Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge could cause permanent damage (2024)

Published: May. 12, 2015 at 6:53 PM EDT|Updated: May. 22, 2015 at 6:53 PM EDT

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - Unless you've been living under a rock for the past month, you've no doubt heard about the Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge, or maybe you've seen it on Facebook.

Teenagers all over the country are taking the challenge, sucking on a small cup -- usually a shot glass -- for about five minutes, with the goal of puffing up the lips. The problem is Jenner just recently admitted she's had lip injections, and did not get her full lips using this trick.

Well known Richmond plastic surgeon Dr. Joe Niamtu knows all about plumping-up lips. It's a small but important part of his practice. Niamtu said he believes the fillers used in lip injections have drastically improved in the last few years, and there is no need to even attempt this dangerous practice.

"If you had a thin glass, you could certainly get enough negative pressure to break the glass and cut your lip," said Niamtu, "or you could actually explode or lacerate your lip if you had enough pressure."

A young lady who works in Niamtu's office attempted the lip challenge recently, and almost immediately regretted it. Alissa said, "My lips got swollen, and they actually got swollen and they ended up bruised and it was even bruised under here for like three days or so."

For the vast majority who try this, there will be no permanent damage, but for a small number, there could be a lifetime of consequences. According to Niamtu, doing this, "bruises the lips, and sometimes the pigment in the blood -- the hemosiderin -- can be deposited in the skin and create long-standing, even permanent color changes. So really, there's nothing positive about it."

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