Lucas Ego Lifts built his TikTok following through a series of dramatic turnarounds, each one pushing further than the last. What started as a permabulk that saw him gain well over 100 lbs (45 kg) in a single year eventually led to a decision that left his face unrecognizable for days.
The path to that point began with an obsession with size. Lucas willingly abandoned any conventional approach to building a physique, eating enormous quantities of food with total disregard for body fat.
In one video, he addressed the criticism directly: “My goal is not to be shredded or lean. I probably won’t ever go below 15 to 20% body fat. I just wanted to get big and I wanted to get as big as possible. Whether it’s fat, muscle, water, intestine, I don’t care.”
After eventually committing to a cut, his physique leaned out significantly. At one point, he even dipped into underweight territory.
But when he began returning to a more normal state, his face told a very different story.
Comments flooded every post, questioning the bloating that remained while the rest of him was getting leaner.
He pushed back publicly: “Please stop asking me this question. I get asked this question every day. I get literal DMs asking me, ‘What’s wrong with your face? Why is your face so fat? Why is your face bloated? You’re lean, but your face, it’s genetics. I have a fat face. I have fat cheeks. There’s nothing I can do about it.'”
The situation escalated when Lucas began using st**oids. Testosterone and androgens are known to affect sodium retention, which causes the face to expand, and his face continued to swell as he increased his doses.
His comment sections became overwhelmed with references to a product called Aqualix, an injectable fat-dissolving compound that functions as an acid, emulsifying fat cells that the lymphatic system then processes and removes.
Aqualix has not been approved by the FDA for human use in the United States, yet it remains widely available. Side effects can include facial paralysis, bruising, and hematomas, particularly when applied to the face where the margin between too much and too little fat is narrow. Having too little fat in the face can cause drooping skin, much in the same way rapid weight loss after a prolonged bulk leaves loose skin elsewhere on the body.
Lucas purchased it and proceeded to map out and carry out the injections across his face. His immune system reacted poorly.
Within 48 hours, his face had swollen far beyond where it had been even at his heaviest on st**oids, and he lost all jaw definition in the process.
Four days later, still visibly inflamed, he posted that he had quit his job and dropped out of college.
