Hundreds of young women — and men — are having lip fillers these days. This is an operation to make the lips look fuller and sexier. But this procedure sometimes fails.
This is a lesson plan about cosmetic surgery — and what happens if it goes wrong. For younger students, this could be a highly engaging topic. You will find that they will want to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having lip fillers.
You can also download the full lesson plan today. Just click the link below…
Lip Fillers
Read Chloe’s account below:
It was the worst day of my life.
I regret it and I will never do it again. My lips are ruined for life.
I never really wanted to have lip fillers anyway.
But one of my friends had hers done. And they looked good on her.
Before her lips were fine. Nothing wrong with them. But she had lip fillers and suddenly she looked like a movie star. Her lips were really full and plump.
I remember we went out together that weekend and she got loads of attention. Guys checked her out. But so did other girls.
And she said that having her lips done made her feel more confident in herself.
I said that it wasn’t for me, I was happy with the way I looked.
And I was.
But then every time I saw my friend I couldn’t help but stare at her lips. The way she talked, the way she smiled. When she laughed. She just looked so amazing.
In the end, I asked her for the name of the clinic where she had her lips done and I booked an appointment.
When I got to the clinic, the first thing I noticed was how clean it all looked.
Everything was white and it just felt so hygienic.
The nurse was very nice and she told me what the procedure involved and how much.
Before I knew it, I was handing her my credit card and she made me sign some forms and that was it.
I didn’t have time to think about anything. The nurse made an appointment for me to go back to the clinic in two days.
I felt nervous about it and wondered whether I should cancel but then it came time to go and off I went.
The doctor gave me a local anaesthetic. I could sense what was happening but I couldn’t feel too much. It just felt numb — like being at the dentist.
As the doctor gave me the injections into my lips, he told me what I should expect the next day. He told me that my mouth might feel numb the next day too. But he said that after a couple of days, the swelling should settle down and I would have fuller lips.
I left the clinic and went home. My lips felt a little sensitive by the time I got home.
I ate some food and went to bed.
But I woke up the next day to this agonizing pain.
I knew that something was wrong. My lips felt like they were on fire.
I wanted to scratch at them but I thought I should just put some cool water on my lips instead.
I rushed to the bathroom and when I looked in the mirror I was horrified.
My lips were really swollen. Like they had been seriously burnt. And they were bright red. There was pus dripping from two holes where the skin had cracked open.
I knew this could not be right so I tried to call the clinic. But my lips hurt so badly that I could barely speak.
I got in a taxi and rushed straight to the clinic. When I got there, the look on the nurse’s face told me everything I needed to know.
But the doctor just said I should give it a couple of days and everything would be fine.
He just kept smiling and told me it was nothing to worry about.
I went home and the pain just became much worse.
It became so painful that I went to hospital. They had to operate and remove parts of my lips.
That was three weeks ago and I am now waiting to see if I can get surgery to make my lips look normal again.
I look like a monster and I have hardly been out the house at all.
The nurse said that I signed a contract that means the clinic cannot be held responsible.
Reading Comprehension Questions
What is Chloe describing in the first three sentences?
Did she want to have lip fillers?
What did her friend do?
How did her friend look?
Were Chloe’s friend’s lips acceptable before?
How did she look after having lip fillers?
What happened when Chloe went out with her friend?
How did her friend feel?
What did Chloe notice in her friend every time she saw her?
What did she ask her friend for?
What did Chloe notice about the clinic?
What colour was the clinic?
Did Chloe walk out of the clinic?
How did Chloe feel for the next two days?
What did the doctor give her in the clinic?
What did the doctor talk about as he did the lip fillers?
How did Chloe’s lips feel when she went home?
What did she do at home?
How did she feel the next day?
How did her lips look?
What did she do next?
What did the doctor say to her?
Where did Chloe go next?
What is she waiting for?
What did the nurse say about the contract?
Essential Vocabulary
regret | ruined | lip fillers |
movie star | full | plump |
attention | to check out | confident |
stare | amazing | clinic |
hygienic | procedure | involved |
to hand someone something | forms | appointment |
nervous | cancel | anaesthetic |
sense | numb | injections |
swelling | settle down | fuller |
sensitive | agonizing | pain |
on fire | scratch | rush |
horrified | swollen | burnt |
pus | dripping | cracked |
barely | operate | operate |
surgery | monster | responsible |
Exercise
Write down all the words and phrases in your vocabulary notebook. Look in your dictionary and find the meaning of each word. Write the definition next to each word.
Then make up your own sentences using each word or phrase.
For example:
Regret —a feeling of sadness or disappointment about something we said or did that we wish we had not.
“I regret leaving my last job – I was happy there and should not have resigned.”
Discussion Questions
What are lip fillers?
Why do people have this operation?
What kind of people have lip fillers?
Do you think Chloe would have had lip fillers if her friend had not had them?
Why do you think Chloe changed her mind about having lip fillers?
What do you think about the clinic that she went to? Do you think this place was legitimate?
What do you think was in the contract that Chloe signed?
What do you think went wrong with Chloe’s operation?
How would you react if you were Chloe do you think?
Do people have lip fillers in your country? Why/why not?
Would you like to have lip fillers? Why/why not?
Who has lip fillers more? Men or women? Why?
Why have lip fillers become so popular recently?
Do you think people are influenced too easily about how they should look?
What do you think about this?
Do you think it is better to be natural? Or is some cosmetic surgery acceptable?
Should there be stricter laws about these kinds of operations? Why/why not?
Role Play
This is a role play activity.
There are two characters in this role play
• Chloe
• A Friend
The Situation
Chloe is thinking about having lip fillers. Her friend has had lip fillers and she looks great so now Chloe would like fuller and more beautiful lips.
She is talking to another friend about lip fillers.
Chloe is convinced she is going to have lip fillers and feel more confident with her new look.
But the friend she is talking to has a different idea. She thinks Chloe is only doing this because her friend had it done. She thinks she is being influenced by her friend.
The friend also thinks Chloe looks amazing as she is — she is naturally beautiful.
Work in pairs. Take some time to prepare your role play.
When you are ready, show the class!
Debate: Too Much Plastic Surgery!
This is a debate activity.
Divide the class into two groups of equal number. Choose one student to act as chairperson. This student needs to chair the debate and make sure everyone has a chance to speak. They must also ensure there is order and not to allow the debate teams to just shout at each other!
The Situation
It seems as if no one is happy with their appearance. What is going on? Why do so many people want to change the way they look?
Is this an acceptable way for people to live? Or should we try to encourage people to be happy with how they look naturally?
Team A
You think there are far too many people having plastic surgery these days.
Young women — and young men — are being unfairly influenced by images they see online. They are being encouraged to have surgery to change their eyes, nose, lips, ears.
And if that were not enough, many others want to change other parts of their body.
It has to stop!
People should accept themselves and be confident in how they look.
Team B
You think people should be allowed to live exactly as they please.
If they want to have plastic surgery and change everything about their face, it is their business.
And some people may need plastic surgery.
What if they had an accident that made a part of their face look terrible? Isn’t it acceptable to allow people to make changes in this situation?
We should live and let live.
Both teams should prepare their arguments and the things they want to say before the debate.
Then when both teams are ready, start the debate!
What do you think?
This is a class activity.
Find pictures of plastic surgery. Look at each of the pictures one by one. Discuss what you think about this person and the surgery they have had done.
• Do you think they should have had plastic surgery?
• Have they done the right thing?
• Do you think they look good or not?
Would you have this kind of surgery? Is it worth it?
Writing
This is a creative writing exercise.
Continue the story from the beginning of the lesson about Chloe.
Think about the following questions
• Does Chloe go back to the clinic to get the doctor to correct the surgery?
• Does she go to hospital for treatment?
• Does she talk to her friend who had lip filler first?
Maybe the story ends tragically. But it could also end happily for Chloe.
It is up to you — you are the writer.
Write your story. And when you are finished, read it out loud in class.
Or you can ask your teacher to give you feedback.
You can download the full lesson plan by clicking the link below!
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