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What are Dimples?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

A dimple is any sort of indentation, but most people use the term to refer specifically to indentations in the skin, particularly on the cheeks. Dimpled cheeks are considered attractive in many cultures, and they are a common genetic trait. Most are actually caused by a birth defect, which just goes to show that not all “malformations” are actually bad.

The most common cause of dimples is a shortened muscle, which explains why they are not always apparent when a person is at rest, since this is when the muscles are typically in their shortened state. In the face, shorter face muscles pull at the skin, especially when someone smiles, creating a classic dimple. Over time, the muscles of the face can slowly stretch out, which is why some people have them when they are young, but lose them as they age. Dimples can also form on other body parts, like the buttocks. Those in other regions are usually not as highly prized as those on the face, perhaps because the face is readily visible, while other body parts are not.

Boy with dimples on his cheeks.
Boy with dimples on his cheeks.

The genetics of dimples is actually rather interesting. They are a dominant trait, which means that it only takes one gene to inherit this defect. If neither parent has dimples, their children shouldn't have them either, unless they experience a spontaneous mutation. If one parent has them, the child has a 25-50% chance of inheriting the gene, since it means that parent inherited the gene from one or both parents. If both parents have dimples, the child has a 50-100% chance of inheriting the gene, depending on how the parents inherited theirs.

Women with dimples are often thought of as attractive.
Women with dimples are often thought of as attractive.

In most cases, facial dimples appear on the cheeks, although they can also pop up on the chin, and they are typically not visible until someone smiles because of how the muscles are used. Some people only have a dimple on one side, however, and some people find this physical trait to be rather endearing. The look of dimples can also vary; as an inherited trait, unusual ones can be passed on through multiple generations of a family.

Because dimples can fade with time as someone's facial muscles stretch out, many people associate them with youth. Children are referred to as having dimpled cheeks, for example, and someone who has them may be thought of as youthful or baby faced.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

anon994796

I have dimples, and every single time I smile, my friend pinches my cheeks, but I seriously don't see them.

anon957995

Dimples are the cutest traits that one can have. They give a unique smile to someone's face. My mum has deep ones on the cheeks and I also have deep ones on my cheeks. My face looks young and most people cannot even guess my age. Oh, the blessings that I thank God for: no wrinkles but dimples. Sweet.

anon933367

I have butt, back, and cheek dimples but I only have one dimple on my face (on my right side) and everyone thinks it's weird because you normally don't see a lot of people with just one. So they like to poke it and put their finger there because it's so deep and you can see it when I'm either talking, eating, angry, laughing, and smiling -- or really any emotion -- and people point it out and it starts to get annoying, but I look cute when I smile so I put up with all of it.

anon927772

I have shoulder indents. Most people would call them dimples, I guess, but they are deeper than that. You can place the pad of your pointer finger in them. If you touch them, it's like a separation of bone or something. It kind of feels weird when a person touches them.

Me, I really don't feel anything. I have always had them. My mother has them and all three of my own children have them. My grandmother used to tell me that it was where my angel wings were. And they cut them off so I could be with them. ( I know, morbid, but I always liked the fact she tried to make me feel special. I have never met anyone else who has them outside my own family.) I like the fact they make me unique.

anon320655

So I've had dimples since I was born and no one at all has dimples in my family -- not my mom, not my dad, not my grandparents, not even my aunt or uncles, and no cousins, either. So I was just wondering how did I end up with them (don't say I was adopted either, because I look dead on like my mother).

anon316199

I'm 13, and I have Back dimples, shoulder dimples and cheek dimples. And everybody pokes my the dimples in my face and I hate it. But you can see them when I'm mad, talking, eating or just sitting there because they're that deep. Does anyone else hate that? I know I do, but when I smile I look really cute.

anon307763

I have multiple dimples on my face, but the most dominant are easily my cheeks. I can be angry, sad, or smiling away and they seem to show through, no matter what. They haven't faded even slightly since I was a child.

I also have very prominent lower back dimples. For the longest,time I thought it meant I was fat, so I never mentioned it. But as I've lost weight they've gotten even more noticeable and I just realized they're pretty common.

anon301274

I have a dimple on each shoulder blade very near the shoulder joint. Right side is most pronounced. Always had them from what I can remember. Not sure if genetically predisposed or not. My sister and one of my brothers have regular cheek dimples. I think my dad has them too, but with his thick facial hair, but it's hard to tell and I always forget to ask. My friends and I joke that eventually I'll find my inner dragon and sprout wings.

anon297721

I have seven dimples on my face and at least 34 on various other parts of my body. I have trouble with excessive dimples on my buttocks.

anon278500

I have somewhat unusual dimples. Their location is in the area below my lips and off to the sides on either side. They're tiny little circles and I have to be smiling a little hard to have them present. Meanwhile, my boyfriend has one very deep dimple on his left cheek that is visible with even the tiniest expression. Sometimes I envy him for it. I get jealous of people who have normal dimples that belong on their cheeks. Why can't mine be normal?

anon266800

Joke. I actually am quite similar to my family but I love my dimples. My mum said my dad had them before he put on a little bit of weight.

I think all dimples are awesome and all my friends love my dimples too, and apart from my cheeks and back, my mouth always looks like I'm pouting (which gets annoying) because it has little indentations all around it and I don't know if that's dimples or not.

anon266799

I have dimples on my face. The one on the left side is more prominent than the right. I have dimples on my lower back also. Nobody else in my family has them but I know I'm not adopted because apart from that I look like them, except my hair is lighter than theirs, and my eyes are grey rather than blue, but I actually do look like them. Now I'm worried.

anon253571

I have one on my right cheek, which is not very deep, and one on my left shoulder and butt dimples but no one else in my family does. I sometimes wish I had them in both cheeks, but I also have a beautiful gap so it makes up for the loss of my dimples.

anon253340

My parents have dimples and I do too. However, I didn't know that they could vanish with age. I get annoyed when people want to poke it. I hope my kids inherit them.

anon239231

I have five dimples: two on the left side of my mouth, two on the right side and one under the right side of my lip.

anon235302

I'm the only person in my whole family who has dimples. We have pictures and portraits of all our ancestors and no one has dimples, and it rather puzzles me because I do not look like any of them in general. They all have blond hair and icy blue eyes while I have a reddish light brown hair color and green-blue eyes that look more like sea water than the pretty sky blue that they have. Gosh. I think I'm adopted.

anon220617

No one in my family that I know has dimples. However, I have one on my left cheek. It doesn't come out when I smile, only when I eat or talk. It's quite frustrating because I have to try so hard to make it visible.

anon216787

I have two deep dimples, one on each cheek (face). I'm the only one of my siblings that has them but my mom has one on her left cheek she has a faint one on her right. I love my dimples. I'm 12 and when I was younger my mom always said how cute they were and it embarrassed me, but now I love them.

anon214472

I think it's funny how exact my family is when it comes to genetics. My father has dimples and my mother doesn't. As a result, my two little sisters have dimples, but my older sister and I do not.

anon213023

I am 29 years old and I have two huge dimples, on each side of my face that are very visible not only when I smile but when I speak also, yet neither my mom nor my dad has dimples. However, my aunt on my mother's side does. I am the oldest of six children and I am the only one with them. Strange, yet I wouldn't trade my dimples for the world. They are one of my most beautiful features. --DB-TX

anon208074

All my mother's kids have dimples and she does as well, but neither of her parents have them.

anon178294

I have a friend with shallow dimples. Then my other one, has only a little one on one of her cheeks. I pick on them and tell them that they are deformed.

anon176613

My dimples are identical to my grandmother's dimples. My grandmother on my dad's side of the family. We look so much alike that people think she is my twin sister or my mother. They were looking at a picture of her when she was my age. She passed away long time ago. Also, we have the same name and my daughter said that I am reincarnated. It is astonishing how much I look like her.

anon176104

i got my dimple by smashing my face into a table.

my friends always tell me when they see my one-dimpled face is that 'dimples are a birth defect', which then makes me reply: "well it's good thing i wasn't born with it". here's how i got my dimple: when i was six years old my older sister and i were at my father's tennis club playing in the lounge, my sister puts a hat over my face and says come catch by listening to the sound of voice. me being so gullible, I said yes and ended up running face first into the corner of a table. ever since then my cheek has never been the same.

anon169599

I have two dimples in the middle of my lower lip.

anon159400

I have a dimple on my right cheek, only my right cheek. I can only wink my left eye and my mom says that I can't wink the right because of my dimple. Is this right?

anon153727

are those 'eye dimples' like Emmanuelle Vaugier has? My niece has them and I always tease her about it.

anon152560

My sister and I have a dimple on the left side of our faces, my brother and mother have dimples on both sides, But the weirdest things is my baby sister has a dimple on her chin and on the middle of her chest. It says that people usually grow out of the dimples but my mother is 37 and she still has them deep and she is proud of them, I asked my dad what was one thing he liked about her appearance, he said that when she smiled her dimples were as deep as they were when they met. So far every girl that has gone out with my brother complement him about his dimples.

anon148499

dimples are so cute! i have like four of them but they're not deep at all and they're all over the place! i want them really deep! and one on each cheek! I'm jealous of the people who have them!

anon145903

I hate my dimples, yet i don't actually know if i have dimples (they only appear when smiling), I'm 12 and I know this sounds strange (compared to everybody else) but it's true. I hate dimples.

anon144103

my dimples make a cute evil curl on the end of my lips, and people say it looks really cute!

anon134371

"Most dimples are actually caused by a birth defect..."

Spot on! I agree with you! People often think that birth defects are destined to make the person with it unattractive- but people consider people with dimples to be cute! --Shriya K

anon134160

I have a dimple on my left cheek. my boyfriend tells me a garden gnome came into my mother's womb and poked my cheek with his magical gnome wand. should i believe him?

anon129337

I have got a deep dimple on my right cheek, which is visible even when i chew. Oh how i wish i also have a dimple in my left cheek, but on my left cheek there's only a line not very deep.

None of my parents or siblings have any but my cousins on my mum's side have them. I love my dimples and i hope i will have them always. Whenever i laugh or smile people look at me which i love a lot. I love dimples and am always fascinated by the people who have them.

I just want to thank Allah for giving me such a beautiful gift. Thank you and stay blessed. They are the best part of my face.

anon129301

my parents don't have dimples and guess what? I got three of them --one on the left cheek and two on the right cheek, wonder how did that happen?

Michelle Jorgensen

My daughter who is 13 weeks old was born with the usual dimples: one on each cheek and one on her chin. She was also born with what i thought to be an unusual sacral dimple? It's located in the crack of her bum. Her brother also has one. Then a week ago, the most amazing thing occurred. I was drying my baby girl's little feet and there they were: one on each foot. Yep, dimples.

anon121063

I'm a twin and I'm the only one amongst the four kids to inherit dimples. I used to say that I got them because my twin brother's toes were in my face for nine months. There kind of deep (the left side a little deeper). I quite often get comments on how deep they are. It used to make me shy.

My son has one dominant one on his left cheek and a very faint one on his right. I used to tell people that I started praying too late. That's why he only ended up with one.

anon119608

I have a dimple on each of my cheek (face) and the left one is deeper plus i also have a dimple on the bottom right corner of my mouth. I also have dimples of venus, the kind you get on your lower back. Always thought it was strange having such a deep dimple on one side of my face, so I guess that is my good side for pictures, lol.

anon117933

I have two dimples, one in each face cheek but right one's deeper than the other so it looks lopsided, but I love them. My dad has one deep dimple on his right cheek, so I guess that's why my right one is deeper, lol. My dad has back dimples too but I didn't get them, my brother did. He doesn't have cheek dimples, btw.

Last week in class, I was laughing really hard at something my friend said and this guy randomly says, "Nice dimple." I didn't know how to react so I just put my hand up to face and tried to cover them. But it did make me happy to know someone noticed them.

anon117626

i have a dimple on both of my cheeks and i honestly love them. i mean they make me look cuter and prettier, but my younger bro has a deep one. i think men with dimples look very funny because i have seen a couple of them and they give them a feminine look.

anon115981

When I smile dimples, appear beneath my eyes. They might not be dimples but they sure do look like they are.

anon115952

i have a pair of dimples, but my both parents don't have. Where did i get that?

anon105982

Is there a correlation between race and dimples?

anon102740

My son was born with dimples, but my husband and I don't have them, but my sister does. How does this happen?

anon100556

i have a small dimple underneath my right side of my chin when i smile sometimes. my friends and family notice it and they think is cute because it goes with my baby face, so it makes me feel young because I'm 16 but people and some other friends think I'm 12 or 13 years old. I love my dimple but i wanted to get a dimple in my cheek like my dad and my baby sister, or a dimple back like my sister because it looks cute and sexy.

redbird

My husband is one of nine siblings and they all have dimples because his mother has them. We have two kids and our son has them, but not our daughter. At first she was bummed but she thinks her brother's dimples are cute and we all agree on that!

Myriam Espritt-Steptoe

I love my face and my pretty dimples.

anon96136

could dimples be somewhere other than your face?

anon91350

i have three dimples on my right cheek and two on my cheek (on my face, not my butt).

anon87574

I have two small dimples at the bottom of my mouth and a cleft chin but none of my parents have them.

anon84666

To add on my previous comment below...

"I don't know if i have dimples because it only appeared when i smile. it is located at below right. of my face.

Hope it is dimples, but i was so clueless whether it is or not.

anon84575

My friends always say my dimples make me look cute! And the dudes are like "Look your dimples are dancing." Makes me smile a lot.

anon83690

I dun know if i have dimples because it only appeared when i smile. it is located at below right.

anon83621

Neither of my parents nor anyone in my family have dimples but I have just one deep dimple on my right cheek and every time I smile I find someone staring at it and when I look they just smile.

anon82408

I have one really deep dimple on my right cheek. Neither of my parents have dimples and none of my siblings do either. I don't know where it came from. Everyone is always telling me how cute my smile and dimple is. Because of it, I've been nicknamed "dimple face."

anon79682

I have shallow dimples on both of my cheeks. as far as i know, nobody in my family has/had them. but they just developed over about the last year. I've gotten compliments on my smile from random strangers because of them.

anon77935

I have a family of eight, with six kids in total. Neither I or my husband ever had dimples, and most if not any of my past relatives do either, yet my eldest daughter was born with two dimples on her cheeks.

anon77732

i have dimples on my shoulder, one on each side. i never put any thought in looking up the meaning of dimples or what make them, them, what they are or their cause, until i had to write my research paper. now it's something which captures my interest, but i had one question: what is considered a rare or unusual dimple?

anon77626

My son was born with dimples on both sides of his cheeks. He received them from his grandfather. He has a daughter who has dimples, but they are not deep as his.

anon76117

i have a dimple right below my lower lip in the very middle.

anon73200

I was born with dimples and hazel eyes and when my daughter was born, she also has dimples but she has grey eyes.

I am planning on having another baby, I just wanted to wait a year because I lost my second daughter when I had her at seven months. She didn't live but two hours. she had hazel eyes like me and one deep dimple in her right cheek.

I am sure that when I have another baby, he/she will have dimples as well. I truly don't know how a person can get dimples without being born with them, or having the trait run in the family.

anon69326

I have four dimples. Two deep ones on the left bottom side of my mouth and two on the right side but not as noticeable as the other side. Would you find this attractive?

anon67989

i have a dimple on my left cheek and the one on my right started to disappear. anyway, I'm happy with one.

anon67406

i only have one dimple on my left cheek and that's it. my mom doesn't have them and neither does my dad, but my great grandparents did.

anon66498

i love dimples and find that a person with dimples looks very cute and attractive. i wish i also had dimples.

anon66122

i have very deep dimples that are visible even when i chew gum, eat, drink etc. i used to hate them when i was younger but now i love them and i get compliments all the time.

anon64569

i am almost 19 years old and seem to be developing a dimple on one side of my face. i don't know if this is normal. i've searched for cases of this but came up empty. does anyone know why this might happen?

anon63938

I always thought my dimples were embarrassing because I always thought that they were in the wrong spot (one on each side of my chin that I got from my mom). I absolutely love dimples in cheeks though.

My husband has beautiful dimples in his cheeks that he got from his mom. I joke about it saying that his dimples were the reason I married him. I'm 28 weeks pregnant and I'm wondering if our son will have my dimples, his dimples, both, or neither. Hmmm... I hope he has his dimples. I always wanted children with dimples.

anon62108

I have a dimple on my left cheek, and on my chin. When i was small i was asked to smile a lot. I also felt like a freak for only having one, so i used to poke my right cheek to make a dimple. gimme a break, i was young. My dimple on the chin is a whole other story.

anon61811

i have dimples about 2 cm away from both my top lip and about 2 cm on my bottom lip going half way towards the chin! that's four dimples!

jmelyn88

I have had dimples on my cheek and ever since I was little. I have been asked to smile so everyone could see them. I love having them! Neither of my parents have them, but my father's half sister does, so I'm not sure how I got them. My boyfriend has them too and my family always says that our kids will have them too.

anon60886

I have one and a half dimples. my left cheek has a full dimple and my right cheek goes down a little.

anon60860

i have two dimples just below my eye. i thought they were strange as were they are placed. I'm well known among my friends for smiling and when someone i just met or a stranger on the street are always amazed and surprised to see where the dimples are.

is it that odd to have them there? well from this site i now know i'm not the only one who has them there. never seen or heard about people having the dimples on theur face just below the eye

anon58148

I have dimples on my lower back and I always thought they were on every girl until I hit high school and older that I found out that not all women have them and actually they are pretty rare. Most guys have told me they're such a turn on and of course you have some that say they are great for their thumbs. LOL. But I actually love them myself.

anon57573

I have one on my right cheek. People always try to make me laugh or smile so they can see it, haha.

anon57166

i have dimples on my cheeks and true thing they attract lots of attention and speculation, and i love them on others! cute though i think they become trigger laugh lines with age. in the end you look older than you would without them.

anon56768

i too have dimples on both cheeks, but neither of my parents has one! but my aunt has and even my younger sister.

anon55844

I have dimples on both sides of my cheeks. Neither of my parents or grandparents have them

anon55843

I have 2 big dimples on my cheeks, but neither of my parents have dimples!

anon51672

i just love the two dimples some girls get on their lower back right above their butt - it's so sexy, I wish I had them (well, I guess guys can get them too. though I can only remember seeing them on girls).

Oh- I just wanted to quickly point out- for the commentators relating how they have dimples but their parents don't "have" them, or no one in their family has them either- as stated, over time dimples can/will fade or even completely disappear, so they may not "have" them now, but could have as children (unless you asked them and they say they've never had dimples) :)

anon51283

well i have one dimple on my left cheek and I hate it. it's like so bad. well, i guess it isn't too bad, but it makes me look really young.

anon50581

Well i have 12 dimples and my mom only had 2 and she's a grown adult and still has hers.

anon50072

I have the one dimple on my left cheek also. Neither of my parents have dimples, but, on my mom's side of the family there are cousins who have very deep dimples. I do get people trying to poke the dimple too.

anon49420

I have dimples on my butt what would cause that??

anon48942

I have two dimples on both side of my cheeks and no one in my family has them. Mutation I guess.

anon48604

I have two dimples on each side of my cheeks. It runs in the family, both of my parents have them and even my siblings. It's such a beautiful gift from God. I hope my children inherit it. God bless you all.

anon48129

i have two small dimples at the botton of my mouth. i don't really like them. the cheek would be better.

anon47379

i have 2 dimples, one on my left and one on my right. The one on my left is not as deep as the one on the right. I'm not sure if my parents have them. I know two of my brothers have them though.

anon47285

i have one dimple on my right cheek. My mom always told me that i slept on a chocolate chip when i was in her tummy, and that's why i only have one dimple.

anon46913

I have two dimples on each side of my cheeks. It's kind of rude when i go to stores and they think i'm 13 when i just turned 31.

anon46758

Yeah, dimples! I got them! deep ones on each cheek when I smile. People love to put their fingers in them. I say stay out of my face. the girls think I can seduce them with just dimples. I say all it gets is fingers in your face! James

anon46394

i have one dimple, my parents don't have dimples, but my auntie does. damn, im a freak. :( haha

anon45723

I have dimples and they are the dimples that's deep and long. I geuss it runs in my family because my dad, sister, and some of my cousins have them. I'm a guy but I don't really think anything about dimples. Its a unique defect that God gave to us.

anon43378

I have dimples on both cheeks but neither of my parents have it, but i think it is somewhere in the family. it is considered cute in my culture and i hope my children will have it. if it is indeed a defect then it is the most beautiful defect ever!

anon41573

I have dimples right above the corners of my mouth only when i smile with my mouth closed or make a pouty face. They aren't as far out on my cheeks as more popular dimples. No one else in the family has dimples, but my son has one on the cheek and my daughter has two and they're both not like mine.

anon40808

when i was little i didn't have any dimples but now i have dimples. is it possible that i just didn't notice the dimples when i was younger or can they just come out of nowhere?

anon37961

neither of my parents have dimples but my grandmother has one dimple on her left cheek and I came out with one dimple on my right cheek

anon37142

neither of my parents have dimples but i have a dimple on each cheek except they are soo big that no one believes they are dimples...they say they are craters!

anon36546

When I was in my 30's a guy asked me where I got the scar on my face, (a cute raised cheek dimple)and I told him I had had a third eye removed. He had a momentary look of shock, but we both made it through life, just not with each other.

anon35274

i have a dimple under my right eye (sorta above the cheekbone). when i was younger i used to have another one under my left eye, but over the years, the right one became sorta prominent. its pretty deep when i wink my right eye. i guess its what people call an "Asian dimple" probably because it appears mostly in Asians... but yeah. i love it. and i hope my kids inherit it.

Mari

I have a dimple in my right cheek and yeah mine gets poked a lot and also sometimes have people trying to suck it back out...which i find very funny...just not when i';m sleeping people!

anon33055

I have 2 big dimples on my cheeks and they're even more pronounced when I smile, but neither of my parents have dimples!

anon27318

Actually, you *can* have dimples if your parents don't.

Law of Segregation :)

anon25438

I have dimples on both sides of my cheeks. Neither of my parents or grandparents have them. Crazy enough, me and my boyfriend have very deep dimples. Does it imply we will also give birth to kids with dimples?

dimples are beautiful and also a sign of parental love from my culture and i don't believe are a birth defect.

anon24203

I have dimples on each of my shoulders, the nurse said that is where my angel wings were attached, neither one of my parents has this trait, what is this and how did I get it, my mom does have dimples on her cheeks and so does my brother.

anon24010

I'm an adult and I still have my one dimple in my left cheek. Only got one problem with it- people tend to want to poke it?! My parents don't have dimples so I guess I am just odd.

anon20247

my mom says she created the dimples..!! hwen i was born she held my cheeks and with her fingers that's how they were created and neither one of my parents have dimples..!! is my mom telling the truth??

anon18273

I actually have 9 dimples on my face, including 2 dimples inside of one of my dimples. I know a couple is normal, but seriously.=P Drove me crazy when I was a younger, but I am glad now to see both my kids have dimples.

mrjones

my husband and i don't have dimples, and neither do our parents, but both of our sons have identical dimples on their left cheeks! it is the cutest thing ever, and i hope they don't ever grow out of them. i'm sure there are dimples somewhere in our family, and because both of them have dimples, it can't be a mutation, can it?

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    • Boy with dimples on his cheeks.
      By: soupstock
      Boy with dimples on his cheeks.
    • Women with dimples are often thought of as attractive.
      By: Ariwasabi
      Women with dimples are often thought of as attractive.
    • Dimples are a common genetic trait that can be passed though multiple generations of a family.
      By: william87
      Dimples are a common genetic trait that can be passed though multiple generations of a family.
    • Dimples are actually caused by a birth defect.
      By: dacasdo
      Dimples are actually caused by a birth defect.