How Do You Have Dimples? Guide

Dimples are small indentations in the skin, most often on the cheeks, that form because of a difference in how the facial muscle connects to the skin. They are largely inherited, they cannot be created by exercise or skincare, and the only reliable way to get them is a medical procedure that changes the muscle or the tissue beneath it.

Most people who have cheek dimples are born with them. The indentation shows up when they smile because a short or split cheek muscle pulls the skin inward. That is the short answer. The rest of this guide explains the anatomy, the genetics, the myths, and the realistic options for anyone who wants dimples they were not born with.

What Actually Causes Dimples?

A dimple is a structural feature, not a surface one. It comes from the way the zygomaticus major muscle — the main muscle that pulls your mouth up when you smile — attaches to the skin of your face.

In most people, this muscle runs as a single band from the cheekbone down to the corner of the mouth and attaches to the skin along the way. In people with cheek dimples, the muscle is often split into two bundles, or it is shorter than usual, or it attaches to the skin at a single point. When the muscle contracts during a smile, it pulls that point of skin inward and creates a visible dent.

This is why dimples appear when you smile and usually fade when your face is at rest. The muscle is doing the work. The skin is just following.

A related feature, the “dimple” on the chin, works differently. A chin dimple (sometimes called a cleft chin) is usually caused by a gap in the underlying jawbone or a difference in how the chin muscles meet in the middle. It is present at rest, not just when you smile.

Are Dimples Genetic?

Dimples clearly run in families. That part is not in dispute. What is less clear is the exact pattern of inheritance.

For decades, biology textbooks described cheek dimples as a simple dominant trait — one copy of a “dimple gene” from either parent and you have them. That model is now considered an oversimplification. Facial features are influenced by many genes working together, and the same genes can produce different results in different people.

What the evidence supports:

• Dimples tend to appear in families across generations.
• Two parents without dimples can still have a child with dimples.
• Two parents with dimples can have a child without them.
• Identical twins sometimes have different dimple patterns, which points to factors beyond genetics alone.

So the honest answer is that dimples are influenced by inheritance, but the genetics are more complicated than the old dominant-versus-recessive story suggests. No single gene has been confirmed as “the dimple gene.”

How Do You Have Dimples If Your Parents Don’t?

You can have dimples even if neither parent has them. This happens because the genes that shape facial muscles and skin are not controlled by one switch. Many genes contribute, and combinations can produce a feature that neither parent visibly shows.

There is also a difference between a genotype (the genetic instructions you carry) and a phenotype (the feature that actually shows). A parent can carry the genetic variations that contribute to dimples without having visible dimples themselves. Pass those variations on, and a child may express the trait.

Facial fat also matters. Dimples are more obvious in some people than others depending on how much subcutaneous fat sits over the cheek muscle. A person with the same muscle anatomy but more facial fat may show a shallower dimple, or none at all.

Can You Develop Dimples Later in Life?

Yes, but it is uncommon and usually tied to a change in the tissue, not to a new muscle pattern.

Dimples that appear in adulthood are most often linked to one of these:

• Weight loss. Losing facial fat can make an existing muscle attachment more visible.
• Injury or scarring. Trauma to the cheek can tether skin to deeper tissue and create a permanent indentation.
• Surgery. Procedures on the face can change how skin and muscle connect.
• Age-related tissue changes. Loss of collagen and fat over time can change how the face moves.

What does not cause dimples: smiling a lot, facial exercises, chewing gum, or any cream or serum. Muscle use builds muscle. It does not create a new attachment point between muscle and skin. Any product claiming to “train” dimples into your face is not supported by clinical evidence.

What Is the Difference Between Cheek Dimples and Other Facial Dimples?

Not all dimples are the same feature, and they do not all come from the same anatomy.

Cheek dimples are the most common. They appear when you smile and are caused by the zygomaticus major muscle attachment described above. They can be one-sided or appear on both cheeks.

Chin dimples (cleft chin) are present at rest and are usually linked to a gap in the jawbone or a difference in how the chin muscles meet. They are not caused by smiling.

Corner-of-mouth dimples sit right at the edge of the lips and are sometimes called “dimples of Venus” in older texts, though that term is also used for a different feature on the lower back. They form where the muscle meets the skin near the mouth corner.

Lower-back dimples are a separate thing entirely. They are not related to facial muscle anatomy and are usually just a normal variation in how the skin sits over the sacrum.

One non-obvious point: a dimple that appears suddenly in adulthood, especially if it is on only one side and came with no weight change or injury, is worth having a doctor look at. In rare cases, a new facial indentation can reflect a change in underlying tissue. That is not a common scenario, but it is a reason not to ignore a sudden change.

Can You Get Dimples Without Surgery?

No. There is no exercise, device, cream, or routine that has been shown to create a true dimple.

This is worth stating plainly because the internet is full of claims otherwise. Facial exercises can strengthen muscles, but a dimple is not a muscle-strength issue. It is an attachment issue. You cannot train a muscle to attach to skin at a new point.

Makeup can create the appearance of a dimple for a few hours. So can contouring products and temporary adhesives. These are cosmetic tricks, not changes to your anatomy, and they wash off.

What Are the Medical Options for Creating Dimples?

The only methods that can create a lasting dimple are procedures performed by a qualified clinician. There are two main approaches, and both work by changing the relationship between the cheek muscle and the skin.

Dimpleplasty (surgical dimple creation). A small procedure, usually done under local anesthesia, in which the surgeon creates a connection between the cheek muscle and the underside of the skin. When the muscle moves, the skin follows and a dimple forms. Recovery is generally short, but swelling and bruising are expected, and the final result takes weeks to settle.

Dermal filler or thread techniques. Some clinicians use injectable filler or dissolvable threads to create a temporary indentation. Results are not permanent and typically fade over months. Evidence on how well these techniques work long-term is limited.

Important caveats that apply to all of these:

• Results vary. A created dimple may be deeper, shallower, or positioned differently than expected.
• Risks include infection, scarring, asymmetry, nerve injury, and a dimple that is visible even when you are not smiling.
• Reversal is possible but not always simple.
• No large, long-term studies have compared these techniques head to head, so claims about which is “best” are not strongly supported.

This is elective cosmetic surgery. It is not medically necessary, and it carries real risks. Anyone considering it should consult a board-certified plastic surgeon or dermatologist and ask specifically about their complication rates and revision rates.

Do Dimples Mean Anything About Your Health?

For the vast majority of people, cheek dimples are a harmless variation in facial anatomy. They are not a sign of any disease, and they do not affect how your face functions.

There is one exception worth knowing. A specific pattern of facial features — including certain ear and jaw differences — can be part of a recognized genetic syndrome. But cheek dimples alone are not a marker for any condition. If dimples appear alongside other unusual physical features or developmental concerns, that combination is what a doctor would evaluate, not the dimples by themselves.

Lower-back dimples are also usually harmless, but a deep or unusual one can occasionally be associated with a spinal cord issue in infants. That is a pediatric concern, not an adult one, and it is evaluated by a doctor rather than self-assessed.