If you spend any time at all on social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, then you probably remember the recent fiasco with the “Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge”. Teenage girls and young adults around the world temporarily plumped their lips and posted selfies for their friends and family. What is the allure behind lip augmentation and full lips, anyway?
A Very Unique Study
Back in 2010, some scientists at Manchester University in the UK used some highly sophisticated eye-tracking software to determine which part of the face a man studies more when he first meets a woman. Prior to the study, most people believed in the adage that the “eyes are the windows to the soul” and that people meeting for the first time often spent the first several seconds studying each other’s’ eyes. The Manchester study was startling because it revealed that in the first 10 seconds of meeting a woman, men spent more than half that time studying the woman’s mouth. Perhaps women already knew this, and that is why lip augmentation is one of the most popular outpatient cosmetic procedures.
The Color Red
Even as far back as Egyptian times, women painted their lips red in order to draw attention to them. Although lip augmentation was not available back then, women still used lighting and color to play up their lips and make them more appealing. Research exists to suggest that attractiveness and red lips still remain linked, even today. This research points out that red lipstick increases the duration of visual fixation, and oftentimes makes women appear more attractive to their potential mates.
Considering Lip Augmentation?
If you want to plump up your thin lips, there are several ways to do so. You could try lining just outside the edge of your lips with red lip liner, then coloring in the center with red lipstick. Adding a bit of gloss to the center creates the illusion of plumper lips, too. You might also consider one of the many lip-plumping products out there containing cinnamon, capsaicin, or even peppermint. These essentially cause histamines to react and make your lips swell. Although effective in some cases, the results are temporary. Lip augmentation is also temporary, but it can last up to two years.
Boosting Your Self-Esteem
Even with all of the information above, you should never seek out lip augmentation just to appear more attractive to potential mates. As with any cosmetic procedure, it is important that you take the time to thoroughly consider why you want it and whether you are doing it for yourself or for someone else. Cosmetic procedures of any sort, including the simple application of red lipstick, should be all about improving your own body image and self-esteem and never about pleasing others.
Lip augmentation is a fast, simple, and effective process that takes about 30 minutes in your plastic surgeon’s office. It is relatively affordable these days and involves injecting a dermal filler into the lips, where it will remain for anywhere between a few months to a couple of years.
