Can Lip Injections Change Your Face and Your Destiny?
By Andrew Goto
Did you know that the shape of your lips says more about your psyche and less about your face? Yeah, me neither. But according to a Cosmopolitan article from 2015 (basically gospel), it’s true.
Scrolling past the close-ups of familiar celebrity pouts—of which a dozen different ones are identified—I try to locate mine. I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about my lips unless they’re chapped, so I have to hold up a mirror to even remember what they look like. It turns out my closest celeb counterpart happens to be George Clooney—the only man to have made the list.
While I like Clooney enough, I don’t aspire to look like him. Nonetheless, he is my lip twin. We share what Comso calls a “thin upper lip and a normal lower lip” (see, very scientific). However, according to Jean Haner, an expert in face reading and author of The Wisdom of Your Face interviewed for the article, my natural-born lips also say something about me:
“This person values work and achievement over relationships and they have a type-A personality. They may have difficulty in relationships and they don't relax very well, because to them, life is about getting somewhere. Sixty percent of men have a mouth like this.”
Hmmmm…There might be something to this. I’m competitive to a fault and I might (totally do) have some anxiety issues. But, Haner says that if I’m to change the look of my lips with injections, I’ll also change my psychic destiny. Um, no.
According to Haner, if I opt for filler on that thin top lip, then I move to the category, “injected fuller upper lip,” as represented by Kim Zolciak of The Real Housewives of Atlanta infamy. (Again, still losing.) In so doing, I’ll transform from mere overachiever to a disturbed over-need-er:
“You can become needier, more selfish, and more out of control emotionally. And the more you plump them up, the more you welcome drama. Watch out if your upper lip is filled larger than your lower lip — that means you're someone who loves to create drama in relationships.”
“That’s dumb,” says every fiber of my decently educated being.
The size and shape of my lips do not determine my destiny any more than the size and shape of my pinky toe does. Similarly, changing the look of my pinky toe doesn’t affect my fate (though I might suddenly need a wider shoe). However, I will allow for the fact that lip injections can improve your confidence if they’re what you want.
And people seem to want. By the numbers, The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported a 50% increase in lip enhancement between 2000 and 2017. And in 2015, when Kylie Jenner admitted to having a lip augmentation, cosmetic surgery clinics reported a 70% increase in consultation requests over the course of 24-hours.
They’re just lips. But their your lips. If you want your lips to be overinflated, natural, duck-like or fish-like, it boils down to what you want. When I put on my favorite pair of unnaturally torn and distressed jeans, some people compliment me and want a pair. Others (like Mom), ask if I need money for new clothes. The point is, I like how they look on me. I feel pretty damn good in those jeans.
Everyone seems to have an opinion about lip injections, but the only one that matters is yours. If a fuller lip—of whatever size and shape—appeals to you, I say go for it. You might not change your destiny, but you will feel pretty damn good.
