According to the founders of the clinic, there is virtually no downtime -- clients are advised to avoid sweating for 48 hours and stay out of the sun before and after the treatment.
When Antoni Bumba, 27, decided she wanted to make a change in her appearance, she was looking for a breast enhancement, not a full-on augmentation. She didn't want an implant, she didn't want something drastic, she just wanted something subtle that would define her chest.
Then she found the Cleavage Clinic -- a new practice that's offering breast enhancements and augmentations that don't require any form of surgery or anesthesia. And these treatments come in at a fraction of the cost of more invasive plastic surgery.
The New York City facility is offering a collection of procedures that aren't new but new ways to change breasts -- and Bumba was instantly intrigued.
But from the second she walked in the door of the clinic, she was instantly calmed, despite having no idea what to expect.
Cleavage Clinic's cofounders, Bri Tomaselli and Noelle Villella, are changing the breast augmentation and enhancement game, and Bumba was able to see it firsthand when she got her treatment.
The two women, who opened the Clinic in New York City at the end of 2024, are offering nonsurgical breast augmentations and are already booked out for weeks, thanks to all of their happy customers spreading the word.
At their clinic, they're offering patients a way to lift, tweak and enhance their breasts without going under, a process they studied and perfected over the past few years before opening their facility.
"Everything we do here is 100% natural, which also makes us very different," says Tomaselli, who has a background in aesthetics and now consults with patients. "We don't carry hyaluronic acid fillers; we don't carry neurotoxins -- they're all man-made."
So how exactly does it work if there's no surgery involved? Villella, a registered nurse, breaks down the clinic's various treatment methods for PEOPLE.
"We do Morpheus8, which is microneedling and radiofrequency," she says. "That will tighten the skin, and it gives a lift because as your skin is kind of shrinking and becoming tighter, regenerating new skin, so it gives a lifting effect. The Morpheus device can also get rid of scars and help with stretch marks."
The device can also help with bra roll fat and back bra fat reduction.
Another nonsurgical method for breast enhancement using blood is with PRP (platelet-rich plasma). As Villella explains, they spin your blood in the centrifuge to get the plasma and then inject the plasma back into your breasts.
"You see a great amount of volume in the first couple of days, and then that gets absorbed, and then your body works to build collagen and growth factors," Villella says. "Over time, breast tissue will grow, but you do see that huge difference in the beginning."
They also offer Sculptra, which is polylactic acid, a biodegradable injectable.
"When injected into breast tissue, it emulates collagen rapidly," Villella explains. "Optimal results are seen three months after your last session. That one takes time to grow, but you do see the biggest result with Sculptra."
Bumba opted for a plasma-based injection that took two rounds. She really wanted to see just a bit of a boost in size and evenness in the shape.
"What we figured out through the first [treatment] was that what we wanted to do was we wanted to basically even the two of them out so that we could catch her up to speed so that they could be twin sisters instead of distant cousins," Bumba says with a laugh, adding that initially she had a lot of "side boob" so her injections were targeted to fill out other areas of her chest to make her breasts full elsewhere.
The biggest advantages of going to the Cleavage Clinic over getting traditional plastic surgery, according to Villella and Tomaselli, include the price, the lack of downtime and side effects and the simplicity of the procedures because of the more natural injections. Patients are always encouraged to consult their primary care physicians before perusing.
"There's really no downtime," Tomaselli says of all of their procedures. "You can't work out for 48 hours because you can't sweat, and we're opening those microchannels, which means you can't get dirt or sweat in there or go in a steam room or sauna. People come on their lunch break sometimes and just go about their day after."
Each procedure takes around an hour or a little longer. Morpheus8 requires numbing cream for 40 minutes before the 25-minute session, and the others are all hour-long procedures before you're sent on your way. Tomaselli likens most of their procedures to Botox, and that's only because they offer a lidocaine injection beforehand so you get that little pinch.
"We've had clients say this is a '1' on the pain scale," she says.
"It was 3 out of 10 tops, really, honestly painless," Bumba says of her experience. "And then when I got up after the first time, it was like my boobs were so full. I mean, the cleavage was just insane."
As for Bumba's downtime, her immediate results were gorgeous and all she wanted to do was show them off.
[Villella] told me, 'The day that you go get it done, you should plan to get all of your pictures out and about, have dinner, go on a date. If you were doing first dates, perfect first date, then go to an event, get all your pictures, BFA, everybody, you know what I mean? Make sure that that is the night that you do because they will look so perky. It won't even be funny,'" she says. "So I did, and I wore a really gorgeous little black dress to put on after, and I was like, wow, these things look like they could literally walk off of me and march on their own."
There can be some maintenance involved, though, Tomaselli notes, but that is often the case with any aesthetic procedure. Morpheus8 is typically permanent, but they advise a yearly maintenance session due to "gravity pulling us down."
"Not that those results are going to dissolve or metabolize or anything; it's just to maintain it," she clarifies. "Because of the amount of Sculptra we inject,[those results last] five to ten years. And then PRP [results last] anywhere from two to three years."
Because the injections are mostly natural (and some even use your own blood and plasma), the risk of side effects is small. But everyone's body is different and can react differently so the clinic monitors each client closely in case a side effect does arise. Side effects are generally minimal,both Villella and Tomaselli say; which is why they have extensive consultation ahead of time.Allergic reactions are rare but any kind of allergies are usually addressed inthe consultation.Otherwise ,there is some redness,tendernessand mild itching.
Like any other medical or aesthetics facility,the Cleavage Clinic does a "full clinical background check" on each potential client,Villella says.This ensures that each person is even a viable candidate for their proceduresand can achieve the results they're looking for.Villella,Tomaselliandtheir staffalso make surethat potentialclientsdon't haveanyallergiesor healthissues thatcouldcauseproblemswiththeprocedures(a gold allergy ,for example,becausetheMorpheus8machineusesgold-platedneedles ).
But perhaps the most attractive piece of the puzzle at Cleavage Clinic is the price tag. Tomaselli says their packages range in price from $4,400 to $9,400. A scar revision is what you'd get on the lower end and the multiservice package that may require two services is what you'd get for that higher price tag, she explains.
In comparison, a breast augmentation in New York City could cost at least twice that higher price point.
For Bumba and the trans community who seek out something like a breast enhancement or augmentation as part of their journey, a lower-cost option could be life-changing.
"Any resource that I can get to be able to help make women, specifically trans women, happier with themselves and with their body, I'm going to use it," Bumba says. "I recommended it to all of my trans girlfriends. We're all just girls. In a way, in this particular way, we are teenage girls who fill up our bras with tissue paper sometimes and are jealous of the girls who have genes that work quicker than everyone else."
Bumba has "no regrets at all" about her visit to the Cleavage Clinic and cannot emphasize enough how great of an experience she had with Villella and Tomaselli.
"I was treated by Noelle and she did a really incredible job,and she's extremely professional ...and she's a good time,"Bumba says with a laugh.
It's that sort of welcoming, comfortable experience that Villella and Tomaselli wanted to create with the Cleavage Clinic -- all while providing a place for people to get the bodies they want at a more affordable price tag with a less-invasive procedure.
"People are fascinated because before us,the only option to change your breasts was really with surgery,"Villella says."And now here we are."