The Bottom Lip Thing on TikTok, Explained

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Trend expert Gavin Santiago shares everything you need to know about the bottom lip thing

Co-authored by Gavin Santiago and Marcus Pruitt, BS

Last Updated: November 14, 2025 Fact Checked

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• What is the bottom lip thing on TikTok?
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• Biting Lower Lip Meaning
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• Biting Someone’s Bottom Lip While Kissing
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• Conrad Lip Tug Trend

|Show more |Show less

If you’ve heard about the bottom lip thing on TikTok and are just as confused as we were, don’t worry—we’ve sleuthed through the app to help you figure out what exactly the bottom lip thing is (spoiler: it actually refers to a few different things). We also explain the Conrad lip tug (another popular TikTok trend), and what biting your bottom lip means. Read on to learn all about TikTok’s obsession with the bottom lip, with expert insights from a trend expert and dating coaches!

The Bottom Lip Thing Meaning

Trend expert Gavin Santiago says the “bottom lip thing” can refer to a few different things, like when someone gently bites their partner’s bottom lip while kissing or when someone can flip their bottom lip inside out. It can also refer to the theory that men with shiny bottom lips are gay.

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Section 1 of 4:

What is the bottom lip thing on TikTok?

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   “The bottom lip thing” could be referring to when someone bites their partner’s bottom lip when making out. Santiago explains that the “bottom lip thing” refers to someone paying extra attention to your bottom lip when they kiss you, which can include a gentle bite or sucking on it. This phenomenon has recently gained popularity on TikTok, but it has been around long before the popular social media platform.

   • TikTok Example: On June 30, 2025, @cheesecakefactorylover67 posted a TikTok about how much they like the bottom lip thing, grinning from ear to ear with the caption “how it feels like to kiss someone who does the bottom lip thing.”
   • TikTok Example: On August 14, 2025, @itstreylander posted a TikTok about how they like people who know how to do the bottom lip thing, smiling and saying “how it feels kissing someone who does the bottom lip thing and has good hand placement.”
   • The bottom lip thing is best done gently, as Santiago notes that hard bites can leave your partner with a bruised lip.
   • Santiago adds that the “bottom lip thing” is related to how “people talk about being a top lip person or a bottom lip person,” when it comes to their kissing preferences. He says, “it could be awkward when you kiss somebody who goes for the same lip you do.”

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Gavin Santiago is a trend expert & content creator who posts commentaries, pop culture hot takes, and nostalgia deep dives to his 45k+ TikTok followers.

   Maya Diamond, MA is a relationship coach with 15 years of experience helping singles create lasting partnerships.

   Eddy Baller is a dating coach and owner of Conquer and Win, a dating consulting and coaching service.
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   The ‘bottom lip thing” can also refer to when someone is able to flip their bottom lip inside out. Not everyone can do the bottom lip thing, but for those who can, it’s an exciting phenomenon. To do the bottom lip thing, you just have to pucker your bottom lip out and press it down into your chin.

   • TikTok Example: On October 5, 2020, @itscarlchiasson posted a TikTok of themselves doing the bottom lip thing and saying, “I thought everyone could do it!”
   • TikTok Example: On October 17, 2022, @brenandharry posted a TikTok captioned “When your boyfriend does the bottom lip thing” with audio of comedian Druski saying “don’t do that,” highlighting how it looks like a frown.
   • Santiago mentions that some TikTok accounts refer to the “bottom lip thing” (folding the bottom lip downward) as pouting.
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   The bottom lip thing is also a theory that if a man’s bottom lip is shiny, he’s gay. According to the theory, gay men are the only ones who wear chapstick, lipstick, or lip gloss, and if you come across any man wearing one of those three things, then he’s gay (which, for the record, is obviously not true). A lot of people find this theory to be offensive since it puts men in a box and automatically assumes their sexuality based on how well they take care of their lips.

   • TikTok Example: On September 10, 2025, @bigekane765 posted a clip of influencer Ekane saying that a person should send a picture of their boyfriend’s bottom lip to her so she can determine whether or not he’s gay.
   • TikTok Example: On September 19, 2025, @qbhendrix_ posted a TikTok talking about how goofy the theory was, as he wears chapstick and isn’t gay.
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Section 2 of 4:

Biting Lower Lip Meaning

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   When someone bites their lower lip around you, it could mean they’re flirting. It’s their subtle way of letting you know they’re interested in you. The person will often make direct eye contact, too.

   • Santiago agrees, saying, “If somebody is biting their own bottom lip while staring at you, it’s likely a sign of attraction, or repressed desire.”
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   Biting your bottom lip can also be a sign of anxiety. Not only is anxiety uncomfortable, but it also tends to come with a feeling that you’ve lost control. While anxious people can’t control the situations that spark their anxiety, they can (and often do) bite their lips to express it and self-soothe.
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Section 3 of 4:

How to Bite Someone’s Bottom Lip While Kissing

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   Gently bite your partner’s bottom lip while you’re making out. Ramp up the passion by gently grabbing their chin or the back of their head and pulling them deeper into the kiss, rubbing their back, and tongue kissing. You can even gently tug on your partner’s bottom lip as you’re biting it to make things even more spicy.

   • Consent is key here, so keep an eye on their body language and ask for permission to keep going.
   • Don’t shove your tongue into their mouth if you want to tongue kiss. Instead, gently press your tongue into their mouth and keep it in motion as you explore.
   • Gentle is the key word here. Relationship coach Maya Diamond, MA, says that “really aggressive kissing isn’t good.” Don’t chomp down on their lip, as it can hurt them and break the building tension.
   • Where you put your hands is up to you and your partner. Communicate with them and see what’s okay and not okay. If your partner indicates that they’re not cool with the lip tug, pull back and stop doing it.
   • Santiago says he thinks people like the bottom lip thing “because when it happens to them, it catches them off guard [and] some people really like this element of surprise. It can also be a sign that the person doing the bottom lip thing is a really good kisser.”
   EXPERT TIP

   

   Eddy Baller

   Dating Coach

   Eddy Baller is a men’s dating coach and founder of Conquer and Win, a Vancouver-based service that helps men break free from loneliness and meet the women they truly want. Since 2011, he has coached men to overcome approach anxiety, spark real attraction, and build meaningful relationships—without relying on dating apps, gimmicks, or luck. Through both online sessions and in-person coaching, Eddy gives live feedback as clients meet women in everyday places, making confidence feel natural and conversations effortless. His mission is simple: to help men get into meaningful, long-term relationships.

   

   Eddy Baller
   Dating Coach

   Matching your partner’s movements helps with chemistry while kissing. Whatever their movements are, you’ll want to match them and be the yin to their yang. For example, if they’re rubbing your back, caress their upper back to match their energy.

Section 4 of 4:

What is the Conrad Lip Tug?

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1. 
   The Conrad lip tug is when Conrad Fisher from The Summer I Turned Pretty tugs his upper lip. On TikTok, people love how Conrad often slightly raises the corner of his upper lip and flashes his teeth. Some people find it attractive and others just think it’s silly, making funny TikToks where they attempt to recreate the iconic lip tug.

   • TikTok Example: On August 8, 2025, @kassmtaylor posted a TikTok expressing how much they like Conrad’s lip tug, playfully getting flustered as they captioned the video “that lil upper lip tug thing Conrad does…”
   • TikTok Example: On September 3, 2025, @neeks5448 posted a TikTok showing a clip of Conrad doing the lip tug before imitating him, captioning it “Lip tug every time Conrad throws one.”
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