I had Meghan Trainor's smile-freezing tweakment – but I loved how it looked
Celebrities are no strangers to aesthetic treatments. From Kim Kardashian and Selena Gomez who speak openly about their procedures, to those who keep quiet but are seemingly ageless, it's rare to find an A-lister who hasn't had a little help to look forever fresh.
Last week, singer Meghan Trainor, 30, admitted the pressure to look perfect had got to her, and she'd had Botox injected into her face. The All About That Bass star said she'd had Botox a 'handful of times' in her forehead but had been convinced to have the neuromodulator in her lips too and regretted her decision.
Speaking on her podcast Meghan admitted: "I got too much Botox, and I need help. Someone convinced me with my little lips that if you did a lip flip could have a beautiful flip on your upper lip. It was not true."
The Voice star said she now can't smile in the way she used to, explaining: "I cannot smile anymore. Everywhere I go, I cannot smile."
What is a lip flip?
While lip filler is the most common route to a plumper pout, a lip flip will make your lips look fuller when you talk and smile.
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"A lip flip uses small amounts of Botox, mostly injected into the upper lip to relax the lip muscle, which makes the top lip roll out and pout a little bit," explains Dr. Emily Mehta of London's Story Clinics.
Dr. Emily says that lip flips are particularly good for people who have a full but tight upper lip muscle, meaning that when they talk and smile their top lip seems to disappear even if it's quite full when they're relaxed.
"For the right person a lip flip makes a big difference, for others it will be subtle," she adds.
Interestingly, Dr. Emily says that Meghan isn't a great candidate for the procedure, explaining: "I wouldn't perform a lip flip on a singer in case the subtle change in upper lip strength impacted what they do," she says.
Why can't Megan Trainor smile?
Cosmetic Doctor, Dermatologist and Founder of Dr. Nyla Medispa, Dr. Nyla Raja explains that too much Botox is the cause of Meghan's frozen smile sharing that it "Makes it hard to lift your smile at the corners of the mouth. The product could also spread if it's not injected in exactly the right spot, paralyzing the muscle you did not intend it to paralyze, and therefore affecting your smile through distortion or lack of mobility."
Though it's upsetting for Meghan that she doesn't like the results of her lip flip, she will be pleased to know the effects are temporary, wearing off in two or three months. "A lip flip doesn't last as long as filler because it's a very low dosage of Botox, to keep it looking and feeling natural," says Dr. Emily.
I tried a lip flip
I've had a lip flip in the past, but unlike Meghan, I was happy with my results. My lip flip was extremely subtle, almost indetectable – and I had it done at the same time as lip filler, creating a fuller pout all around.
I had my lip flip with Dr. Ivy at 111 Skin Harley Street, who injected the tiniest amount of neuromodulator into my upper lip, and while it stung there was zero downtime and nobody was able to notice I'd had it done – but the gentle difference made an impact to me, and it was for myself I had it done.
Given that Meghan feels her lips are frozen, making her unable to smile, I suspect she had a higher dose injected, as my lips moved freely – grins included.
