There is a crazy trend going around among young girls on social media that is raising concerns from the public due to its possible dangers. Parents must take note of this and talk to their children.
Teenagers on Twitter and Instagram have been sharing photos of themselves with their lips looking very plumped. The trend is called the #KylieJennerChallenge, after reality TV star Kylie Jenner whose famous lips has not gone unnoticed by her followers on the Internet. This fascination with her lips' unusual form has lead kids to do simple tricks to imitate it. However, some teenage girls are taking things too far.
Daily Mail reports that some girls are using bottles and shot glasses to lock and suck in their lips. The longer they do this, the more plump their lips get. However, doing this also brings about swollen puckers with some bruising. Even the kids themselves get shocked by the results.
Real Self, a website on healthy cosmetic enhancements, referred the matter to doctors and one dermatologist, Dr. Daniel Levy, said that there is real danger in what the girls are doing. When done over and over, the bottle or glasses can infect and cause scar tissue as well as "damage the lip structure" and "weaken skin-plumping collagen." In other words, the DIY plumping technique leads to the opposite effect of what the kids want to achieve.
It's anybody's guess when this trend will wear out, but as the challenge is still in full swing, parents are encouraged to take action. "You can't lock up all the glasses in the house, but you can start a conversation that gets them thinking about whether it's really a good idea to follow a trend just because it's hugely popular on social media," said psychiatrist Amy Morin via Yahoo Parenting.
Morin adds that instead of reprimanding the teenager, it would be better allow the kids to "think critically about why it's better not to follow the crowd." The same advice can apply to other situations that involve peer pressure.
Meanwhile, Kylie Jenner has responded to this whole ruckus, saying that she only wants girls to be themselves. In her Twitter statement, the young star said, "I want to encourage people/young girls like me to be YOURSELF & not be afraid to experiment w your look."
Kylie also denied that she had her lips done, nor any other plastic surgery. "I've never been under the knife. People flashback to pictures of me when I was 12 and say "Kylie's so different" but how can I look the same from 12 -18?" Kylie said in the same Daily Mail report.
