Advertisement
Beauty vlogger Farah Dhukai recently posted a video on Instagram of her new favorite lip filling hack: wasabi.
At just $4 a tube, wasabi is undoubtedly cheaper than any beauty procedure or product that we can otherwise purchase at the store.
According to Dhukai, all you have to do is take a “tiny amount and rub it all over your lips.” She leaves it on for just under one minute, then wipes it off with a soft, damp, warm cloth before moisturizing.
This process transforms her “wrinkly” and “dry” lips from winter into “pillow soft lips” that last an entire day.
Dhukai does include a disclaimer on her original post, saying that everyone who wants to use the wasabi plumper method should try it out on a test patch of skin before using it on their entire lips — but doctors do not approve at all.
Dr. S. Manjula Jegasothy, the founder of Miami Skin Institute, argues, “The horseradish element can be extremely irritating, especially when applied to the lips for any period of time. While this irritation is what causes temporary lip swelling, this can go on to cause profound swelling, and more dangerously, anaphylaxis, an acute allergic reaction.
“Lips do not have as much protective barrier compared to other skin, making this area more susceptible to allergies and irritations.”
The risk of dealing with a bad allergic reaction is not worth the cheap lip hack.
Instead, Dr. Jegasothy says natural lip plumping can be achieved by soaking your lips in warm water, brushing them with a toothbrush twice a week, and applying Cortizone 10 to both lips. Just be sure to wait five minutes before applying anything else to your lips.
You can see Dhukai’s original post here:
