Day 371

MORE PLASTIC SURGERY

YES, IT GETS SCARIER

I recently learned about a 'new' type of plastic surgery in Korea called the "smile lipt."  The term 'lipt' is apparently a combination of the words 'lift' and 'lip.'  I know, it's bad.  But hey, when you 'invent' a new type of plastic surgery, you get to name it, I guess.

I've talked about plastic surgery in a previous post, but it's such an interesting topic that I felt compelled to do a little more research.  Imagine trying to explain the concept of plastic surgery to aliens or an isolated tribe in the Amazon.  "Well, when people have a body part they don't think is good-looking enough, they can have it surgically altered.  Usually the body part works perfectly fine, it just isn't pretty.  The surgery is expensive and carries risks like permanent disfiguration, tissue death, and even death!"  They'd probably think humans were crazy.

Now I'm not hating on plastic surgery here.  If somebody has a body part they don't like or that makes them unhappy, and they believe that altering that body part will make them happier, then I say go for it.  If I thought that plastic surgery would make me happier--and if I could afford it--I'd certainly consider getting it done.  Fortunately I'm pretty happy with all my pieces, and I feel very lucky about that.

I've learned a lot about plastic surgery since I came to Korea, and I think it's incredible how we can surgically alter the human body.  Maybe most people already know about these procedures, but I feel like I'm always hearing about new and fascinating surgeries.  There are surgeries to change your nipples, to get skinnier calves and thighs, and even to change the length of your toes.  Amazing!

That said, I think plastic surgeons are waaaay overaggressive.  I've never been to a plastic surgeon myself, though I know several people who have had elective plastic surgeries, as well as medically-necessitated operations.  I've heard stories of patients going in for a consultation on one body part and being told that they 'needed' a bunch of other procedures.  You don't even have to go into the surgeon's shop to get your daily dose of body hate.  There are ads in newspapers, magazines, and I've even seen them in that ridiculous Skymall catalog.

Here in Korea, there are plastic surgery ads everywhere--for example, the subway stations have posters and video ads for a number of plastic surgeons and clinics, and more than seven million people use the Seoul subway system every day.  And that's just the subway.

Which brings us back to the 'smile lipt.'  A popular Korean plastic surgery firm called AONE, pronounced "A-one," has released a video about the surgery and has even translated it into English so that the entire world can feel bad about their smiles!

If you've got twelve minutes to kill and/or want an exercise in self-loathing, watch the video yourself:

If you're busy or (like me) are frightened by the way the narrator keeps repeating "MOUTH CORNERS" then let me sum it up for you.  It starts out with a montage of people smiling for cameras--most of these people are white for some reason.  The narrator explains that your mouth is the most important part of making an impression.  If you have a nice smile, then people like you.  If you have sagging lip corners though, you are an evil and hideous creature and no one will ever love you.  (If you think I'm exaggerating here, let me assure that while the narrator may not use those exact words, that's definitely what she is saying.)

She then goes on to point out all the possible flaws your smile can have.  This list includes sagging lip corners due to age, a too-small mouth, asymmetry of the lips or facial muscles, and showing too much gum in the smile.  

So what is the solution?  "Smile lipt," of course!  As the narrator explains, the surgical procedure basically consists of cutting out some of the muscles that pull your lip corners down, which makes your upper muscles comparatively stronger.  They seem to usually make the mouth wider too, which looks a bit strange because the lips end before the mouth does.

Let's see some photos from AONE's facebook page!  They have an entire album dedicated to before-and-after photos of their 'smile lipt' patients.  Many of the photos have heart-crushing descriptions.  Almost all of them will remind you of the Joker. 

Her smile at the bottom is kinda scary, right?
They described this as "Incredibly beautiful result of Smile Lipt!"

Here's a 50-year-old woman.  

It's not just for the ladies!  According to the photo's description:  "Recently, even men have heightened interest in mouth corner lift.  However, for men it's better not to raise the mouth corners higher than women.  It’s because they could look like a ‘fopling.’"  I have no idea what a 'fopling' is.

Well I suppose he does look a bit happier?

Another "beautiful smile."

This reminds me of the sharp part on the dental floss container that cuts the floss.

Here we can see the dreaded pre-surgery gummy smile:

And another:

Apparently this surgery (like all plastic surgery) is not without its risks of bad results.  Here's an unfortunate photo of a very unlucky young woman:

This photo appears to have started on Reddit and is making the rounds on the net.

As you can see, her lip corners are now curling upward and back toward her nose.  I hope this is fixable because that looks horrible.

American doctors don't seem to think this 'new invention' is all that new, according to an article by ABC News.  According to Dr. Barry Epply of Indiana,  “The Smile Lipt procedure mentioned is just the traditional corner of the mouth lift done to give patients a permanent smile or mouth curls.  By American standards the Asian mouth curl result would be considered unnatural and exactly the 'complication' from a corner of the mouth lift that we would want to avoid.”

The surgery apparently costs around $2000.  What a low, low price to look like the Joker!

Cheers,

Ashton

P.S.:  If you ever feel less than amazing about your looks, I have a fool-proof way to feel gorgeous.  Do an image search for various ocean creatures.  Try humphead parrotfish, elephant seals, or actually just look for ugliest sea creatures.  Being a marine biology student has its perks when it comes to self-esteem!