She’s known to have experimented with cosmetic surgery over the years – but last week Lauren Goodger seemed to push her quest for perfection up a notch after undergoing the so-called “butterfly lips” procedure, just days after former close pal Katie Price – underwent the same nip/tuck.
Earlier this month, Katie documented herself getting the procedure, which involves surgical tape and injecting filler in a way that leaves the lips excessively big and turned upwards in a butterfly shape.
In some extreme cases, an area of skin between the nostrils and top lip is removed too, to lift the lip upwards.
Last week, former TOWIE star Lauren, 36, followed suit, showing her peeling the tape off her painful-looking, swollen lips and saying, “I can’t wait to see the results”.
Now cosmetic practitioner Mr Amar Suchde, of AMS Aesthetics, tells Closer the procedure – that promotes the exaggerated look that so many celebs seem to be after – can be dangerous.
Amar says, “The butterfly lip lift, also known as the ‘Bratz Doll’ look, seems to be a bit of a trend at the moment, which has been popularised by reality stars and TikTok influencers. It gives unnaturally oversized lips and is personally not one I’d feel comfortable about doing because not only does it look very unnatural, it’s also a very risky procedure.
“It works by dissolving any pre-existing filler the client already has in their lips, and then using steri-strips to lift up the lips to give more definition, before injecting more filler back in. It’s very invasive.
“The problem is with the risk of infection. Lip filler has to be done very hygienically, because the mouth is an area that’s full of bacteria and flowing with blood. Adding foreign objects to the area, like tape, massively increases the risk of the lips becoming infected.”
The big-lipped look has been trending for the past few years – with lip fillers now easily accessible and as cheap as a haircut or manicure. And with the Covid lockdown, which led to an increase in online Zoom calls, more and more people are choosing to make cosmetic alterations to their faces after seeing themselves constantly on-screen. A recent study showed that 66 per cent of people had the desire to change something about their face.
There was hope that the more natural-lipped look may come back into fashion, after celebs like Molly-Mae Hague and Charlotte Crosby – who formerly swore by lip filler – decided to reverse their procedures and dissolve their fillers, championing a more natural appearance. Amar also says that the way the procedure is carried out can irreversibly alter the shape of your lips.
He says, “There’s a high risk of misshapen lips, lumps or general problems. By taping your lips into the butterfly position, you’re changing the natural anatomy of them, meaning the filler can migrate to another place more easily. You could end up with lumps of filler all round your mouth in odd places. And there’s risk of permanent damage – the lips are vessels full of arteries, so there could be tissue death, or necrosis, where there is no more blood flow to tissue and it dies. That would leave permanent lumps in your lips, which would not only feel uncomfortable, but it would look bizarre.”
Amar adds that he’s so concerned with the procedure, he’ll turn people away. He says, “If people asked for this from me, I would respectfully decline. It doesn’t match with my ethos and, for me, it is far too risky a procedure and looks unnatural and fake.
“There was hope that people were becoming more in tune with wanting a natural lip shape again. But unfortunately this new trend may influence younger people to look for the abnormally large-lipped look. I’d warn people that just because a celebrity has had it, it doesn’t mean you should – especially when it’s a procedure that largely isn’t safe for the patient.”
