To say that attitudes towards cosmetic surgery have changed is truly an understatement. Not only is cosmetic surgery — including non-invasive cosmetic procedures — widely accepted, they may even be expected of both men and women working in certain fields, such as the entertainment industry, though few would willingly admit to that.
It’s become increasingly common for celebrities to suddenly make an appearance and look as though they may have had “work done,” but the difference is so subtle in many cases that’s difficult to tell. Though some openly admit and praise the cosmetic enhancements they’ve had done, the majority chalk it up to being happy — Renee Zellweger’s reasoning — or simple makeup tricks.
Case in point: Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian’s 17-year-old half sister.
Jenner has been in the news lately for her lips, of all things. Her perfect bee-sting pout seems a bit too perfect, a fact that she attributes to simply using too much lip liner. While many people have accused the young model of using lip injections to achieve fuller lips, Jenner has vehemently denied this claim.
In 2013 alone, more than 2.5 billion dollars was spent on injectables alone. In addition, nearly 1.9 billion was spent on skin rejuvenation, a rapidly expanding sector of the aesthetic nonsurgical industry. However, some people are foregoing the injections — or lip liner — altogether in their quest for Jenner-like lips and instead are taking the #kyliejennerlipchallenge.
In what many feel is a disturbing if not outright dangerous social media trend, challenge-takers are placing anything from shot glasses to yogurt containers over their lips to create an airlock seal for as long as five minutes in hopes of temporarily plumping their lips to Jenner-like proportions. Instead, they’re left with a swollen, bruised, painful and sometimes bloody mess.
Many challenge-takers have posted their before and after selfies to the horror and often disgust of other social media users. In fact, the trend seems to be coming to a standstill as a result of the sheer number of examples of the challenge gone horribly wrong.
Yet, the question remains, how far are people willing to go in pursuit of what they feel are perfect features?