We've heard our fair share of off-beat (and borderline wacky) beauty trends ranging from nipple tattoos to snail facials, but this new trend in South Korea takes the cake: Permanent smile plastic surgery. Women in South Korea are no stranger to plastic surgery, as societal pressure has made surgery a common procedure in their quest for a more Westernized face. A photograph of a woman who has undergone the permanent smile plastic surgery was shared on Reddit that shows a woman with the corners of her mouth lifted up to have a permanent smile. Here are four things to know about the South Korean fad:
The first thing to know about the double jaw surgery is that the demand for it has spiked in the past few months. Just to be clear, this surgery requires a bone-cutting procedure that realigns the upper and lower jaw to create the permanent smile. While it is surprising to imagine that this surgery is popular, it is important to note that plastic surgery in South Korea is incredibly prevalent. In fact, according to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, South Korea has the highest per-capita plastic surgery in the world. The data from the society reveals that 20 percent of South Korean women have had plastic surgery.
According to the Huffington Post reports that there is a clinic in South Korea offering this procedure: the AONE clinic. This clinic performs the 'Smile Lipt' procedure by manipulating the facial muscle tissues that support the mouth to lift and curl drooping mouth corners. The clinic has even produced and shared a Youtube video that explains that sagging mouth corners is something some people suffer from due to weak muscles. The video goes so far to say that "even among ordinary people, some have beautifully upturned mouth corners' and that "in general Western people have longer mouths and higher mouth corners than Korean people."
Essentially, this procedure promises a smiling face even when you're not smiling. The Business Insider reports that in 2012, a plastic surgeon at the AONE clinic, Taek Keun Kwon, talked about the procedure. "Up until now, mouth corner lift couldn't be widely used due to its ineffectiveness and high risk of side effects such as scars," said Kwon. "Downturned mouth corners give off gloomy and melancholy impression. On the contrary, upturned mouth corners create bright and smiling appearance as well as confident expression. It is very difficult to elevate mouth corner by just excision and closure of the skin around the mouth corner area. To turn up the mouth corner effectively, it is necessary to weaken the lip depressors to gain unopposed mouth corner lift."
And while this surgery promises to give a delicate "V-shaped" chin and jawline, it comes with a great risk. An estimated 52 percent of these surgeries result in facial numbness and the inability to chew and swallow. Most people can agree that the risks are not worth the rewards--assuming having a permanently fixed smile on your face can be considered a reward--in this case, but the harsh reality is that this procedure is sought out by many in South Korea.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
