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Extreme beauty

The rise of the bonkers crazes that see girls putting their faces and figures to the test

Have you got a "thigh-brow" or are your abs cracking? We round up six times social media has taken beauty trends too far

GOING a bit bonkers in the pursuit of prettiness is certainly nothing new, but social media takes the trend to a whole new level.

Twitter and Instagram gave us the duck face and the thigh gap… and the latest online craze sees women posting snaps of their underwear - in a bid to complete the panty challenge and prove how, erm, clean their undies are.

We round up six other strange social media ‘challenges’ that have taken the internet by storm, from all corners of the web...

Finger Trap Test

Are you perfectly proportionate? This test can tell you if your features are hot - or not - simply by placing a finger on your lips…

Your index finger should rest on your nose and chin, and if your lips are pouted enough to fall in line too, then congratulations, your face is apparently beautiful.

 Sssssh... is your face perfectly proportionate?
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Sssssh... is your face perfectly proportionate?Credit: Instagram

If not, don’t panic yet. Not all cosmetic surgeons advocate this technique… and many have argued that facial symmetry is only one way of judging attractiveness.

Phew…

iPhone Idiots

Girls have been competing to prove they’ve got the slimmest pins by measuring the width of their knees with… a smartphone.

 Do we really knee-d to know this?
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Do we really knee-d to know this?Credit: Instagram

The iPhone 6 is Apple’s biggest screen-sized release yet, which may have encouraged the trend.

If your kneecaps are both hidden by the phone, then you’re officially slender.

No word on whether Apple endorses this bizarre challenge yet…

Thunder Thigh-brow

If worrying about your eyebrows wasn’t enough, along comes another summer body struggle.

Popularised by the Kardashian-Jenner sisters, the “thigh-brow” is the crease that appears between your hips and thighs when you sit or kneel.

 Khloe and Kylie show off their "thigh-brows" in swimwear
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Khloe and Kylie show off their "thigh-brows" in swimwearCredit: Instagram

Visible in a swimsuit, the must-have body trend is supposedly evidence of a Kim K-worthy behind.

We’ll take your word for it, girls…

Ab Crack Craze

Bikini season is stressful at the best of times - but thanks to models and Insta #fitspo, a new trend has emerged to haunt our summers.

The ab crack is the newest beach craze: a defined line of must-have muscle running down the centre of your torso.

While the crack does look great with a tan, shown off under a neon bikini, it’s just not realistic.

 This trend isn't exactly ab-fab...
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This trend isn't exactly ab-fab...Credit: Instagram

For most of us, having that little body fat would be unhealthy - so we’ll be leaving the ab-crack for those lucky souls who have a naturally toned physique.

Paper-thin Posers

People who wanted to show off their slender stomachs tested them out by taking the A4 challenge.

The craze swept Weibo, the Chinese social networking site, and saw girls sharing photos of themselves with stomachs totally hidden behind the pieces of blank white paper.

 Waif-like waists.... the A4 challenge was popularised on Chinese website Weibo
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Waif-like waists.... the A4 challenge was popularised on Chinese website WeiboCredit: Instagram

The worrying trend saw girls competing to share the snaps of their trim tummies - and claiming to have "won" if their bellies were obscured.

The challenge followed another recent Chinese craze - proving your svelte status by reaching around behind your back to touch your own belly button.

Bikini Brigade

Another beach trend - and this time it's all about the space between your hips... (no, not there!)

The coveted craze involves having a noticeable gap between your hips and your bikini bottoms, creating what's been dubbed the "bikini bridge".

 The trend is sure to be seen on beaches this summer...
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The trend is sure to be seen on beaches this summer...Credit: Instagram

This craze, as well as the other in this rundown, has been criticised online for promoting an unhealthy body image - especially to young teenage girls.

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