Have you ever thought of your lips while kissing? Why do we even have lips to begin with? I mean, they’re this kind of flappy skin in the front of our face that can be accidentally bitten while eating and become painfully chapped in the winter. Creatures like birds and turtles get along just fine without them. And while other mammals have lips, humans are the only mammals that have lips that permanently turn outwards.
It turns out that lips are quite important. Using our lips to suck is one of the very first skills we have after we’re born. Lips are also important for eating, speaking, and non-verbal communication.
And lips are perfect for kissing…but is bigger better?
The history of the kiss is pretty fascinating and stretches back thousands of years. While kissing as we know it today has become a common form of affection, passion, and even friendship, its origins are a bit murky and vary depending on culture and historical period. In prehistoric times, kissing may have been a way for humans to exchange information about a person’s health. The ancient Greeks and Romans exchanged kisses as a sign of affection and respect. During the Medieval and Renaissance times, kissing was often tied to ceremonial or religious acts such as kissing a monarch’s ring. The Victorians were modest with showing public displays of affection, but kissing scenes were popular in novels and in the theater productions.
Fun fact: did you know in Victorian England, women said “prunes” of “cheese” in photographs in order to purse their lips into a tiny pout, because that was the style of the day. A painted, full mouth at that time was associated with prostitutes.
Although popular in most cultures, kissing isn’t universal. But for those who do kiss, there are some who think kissing someone with fuller lips can feel better because it provides more surface area for contact, potentially leading to a softer, more sensual sensation. Others think the quality of a kiss depends on passion, technique, and emotion. But does your kiss really need more lip?
The desire for fuller lips in not new
The practice of plumping lips dates back to ancient civilizations. The Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans used crushed berries, beeswax, and mixtures of oils to create the appearance of fuller lips. Cleopatra is particularly famous for her use of crushed cochineal insects to achieve a vibrant red lip color, considered a key element of her beauty routine.
I’d like to inject information about fillers (pun intended!). The first injectable lip fillers were used in the early 19th century to reconstruct lips, not for aesthetic purposes, but to treat facial deformities caused by tuberculosis. There have been a variety of substances used as fillers over years. Here’s a brief history of lip fillers:
- 1906: Surgeons first tried to plump lips by injecting liquid paraffin through a powerful metallic syringe, which with the paraffin was first immersed in hot water. The procedure was not successful.
- 1960s: Silicone was used to create the “trout pout” but was abandoned because of silicone’s dangerous side effects.
- 1970s: The 70s saw the introduction of injectable bovine collagen. Although approved by the FDA, it was expensive and required allergy testing.
- 1900s: Human collagen and hyaluronic acid, a substance that is naturally synthesized by the body, were introduced. Although the exact date of the introduction is not known, it was first identified and isolated in 1934 by scientists John Palmer and Karl Meyer. They extracted it from the vitreous solution of a cow’s eyeball. Hence, the term “human collagen and hyaluronic acid were introduced in the 1900s” actually refers to the scientific discovery of hyaluronic acid during that time period.
- 2003: Restylane was the first hyaluronic acid filler to be approved by the FDA for cosmetic injection into subdermal facial tissues. Side effects include bruising and numbness, but could be reversed with a treatment of hyaluronidase, which is an enzyme that speeds up natural degradation of the hyaluronic acid.
The Impact of Lip Fillers on Self-Image
The surge in popularity of lip fillers has ignited a heightened level of interest in understanding the psychological motivations and impacts that are associated with the decision to undergo these types of treatments. I want to be clear about something. In no way am I judging anyone’s decision to get lip fillers. I want to make sure women are doing it for the right reasons. If fuller lips make you feel happy, self-confident, and sexy, go for it.
My concern is for those who may be suffering from body dysmorphic disorder. The condition is characterized by a preoccupation with imagined flaws in their physical appearance or a distorted body image which can cause significant psychological distress. The explosion of social media in the last 15 years has exacerbated the issue. Frequent exposure to Photoshopped images can lead to self-consciousness and disappointment with one’s own body. There’s even a term for this–Snapchat dysmorphia.
Ask yourself: why do you want lip fillers? Is it for you? Is it because you think someone will be more attracted to you? Do you feel you’d be able to compete with other women for attention or affection? Impressionable young women with still-developing self-perception are most vulnerable to these pressures. Even mature women may develop neurotic fixations on their appearance under pervasive social conditioning.
Walk down any department store beauty aisle and women see all kinds of products that reinforce their supposed body flaws: sprays to make you smell good (because your natural smell is offensive?), hair products to make your hair shiny, makeup to cover your blemishes and even out your skin tone. Now go down the men’s beauty aisle. Right! There isn’t one. Society reinforces the notion that somehow women need to be “fixed” and that their natural beauty isn’t good enough. I want to remind you that you are beautiful, just the way you are. You don’t have to change a thing. And when it comes to kissing, your kiss doesn’t need more lip.
If you feel anxious or uncomfortable with your appearance or if you find that social media has made you feel frustrated with your body or in any way “less than,” please reach out to us. At Wallace Family Therapy, we are highly trained to provide the most effective treatment that meets your specific needs and challenges. We’re here to help you.
