, adding that seven days later, his face was back to normal.

How risky are fat injections?

Nelson Agustin Rodriguez-Unda, M.D., an assistant professor of plastic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin, says the risks of fat injections, like "project baby face," depend on who is performing them and whether they are licensed to do so. They can be administered by certain registered nurses in aesthetic procedures, as well as dermatologists or plastic surgeons.

Some of the more common complications to expect, according to Rodriguez-Unda, are the following:

• Pain at the injection site that usually lasts a day or two
• Swelling at the site, which may last a couple of days
• Bruising
• Changes in facial volume

Rodriguez-Unda says normal fat retention after injection can vary depending on the age and quality of the fat, but normally, the amount of fat that remains is approximately 60–70%.

When fat is injected around the eyelids of the forehead, there is the possibility of blindness, although it is an extremely rare complication.

Rodriguez-Unda

There may be safer alternatives

While fat injections into the face are still finding their place in the beauty world, alternatives with long-term data to support their safety and effectiveness can help give you a youthful look.

For example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved hyaluronic acid fillers, the most popular type of facial filler, back in 2003. They work by softening and filling out lines and wrinkles, with the most commonly reported complications being lumpiness, tenderness, swelling, and bruising.

Another common dermal filler, calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA), received FDA approval in 2006. It helps to lift sagging soft tissues, reduce lower eyelid lag, and reduce the tear. These fillers can cause side effects like swelling, bruising, and bleeding, as well as allergic reactions in some.

When it comes to effectiveness, popular dermal fillers and fat injections are difficult to compare.

Rodriguez-Unda says, “The procedure of injecting an extracellular fat scaffold is relatively new; we do not have long-term data on it.”