Devil lips: Doctors warn against bizarre new trend as women inject lip fillers to create 'unnatural' pouts
The most bizarre beauty trend of the year—Devil lips—has started to creep into people's social media feeds.
Thought to have originated in Russia, the viral trend has now arrived in the west and skin experts and doctors are warning people to not fall for the gimmick.
The cosmetic trend sees women use lip fillers or makeup to create devilish wavy pouts, something quite a few dermatologists have labeled "unnatural" and "dangerous."
According to reports, the surgical procedure is believed to be semi-permanent and involves injecting fillers into the outer lip to make an unnatural wave.
"You cannot change the anatomical shape of the lips like this," said Dr. Krystyna, a London-based Cosmetic Dentist and Facial Aesthetician. "You can sharpen and contour by enhancing the vermillion border, but these 'devil lips' are unnatural."
"Filler injected inappropriately could end up in blood vessels, causing blockages and leading to necrosis (death) of the tissue," she explained. "The vessels are around the lips, so using filler inappropriately is what can cause this."
That said, several beauty fans are taking the less risky route of using makeup or photo-editing apps to mimic the "devil" or "octopus" lips.
Meanwhile, the trend has received a barrage of negative reactions on social media.
Celebrity Rochelle Humes labeled the sensation "scary." Another unnamed makeup artist challenged people to "try applying for a job with lips like that."
Furthermore, the trend was branded "wrong on all levels" by beauty guru and Dermaspa founder Nilam Holmes, who took to Instagram on Tuesday to share her concerns. "It looks unnatural and ridiculous," she said. "The clue is in the title really... It is 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," the expert warned. "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."