You see
them on TV, on magazine covers and all over social media. Soft, plumped and
pillowy: Yep, we are talking about Kylie Jenner's lips.
Even
though we aren't even halfway into 2016, the 18-year-old easily wins the award
for most-talked about body part of the year.
It's no
secret that people idolize Jenner. But according to a new study, it's evident
that some might be taking their love to new extremes. Since 2000, based on data
from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there has been a 50% jump in the
amount of lip enhancements.
Although
part of this recent spike in procedures could be attributed to Jenner's
popularity, big lips haven't always been so readily embraced. As Mic previously
reported, "scores of black public figures with voluptuous lips have walked
red carpets, appeared in films and music videos, even on the covers of
mainstream magazines, but they aren't called trendsetters."
But don't
picture a bunch of little wig wearing Jenner clones just yet — a growing group
of men are also pursuing a plumped up pout. CBS News reports "about 1,200
male lip procedures were performed in 2015." This was a whopping 400%
increase since 2000.
Mic spoke
with dermatologists, plastic surgeons and patients who have received the
procedure to explore the meaning behind this phenomenon. The answer, it turns
out, is complicated.
Thanks to
selfies, big lips are "in." Many plastic surgeons blame the increase
of augmentations on photo sharing apps and popular internet celebs, models and
bloggers.
"Kylie
had a major influence on the popularity of lip injections," plastic
surgeon Justin Yovino said in an email. I think once people saw that lips could
be made fuller and still be smooth and natural appearing their opinions
changed."
Jessica
Weiser, a dermatologist at the New York Dermatology Group, agrees, saying in an
email that "seeing young celebrities have cosmetic enhancements and openly
discuss their experiences certainly increases interest."
Another culprit? Selfies.
Yovino
said the desire for the procedure is driven by the explosion of social media,
as "there is only one person in [selfies] and it's all about looking good
on all fronts."
With
popular social media platforms comes a new crop of male bloggers.
Men are
finally being accepted into the beauty industry. "I think the boundaries
of the makeup and beauty industry, in regards to sexism, are finally
dissipating," Albert Pham, a YouTube vlogger who had the procedure, said
in an email. "More and more men are becoming acknowledged in the beauty
industry, creating a larger comfort zone for other men to expand on as
well."
Within
the past few months, male bloggers have been featured by popular cosmetics
brands. Last week, Benefit Cosmetics featured two male makeup artists, Manny
Gutierrez and Patrick Starrr, on its stores' displays.
"I
am not a big fan of gender and/or stereotypes assigned to a gender,"
vlogger Candy Crash said in an email. "It's 2016 and people are slowly
acknowledging that it is nonsense to think in [gender] boxes."
Dudes are
insecure too, duh. Time and time again, there has been female-oriented body
positive ad campaign — like this and this. Men, on the other hand, are often
left out of the conversation. But, as Mic reported in March, a 2012 study found
that 81% of men referred to their bodies in self-deprecating terms that
"promote anxiety," versus 75% of women.
"Everyone
has a pair of lips on their face, so to say that only women are capable of
feeling insecure about potential unevenness or lack of body in the lips, is
ignorant," Pham said. "I wanted to get lip injections to even out the
fullness of my top lip in comparison to my lower lip, as well as making my lips
more 'aesthetically' appealing."
"To
me, getting my lips done is just another measure I took to be happy with how I
look," Candy Crash said. "My almost non-existent lips always bothered
me — I just never was brave enough to get them done until five weeks ago."
It's goes
beyond just lip injections. Girls at a sleepover might stare in the mirror (à
la Mean Girls) pointing out every one of their imperfections, but that doesn't
mean guys are doing the same. In fact, most plastic surgeons we talked to have
said they've seen increases in a multitude of male procedures across the board.
Dermatologist
Whitney Bowe, who says men up about 20% of her total patients, has seen an
increase in men wanting Botox or a more defined jaw line. Weiser adds that
she's seen men ask for skin tone laser treatments, skin tightening and body
contouring procedures.
As seen
in the comment section on Pham's video of him getting the injections, guys that
choose to enhance their lips now face similar scrutiny that women who also
opted to get the procedure have.
"Your
lips are already full... this was unnecessary. You may have body dysmorphic
disorder," one user commented. "You paid hundreds of bucks to look
like you have an STD. Basically. Plus they're a bit lopsided," another
said.
But, who
cares what other people have to say. "If someone wants to get their lips
done, it's not your place to disapprove, especially if is done in a healthy and
confidence-boosting manner," Pham said.
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