These days, weird beauty trends are taking on a regular look. From rainbow hair to faux nostrils, these trends have become viral sensations on the internet and everyone’s eager to join in. But when you think it couldn’t get weirder, another trend that leaves us gaping in amazement pops out.
This time it’s ‘devil lips’
Also known as umbrella lips and octopus lips, this procedure, which is said to have originated in Russia, is gradually creeping into other countries. It appears to involve injecting strategic places in the lips to create extra waves. However, there are speculations as to its authenticity, with many contending that these images are likely the result of Photoshop and hyper-realistic makeup.
In fact, Dr. Chimene Langley, a dentist and an aesthetic practitioner, says she “can’t see how it would be possible to completely change the shape of the lip this way” with a lip filler.
“When you inject into the vermillion border you enhance the border and give it more of a crisp outline. But you can’t really alter the shape into something else entirely. If this is real it’s pretty horrendous anyway!” said Langley. [1]
Although there is no evidence that this procedure is real, more pictures of people with wavy edges on their lips have continually flooded social media under the hashtag #devillips.
Sure enough, the trend has generated a lot of reactions. On the one hand, some have said they like the new trend and may jump on the bandwagon. Others, however, have branded the procedure as hideous, outrageous, and most likely unsafe. One of such persons is Dermaspa founder and beauty guru, Nilam Holmes, who took to her page on Instagram to voice her concerns.
“It looks unnatural and ridiculous. The clue is in the title really… it is an unnecessary disfigurement! Whether it is tattooing and/or filler… it looks terrible. I thought it was photoshop and a joke for Halloween when I first saw it but apparently not. Please don’t be naive and follow silly trends like this. You will not be able to reverse it easily and go back to your natural lips if at all. Your lip border will be distorted and it won’t wear off evenly so you will have frilly lips for years to come,” she warned.
“There are 20 more reasons I can think of. No one should encourage clients or teach this to practitioners and enable them to disfigure someone else’s face deliberately.”
How safe is this process?
Dr. Krystyna, a London-based Cosmetic Dentist and Facial Aesthetician has pointed out the danger that lies therein, one of which is the risk of blockages that may lead to necrosis of the tissue.
According to Krystyna, “You cannot change the anatomical shape of the lips like this. You can sharpen and contour by enhancing the vermillion border, but these ‘devil lips’ are unnatural.”
“Filler injected inappropriately could end up in a blood vessel, causing blockages and leading to necrosis (death) of the tissue. The vessels are around the lips, so using filler inappropriately is what can cause this.” [2]
‘Not dangerous’
On the other end of the divide, Debra Jaliman, MD, a New York City-based dermatologist and author of Skin Rules says the injections are not harmful.
“It’s a different aesthetic and definitely ‘unnatural’ but not dangerous,” says Dr. Jaliman.
“However, any lip injection procedure does come with the risk of over-injection. If you put too much filler and don’t know the anatomy you can block [an] artery and cause sloughing (or shedding) of the skin.” [3]
According to Jaliman, the procedure is reversible if it is done with the right filler, in this case, hyaluronic acid.
“If it’s done with hyaluronic acid it can be reversible, but not if done with a permanent filler. There is a dissolver that instantly dissolves hyaluronic filler. As long as you use a filler with this natural substance,” says Dr. Jaliman.
Furthermore, she advises those interested in taking part in the devil lips trend to research properly and, more importantly, talk to their doctors. Better still, they can go for less risky options — like photoshop or makeup — that still allows them to jump on the trend.
References
- “Is this wavy lip ‘filler’ trend real or just photo-editing magic? “NY Post. Hannah Sparks. December 6, 2019.
- “EXPLORING ‘DEVIL LIPS’, THE RUSSIAN PLASTIC SURGERY INSTAGRAM TREND.” Dazed Digital. January 22, 2020.
- “This ‘Devil Lip’ Trend Is 2019’s Weirdest Beauty Fad by Far.” Health. Christina Oehler. December 11, 2019.