Having a dimple on your chin is entirely normal – some people call it a cleft chin. While some people think a dimple on their chin looks great, others worry that it takes away from their looks. Thankfully, different treatments are available for dimpling in the chin, including an aesthetic treatment like Botulin toxin injections, also known as Botox.
Do you have a dimpled chin? Read ahead to learn more.
Types of Dimples
Here are just a few different types of dimples:
- Dimple on Chin – Also known as a cleft chin, this is a Y-shaped dimple in the middle of your chin. It is genetic, meaning you inherit it from your parents, even if they do not have a visible cleft. During foetal development, the two sides of your jaw didn’t fuse completely, causing the gap.
- Cheek Dimples – Unlike a dimple on the chin, cheek dimples are caused by muscles. When you see a cheek dimple, it means that the zygomaticus major, a muscle in the cheek, is split in two during foetal development. One part of the muscle stays above the mouth, while the other hangs below the mouth. When a person smiles, the tension causes the valley between the muscles to become visible.
- Pebble Chin – Some people call pebble chin “orange peel chin” – it looks like hundreds of little pits or tiny dimples. While these are not technically dimples, a lot of patients describe them this way. It can be very distressing to have pitted, uneven skin.
Surgery for Chin Dimples
Some people have surgery to remove their cleft chin, while others choose to have surgery to add one! It just proves that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You can have chin surgery to remove your dimple, but it is a painful and invasive process that requires several weeks to months to fully heal. It usually involves adding an implant or bone graft to fill in the missing gap in your chin.
What is Chin Botox?
Good news! You can have Botox injections to minimise the look of your dimple on chin – a pebble chin, cleft chin, or both.
Botox for a cleft chin is usually combined with fillers to create a smooth appearance with no dimple in the middle. The injections paralyse the chin muscles, reducing the cleft’s depth and appearance.
Chin Botox is also an effective treatment for pebble chin – it paralyses the muscle that normally contracts or ‘scrunches up’ your chin. This reduces the appearance of the small pits and makes the entire skin surface look much smoother. Of course, some patients are worried about ‘Botox in chin gone wrong.’ While no medical treatment is without risk, Botox is a very safe procedure – tens of millions of people receive Botox injections every year. The results only last around four months, so even if you don’t like the appearance, it’s a very temporary experience. It’s pretty rare to find photos of ‘Botox in chin gone wrong’ – there are many more success stories out there!