Lip enhancements soared last year thanks to selfies and Kylie Jenner

There's been more requests for thicker lips than ever.
 By 
David Yi
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Seems like everyone's rushing to be more like Kylie Jenner.

Call it the "Kylie Effect," or just a residual effect from selfies, but women and men are now flocking to get their lips enhanced. This, at least according to a report by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. The report stated that 2015 was a record for lip augmentation. 

Other notable spikes in surgeries: the butt lift, lower body lift and, of course, the breast lift. 


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Doctors from around the country are finding their patients requesting a Kylie Jenner look, like Dr. David Shafer of Shafer Plastic Surgery

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A photo posted by King Kylie (@kyliejenner) on

"Many come in saying they want her lips," he says to Mashable. "She certainly has a huge impact on lip injections and the transformation is obvious and is remarkable on her social media."

The procedure, according to Dr. Norman Rowe, has "exploded in popularity" in the past two years. 

"Patients are very likely to undergo the procedure because it is usually a quick one, has immediate results and has a dramatic effect on the patient persona," he says to Mashable

Rowe says the procedure is done through a filler of Juvederm and is only five minutes. 

And his patients love it, he says, because it "gives them the look of being surgically augmented but without the time."

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A photo posted by King Kylie (@kyliejenner) on

Jenner's selfies have certainly helped their businesses, as the teen star has a huge following on her Instagram and Snapchat accounts. An enhanced lip, both doctors agree, help with selfies. 

Shafer says it's because camera quality has become so much better, and looking at a phone is more common than looking at a mirror. 

Dr. David Colbert, of New York Dermatology Group, says that the lip augmentation is a "small change that makes a big difference in how good one looks in a photo or a self."

"The mouth is considered the central cosmetic unit of the face," he tells Mashable

The ratio between men and women receiving the procedure is about 70% female and 30% male, says Rowe.

"Millennials are definitely starting earlier," he says. "I feel that they understand that prevention and starting early is the best way to accomplish their goals."

Now, cosmetic procedures is becoming more commonplace with Gen Z as well. To Colbert, it's not something that he's too thrilled about. 

"More and more we are seeing younger clients doing minor lip enhancement," he says. "There is a growing pressure from the Instagram selfie generation to look your best online. It's almost as if cyber reality has outdone simple life. 

"I miss the Polaroid good old days."

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Topics Beauty

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David Yi

David joined the Mashable team as its first fashion hire. He's written for the Wall Street Journal, Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Details, Nylon, Refinery29, Fashionista, and covered the men's market at Women's Wear Daily. David has appeared on E!, Vh1, the Style network, and was a stylist at Capitol records.

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