Celebrities spark beauty and style inspiration among their fans all the time, but the latest trend has teens dangerously trying to emulate the lips of reality TV star Kylie Jenner.
The 17-year-old “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” cast member is known for her plump lips, which co-star Scott Disick claimed took her 40 minutes to draw on. Jenner denied rumors of plastic surgery and said lip liner was the secret.
Now, teens are trying to enhance their lips, sparking the trending Twitter topic #kyliejennerchallenge. One method to get a “natural” pout is by putting your lips into a small glass and sucking as hard as you can, USA Today reported. This causes the lips to briefly swell, as they would with a cosmetic injection.
However, the downside is that this method can cause serious pain, bruising and scarring around the mouth, as evidenced by images popping up on social media.
“You’re creating an injury to your lips, that’s why they swell,” Dr. Scot Glasberg, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), told FoxNews.com. “It’s like punching yourself in the face or running your face into the wall.”
Over time, these self-created injuries will heal, Glasberg said, but there is the potential for ulcerations and scar tissue in the lips.
“The whole thing is just pretty silly and irresponsible,” he said.
Click for more from USA Today.
FoxNews.com's Nicole Kwan contributed to this report.