Doctors Warn People About The Dangers Of "Glitter Tongue"

By Sughra Hafeez in Fashion On 26th October 2017
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#1

Instagram is a place for photo ops and makeup experiments, which means that sometimes people post photos of looks you would not wear outside. A prime example of that is the new trend of putting glitter directly on your tongue. It's called Glitter Tongue, obviously.

#2

The "trend" involves coating your tongue in glitter and snapping a photo - yep, you can't even put it back in your mouth.

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#3

And if you've ever done your makeup with glitter, you know you'll most likely find sparkles on your body for the next day or two - IT JUST DOESN'T GO AWAY!

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#4

Social media is awash with pictures of women – and some men – sporting the look which has become popular at festivals.

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#5

The craze appears to have been prompted by Australian make-up artist Jacinta Vukovic accidentally instigated the glitter tongue when some sparkles mistakenly ended up on her tongue during the creation of a dazzling lip look.

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“I thought I would embrace it and make it the main focus,” she wrote on Instagram.

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#7

Since then, the trend has gone viral with fellow make-up artists and glitter enthusiasts attempting to recreate the glitzy mouth look.

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It follows the glitter boob trend – also dubbed 'disco tits' – as well as women 'glitter bombing' their vaginas.

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According to the Daily Mail, swallowing glitter can make you constipated, put unhealthy bacteria in your stomach, and make your poops more interesting (that last fact comes from me, a non-scientist). It's plastic.

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#10

Dr. Adam Simon, chief medical officer at online GP service Push Doctor, said: 'Most glitter products aren't edible and therefore should not be put on the tongue, as it is likely even a small amount may be swallowed.

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On a larger scale, glitter is also bad for the environment. It’s made up of microplastics which can leach chemicals and harbor dangerous bacteria that gets into our water and food supply.

#12

If you do fancy giving the glitter tongue a go, we suggest opting for edible glitter like the stuff used in cake decorating or opting for a product that labels itself as non-toxic.

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#13

Edible glitters are digestible by the body and made solely of ingredients which are food based.

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Typically they're made from either sugar or gum arabic, with licensed colors and other coatings to give the sparkle.