Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge: Plumping Pout Gone Wrong

“What I saw was a close-up pair of 12-year-old

 lips, swollen and bruised, with what looked like 

tiny red dots surrounding them.”

A ridiculous trend that could not go through the limelight quick enough would be the Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge.  The young TV star recently admitted that her "plump pout" is enhanced.   She only recanted her adamant statements of them being “au natural” after her admirers were causing serious facial destruction to themselves in attempts to get their lips like hers.   Jenner is an excellent young woman to idolize because of her booming career, but she vehemently lied about her lip fillers.  Having the money and resources she does is not as appeasing as one would think.  By being in the spotlight, this leads Kylie to be insecure about her image because she knows she is admired and critiqued by many.  This then leads to her making drastic choices about her body, but that does not mean anyone should be willing to change his or her body image to emulate hers. 

Jenner has a growing, and flourishing career.  The 18-year-old star has achieved a whopping $5 million dollar net worth.  It shot up by 25% from 6 months prior to her 18^th birthday from an already lavish $4 million.  She has many ways to rack in dough, from her family’s TV show, her modeling career, new clothing line, and extension line.  Kylie also promotes a considerably large number of products on her social media platforms, which she receives endorsements from.  These posts include her Dior boots, what eyelash extensions she uses, and who does her nails.  Kylie is building herself an empire to last a lifetime, but her wealth is not all her fans hope to have like her.

A lot of controversy has come to light in regards to plastic surgery due to the Lip Challenge.  Jenner constantly said she was not undergoing any surgery to enhance her lips.  Young girls were attempting to enhance theirs “naturally” in hopes of looking like Kylie.  Unfortunately, they did not realize the severity of the injuries they were causing.  The steps to plump lips are quite simple as the Washington post wrote in their article on the matter, “Locate shot glass. Insert lips. And suck.”  Girls at such a young age, going to these measures to alter their body is alarming.  They should not emulate Hollywood’s conception of how a woman ought to appear because their bodies are still developing.  A dermatologic surgeon named Dendy Engelman told Seventeen Magazine that, “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.” Attempting to plump their lips is causing irreversible damage.  It is sickening that multiple people do this to look like a Hollywood star they admire. 

No one should want to be like someone that gets numerous hurtful comments a day.  If Kylie is willing to lie about something so miniscule to her life like getting lip enhancements, then she is not a positive influence.  She is exceptionally wealthy, but even all the money she has is not buying her happiness.  Kylie is not letting her “haters” get to her for her lip injections, and now getting curvier, as best as she can.  Since she turns away the negativity, she deserves some applause for showing the younger generations not to avoid it.  However, it took too long to notice lying to her fans would not protect them.  Had she been honest about her lips from the beginning, girls may not have done what they did.

The lip challenge has now come to an end that Kylie came out and noted that her lips are fake, and not natural like she once claimed.  The little “lip slip” really took a minor toll on her credibility since she lied to so many.  We need to choose whom we idolize carefully, and be aware of examples they set for kids.     

Works Cited

o   Cox, John. "Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge: The Dangers of ‘plumping That Pout’." Washington Post. The Washington Post. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.

o   "The DL on the Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge." Her Campus. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.

o   "Kylie Jenner’s Net worth Explodes Thanks to Endorsement Deals, Lucrative Appearance Fees." Starcasmnet. 14 Sept. 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.

o   "Is Kylie Jenner Being Bullied Because of Her Weight?" Twist. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.

o   "'Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge' Gone Wrong: Teens Share Before And After Photos." International Business Times. 20 Apr. 2015. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.