The Kylie Jenner 'Lip Challenge' is dangerous, stupid

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via Email
• Copy Link

  Link Copied

The Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge is the latest thing making the Internet less cool.

But unlike the Ice Bucket Challenge, this doesn’t raise awareness or money for a cause. Instead, the ‘challenge’ involves inserting your lips into a shot glass and sucking all the air out in an attempt to get the “Kylie Jenner” look with fuller lips.

Because remember, Jenner’s lips are completely unique to her.

The challenge doesn’t come without serious consequences, though.

“Very young girls — significantly younger than Kylie, who is only 17! — are participating,” Emily Orofino of Pop Sugar writes. “… After placing their lips into the shot glass, they suck the air out of the glass, creating friction. However, because the glass isn’t flexible … the shot glass can break under all the pressure, causing serious injuries that require stitches to repair.”

Orofino continued on to say that this latest Internet sensation was a dangerous side effect of girls’ attempts to live up to impossible Hollywood beauty standards.

“I am not against body modification by any means,” Orofino wrote. “I am against young women — who aren’t fully developed (physically or mentally) — making uninformed decisions that could change their looks forever. If you’re looking to try this big-lip trend, I recommend doing so by overlining your mouth with lipliner (that’s what Kylie claims she does!).”

Doctors are also concerned, noting that the damage done by the challenge could be irreparable.

“The new trend in trying to DIY lip plumping is quite concerning,” Dendy Engelman, a dermatologic surgeon, told Seventeen. “Not only can significant pain, swelling, and bruising result from these suction techniques, but there is potential risk for scarring and permanent disfigurement with repeated attempts.”

Moreover, there is growing concern on social media that the challenge is racist, with many pointing out that big lips were once a feature of African-American women that were derided and satirized.

“Don’t forget, these are the features they tried to teach you to hate,” said one Twitter user.

https://twitter.com/BeeR0cka/status/590347655148101632

So maybe you should take a pass on this internet challenge and hope the next one is something more benign, like dumping ice water over your head.