TikTok stories with a lot of personal confessions and emotional life truths are going viral in recent times, especially by creators. A similar kind of TikTok creator is cautioning beauty enthusiasts that a popular cosmetic surgery procedure may come with some unexpectedly awkward side effects that are not widely known.
Samantha (@samanthawlipedema) revealed that after getting a “lip flip, a Botox treatment designed to make the upper lip curl upward and appear fuller, she can no longer rub her lips together.
This procedure reportedly makes routine activities like applying lip gloss, drinking coffee, and even forming certain sounds surprisingly tricky.“There’s nothing more awkward than someone with a lip flip trying to put on lip gloss,” she joked in a TikTok video posted on October 25, 2025, as she showed her followers the difficulty she faced.
A lip flip is a nonsurgical procedure that makes your lips appear fuller after doctors inject botulinum toxin into the corners of your mouth (oral commissures). This substance relaxes the muscles, causing the upper lip to “flip” upward. (via Daily Dot).
However, Samantha warned, “What they don’t tell you about a lip flip is how funny it looks when you try to get your top lip to touch your bottom lip. I’ve been laughing at myself for 20 minutes.”
“Need a bib just to drink coffee”: Woman issues PSA after lip flip gives her awkward side effects https://t.co/PhqGGeb0cL pic.twitter.com/qthaHzdCAB
— The Daily Dot (@dailydot) October 29, 2025
Samantha’s TikTok PSA quickly gained traction, racking up over 69,000 views and 150 comments. Many viewers shared that their own lip flips took time to heal and made daily life a little tricky.
“I need a bib just to drink my morning coffee,” one user commented. “I want a lip flip! I read that saying your Ps and Bs can be hard,” another one said. “Lolll, I was surprised by drinking through a straw the first time!” a third added.
For context, lip flips aren’t for everyone. Those who have thin lips and want to have attractive and fuller lips can benefit more from dermal fillers. Dermal fillers are also ideal for people who wish to reduce the signs of aging, minimize skin depressions and scars, and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
A lot of celebrities and people from the entertainment industry choose to do dermal fillers or Botox, rather than lip flips. They take time to heal, and completing simple chores in life with them is more demanding.
The disadvantages of getting a lip flip include the inability to keep food/drink in the mouth, long-term numbness, and difficulty speaking, singing, or playing instruments.
Lip filler vs lip flip
Lip flip uses a teeny bit of Botox or Dysport to relax the muscle above your lip so it flips slightly outward. No volume added, just a touch of shape and definition.
Lip filler is made of hyaluronic acid (which your body already produces, btw). pic.twitter.com/PRtt2r5ieU
— Morpheus Medical Aesthetics – Medical Beauty Spa (@MorpheusMedSpa) October 23, 2025
The procedure has gained a lot of popularity on TikTok recently. Dr Ashley Amalfi, a New York-based plastic surgeon and member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, claimed, “It is not new at all but has gained a lot of popularity in recent years”. Dr Amalfi also claimed that a lot of people confuse lip fillers and lip flip.
I actually have a top lip when I smile now omgggg! The first picture is from March, and the last two are from today now that I’ve had two lip flip procedures done pic.twitter.com/UPDYjb4eu9
— double foot amputee colonel sanders (@thisisnefertiti) September 19, 2020
While lip flips use a neuromodulator such as Botox, lip fillers are injections of a thicker material, and both are very different cosmetic procedures. In simple terms, lip flips should be opted for by people who want their procedure to relax their muscles. Lip fillers last longer than lip flips. (via American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
