Clara Bow to Russian Lips: Lip Trends Through The Years
The beauty and cosmetic world is a constantly evolving organism that changes seemingly overnight thanks to all of the social media platforms and the general fickleness of humans. If it weren’t for Instagram, I’d have no idea what new trends were popular, and even so, I still feel like I’m always behind the curve by a minute. Nothing makes a person feel older than staring at a screen wondering if a new trend is real or if it’s actually a humorous meme. Recently I saw pictures referring to the “Russian Lip” fad. I had to look this up because I had no idea what it was (more details about that later.) Looking at these puffed-up lips got me thinking about how lip trends have changed through the decades with and without the help of fillers.
The 1920s
Clara Bow
The first real trend in lips was in the 1920s by actress Clara Bow as she came onto the movie scene as a teenager who truly personified the look of the Roaring Twenties. With her bobbed hair and flapper dresses, she used her lips to draw focus to her face on-screen in her black and white movies. The “Clara Bow Lip” was all about sharply defining the Cupid’s bow to emulate a heart-shaped bee-stung look in dark red, burgundy, plum, and brownish-reds. It was poutier in the center and much thinner on the outside. There were even lip stencils to help achieve the ideal lip shape.
The 1930s
Joan Crawford
As the 30s were welcomed in, lips with the exaggerated Cupid’s bow fell out of favor to be replaced with a more natural curve. Marlene Dietrich and Joan Crawford are great examples of the smooth, undulating curvy lip. Upper lips were often overdrawn to flatten out the peaks of the bow, creating symmetrically rounded corners and elongating the lips to look more like an archer’s bow.
The 1940s
Much like the previous decade, lips were still soft and natural in shape and drawn in to reduce the Cupid’s bow and all the way out to the corners. Strong, bold reds were still very on-trend popularized even more by technicolor movies - think Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly- but now there was a shade for every season.
The 1950s
Marilyn Monroe
With the onset of World War II and more women joining the workforce, lips in this decade took a more practical approach. A more natural rounded border was the preferred shape for this time. What stood out more than the shape was the color; it was all about red! During the war, there were makeup shortages but manufacturers continued to make what they could as they felt it was a morale booster. The popular red shades were also thought to be very patriotic in the midst of all the instability.
The 1960s
Lips started to change in the mid-60s with the influence of hippies, Woodstock, and the sexual revolution. Eyes became the focus with heavy lashes and winged liner while lips became full pouts coated in frosty pastels and nude pinks. This decade is when plastic surgeons began to use silicone injections to augment the natural shape until some red flags were raised in regards to their safety, which eventually were found to be unwarranted.
The 1970s and 1980s
Dolly Parton
Lips started to get bigger when a new filler hit the scene made of bovine collagen (think Dolly Parton). Popular bovine products were Zyderm I, Zyderm II, and Zyplast all getting pre-market FDA approval between 1981 and 1985. Patients would have had to get allergy tested to make sure they weren’t allergic to the product before having it injected. Because of this risk of an allergic reaction, a shift to human collagen fillers like Comsoderm and Cosmoplast became more preferred since they didn’t pose any allergic risk.
The 1990s
This decade brought forth how we look at lip augmentation today. Human collagen fillers were still en vogue but not nearly as efficacious as the injectables we use today.
The 2000s
Kylie Jenner before Lip Filler (L) and with Lip Filler (R)
The 2000s brought with it a plethora of new hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers that we still use today. HA is naturally found in the body and has a low incidence of reactions. Fast forward to 2015 when Kylie Jenner admitted to getting her lips done, there was a 1000% increase in lip injections in the US since 2000. When it came to shaping, anything seemed to go. Statistics show these types of injections seem to be an easy way to test the water of cosmetic procedures eventually leading to more complex surgeries.
All of this leads me to today and a trend that I’m seeing frequently online called “Russian Lips.” Depending on what you google, this trend can be about the actual technique of injecting (injecting droplets of filler vertically under the skin versus laying lines of filler at the border) or just the shape. These lips have a very full, pillowy heart shape with the most volume present right in the center. As I write this, there are 178,896 posts on Instagram with the hashtag #russianlips with more appearing daily. After some discussion with our office physicians and injectors, this look would be best for those with already full lips. Instead of chasing trends, work with what you already have. You don’t want to be the person people say, “Look at her filler” instead of “look at her lips.” If it’s noticeable then it’s probably too much.