Photo of a latent lip print. Source: Ana Castello et al., “Long-Lasting Lipsticks and Latent Prints,” Forensic Science Communications 4(2) (April 2002).

You’ve heard about fingerprints, footprints, and maybe even ear prints. But what about lip prints?

Around 1990, a U.S. researcher published the results of a 150-lip print study in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, which indicated that a lip print left at the scene of a crime could identify a perpetrator. Despite this endorsement, lip print evidence does not enjoy a wide acceptance in U.S. courts. Nevertheless, the interest in lip prints persists. The field of study is called cheiloscopy.

During March 2012, the Journal of Forensic Sciences published a lip print report online (“Morphologic Patterns of Lip Prints in a Portuguese Population: A Preliminary Analysis”). The study supports the idea that lip prints can distinguish individuals and may be useful in gender determination.