Guide · Chin dimple
Chin dimple a cleft you are born with, or a muscle that puckers the skin
People say chin dimple for two quite different things: a cleft chin that has been there since childhood, and a dimpled, orange-peel chin that appears when the chin muscle tightens. Here is how to tell them apart, why most clefts are fine to leave alone, and what a doctor can do for a puckering chin.
Quick answer
- A chin dimple usually means one of two things: a cleft chin, a vertical groove or small dent in the middle of the chin that you are born with because of how the jawbone and chin muscle formed, or a dimpled chin, where an overactive chin muscle (the mentalis) puckers the skin into small pits, often called a cobblestone, orange-peel or golf-ball chin.
- A cleft chin is a normal variation that tends to run in families. It is not a health problem and most people leave it alone; it ranges from a faint dimple to a clear furrow and does not change much with age.
- A dimpled chin shows when the muscle works, such as when you close your lips, speak or concentrate, and is often linked to a short or set-back chin that the muscle strains to cover. A doctor may soften it with a small wrinkle-relaxing injection into the chin muscle, with chin filler where the chin lacks support, or both; an expert consensus named the orange-peel chin as the main reason to treat this muscle.
- SkinRev Lab does not inject. Dr Sin Yong assesses chin strain and dimpling at IN Eternity Clinic, Pacific Plaza, where he performs chin filler and wrinkle-relaxing injections, priced at consultation; whether either suits your chin is decided after he has examined it.
Two meanings
Chin dimple: two different things share one name
When people search for chin dimple, they usually mean one of two things. The first is a cleft chin: a vertical groove, a small round dent or a Y-shaped line at the centre of the chin that is there even when the face is completely relaxed. The second is a dimpled chin: a patch of small pits and bumps across the chin that appears, or gets much worse, when the chin muscle contracts.
They have different causes and very different answers. A cleft is part of your bone and soft-tissue structure, so skincare, facials and energy devices do not change it. A dimpled chin is mostly about muscle activity and, often, a chin that lacks support, which is why the options for it are medical and doctor-led.
A quick mirror check helps. Relax your lips completely, letting them part slightly if they want to. If the dent stays, it is most likely a cleft. If the pitting fades when your lips relax and returns when you press them together, the chin muscle is the main driver. Some people have both.
Side by side
Cleft chin vs dimpled chin at a glance
Both can sit on the same chin. A doctor looks at your profile, how your lips close and how the chin moves before suggesting anything.
| Cleft chin | Dimpled (orange-peel) chin | |
|---|---|---|
| What you see | A single vertical groove, round dent or Y-shaped line in the centre | Many small pits and bumps across the chin, like orange peel or a golf ball |
| When it shows | At rest and in motion | Mainly when the lips close, during speech or when concentrating |
| Main cause | How the two halves of the jaw and the chin muscle formed; tends to run in families | An overactive chin muscle, often straining over a short or set-back chin; thinner tissue with age |
| Since when | Usually since childhood | Often noticed in adulthood, or more with age |
| Health concern? | No; a normal variation | No; a cosmetic question, sometimes linked to bite or lip closure |
| Usual approach | Left alone in most cases; a doctor can advise if a cleft bothers you | Wrinkle-relaxing injection, chin filler or both, if a doctor finds it suitable |
| Who to see | A doctor, only if it bothers you | A doctor; a dentist too if your bite or lip closure is part of it |
Cleft chin
Cleft chin: built into the bone and muscle
The lower jaw forms from left and right halves that join at the midline early in life, and the chin muscle, the mentalis, also has a left and right part. In an anatomical study of 40 adult Korean specimens, the inner fibres of the two mentalis muscles crossed over each other to form the dome-shaped chin prominence in every case. A cleft chin is usually explained by a small gap where these halves meet, in the bone, the muscle or both, which leaves the skin tethered into a groove.
A cleft chin tends to run in families, but its inheritance is not a simple one-gene story. A population study of 900 people in Kerala, set against earlier Indian surveys, found that how common it was varied widely between groups, that it ranged from a faint dimple to a clear furrow, and that it did not change with age but differed between men and women; the authors called for more family and twin data.
In practical terms, a cleft is a feature rather than a flaw. Many people like theirs, and it does not affect health, chewing or speech.
Dimpled chin
The dimpled, orange-peel chin: an overactive chin muscle
The mentalis is the only muscle that raises the lower lip and the chin, and it provides much of the lower lip's vertical support. Its fibres attach into the skin of the chin, so when it contracts hard, the skin over it puckers into small pits. That is the cobblestone, orange-peel or golf-ball look.
It is common when the chin is short or set back, or when the lips do not meet comfortably at rest, because the muscle has to work to close the mouth. Some people also strain the chin out of habit, when concentrating or while speaking. With age, the soft tissue over the chin thins and the bone in front of the jaw slowly recedes, so the dimpling can show more.
Because the cause is movement and support rather than the skin surface, facials, creams and tightening devices do little for it. The choices are a doctor's: reduce the muscle's pull, add support to the chin, or both.
Leave it alone?
When a chin dimple is fine to leave alone
A cleft chin needs no treatment. It is a normal facial feature, many people find it attractive, and it rarely changes over the years. If it does not bother you, there is no medical reason to do anything.
A dimpled chin is also a cosmetic matter, not a health one. It may be worth treating if it bothers you in photos or on video calls, or if it makes the lower face look tense; it is not worth treating just because it exists.
See a doctor rather than an aesthetic centre if the chin or lower lip feels numb, if one side of the lip moves differently from the other, if a new lump appears, or if the dimpling started suddenly after dental work or an injury. Those need a medical check, not a cosmetic plan.
Relaxing the muscle
Softening a dimpled chin with a wrinkle-relaxing injection
For a chin that puckers with movement, a doctor may place a small dose of a wrinkle-relaxing injection into the chin muscle so that it pulls less on the skin. In a 2026 consensus of 14 Italian experts, which also reviewed 16 international consensus papers, the orange-peel or golf-ball chin and an overactive chin muscle were the indications with strong agreement for treating this muscle.
The effect usually starts within a few days, builds over about two weeks and wears off over months, so it is repeated if you want to keep it. The lower face is less forgiving than the forehead: if too much is used or it spreads to nearby muscles, the lower lip can feel weak, the smile can look uneven, and drinking or saying some sounds can feel different for a while. Careful dosing and placement keep that risk low, and the effect is temporary.
It is not suitable during pregnancy or breastfeeding, with some neuromuscular conditions, or with infection in the area. Whether the chin is a suitable area for you is a question for a doctor's assessment; Dr Sin Yong performs wrinkle-relaxing injections at IN Eternity Clinic, priced at consultation.
Chin support
When the chin needs support: chin filler
If the dimpling comes from a short or set-back chin, adding projection can let the muscle relax more naturally. Chin filler uses a firm hyaluronic acid gel placed deep, on the chin bone, to bring the chin forward or lengthen it. In a randomised, evaluator-blinded study of Chinese adults with mild to moderate chin retrusion, 81% of treated people improved by at least one grade at six months, compared with 5% of untreated controls, and 61% still showed improvement at twelve months.
Some doctors relax the chin muscle first and add filler a couple of weeks later. In a small retrospective study of 46 people, those who had a wrinkle-relaxing injection to the chin muscle before chin filler needed fewer filler top-ups over the following months than those who had filler alone. It was not randomised, so it is a promising pattern rather than proof.
For a cleft, a doctor can advise whether a small amount of filler would soften it; how well that works depends on how firmly the skin is tethered, and some clefts are better left alone. Any filler carries a rare risk of blocking a blood vessel: in a review of published cases of vision loss after filler, the nose, glabella and forehead were the commonest sites. The chin is lower risk, but it is still a doctor's procedure.
What does not help
What skincare, facials and devices cannot do
Because a cleft sits in the bone and muscle, and a dimpled chin comes from muscle movement, neither is changed by creams, facials, massage or tightening devices. Be wary of anyone who promises to erase a chin dimple without a doctor's assessment.
Where the real concern is looseness or fullness under the chin rather than the dimple itself, that is a separate question. SKINLIFT® at SkinRev Lab, a needle-free focused-ultrasound session, can tighten loose tissue along the jawline and under the chin, at S$888 for the face and S$488 for the double chin per session, before GST. It does not add chin projection or relax the chin muscle.
If your bite is part of the picture, for example the lower jaw sits well back or your lips cannot close without strain, a dentist's or orthodontist's opinion is worth having before any cosmetic treatment.
Where to go
Chin dimple assessment in our network
SkinRev Lab, at #B1-28 CityLink Mall by City Hall MRT, is a non-invasive aesthetic centre and does not inject, prescribe or treat chin dimples directly. If you ask about your chin there, the team can pass your enquiry to IN Eternity Clinic.
At IN Eternity Clinic, 9 Scotts Road, #12-01 Pacific Plaza, beside Orchard MRT, Dr Sin Yong looks at your profile, bite, lip closure and how the chin moves, and explains whether filler, a wrinkle-relaxing injection, both, or nothing at all suits your chin. If the cause is a bite problem, he will say so. Treatments are priced at consultation; WhatsApp +65 8815 3008.
Sources
References & sources
- Bhanu BV, Malhotra KC. A population genetic study of cleft chin in India. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1972;37(3):367-372.
- Hur MS, Kim HJ, Choi BY, Hu KS, Kim HJ, Lee KS. Morphology of the mentalis muscle and its relationship with the orbicularis oris and incisivus labii inferioris muscles. J Craniofac Surg. 2013;24(2):602-604.
- Fundarò S, Molinari P, Brunelli G, et al. Italian consensus and review in lower face mimetic muscle treatment with botulinum toxin-A. Toxins (Basel). 2026;18(8):332.
- Xie Y, Zhao H, Wu W, et al. Chin augmentation and treatment of chin retrusion with a flexible hyaluronic acid filler in Asian subjects: a randomized, controlled, evaluator-blinded study. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2024;48(5):1030-1036.
- Betti E, Paglianiti M, Vaira LA, Ricciardi A, Cirignaco G, Consorti G. Combined botulinum toxin type A and hyaluronic acid versus exclusive hyaluronic acid injections: a potential nonsurgical alternative for chin augmentation. J Craniofac Surg. 2026 (published online ahead of print).
- Beleznay K, Carruthers JDA, Humphrey S, Carruthers A, Jones D. Update on avoiding and treating blindness from fillers: a recent review of the world literature. Aesthet Surg J. 2019;39(6):662-674.
Common questions
Your questions,
answered
What causes a chin dimple?
A cleft chin comes from how the two halves of the lower jaw and the chin muscle joined during development, leaving the skin tethered into a groove. A dimpled, orange-peel chin comes from the chin muscle (mentalis) contracting hard and puckering the skin, often over a short or set-back chin.
Is a cleft chin genetic?
It tends to run in families, but it does not follow a simple one-gene pattern. Population studies have found that how common it is varies widely between groups and between men and women, and researchers have called for more family and twin studies to work out how it is inherited.
What is a cobblestone or orange-peel chin?
It is a chin covered in small pits and bumps that appear when the chin muscle tightens, for example when you close your lips or speak. It is also called a golf-ball chin. It is common with a short or set-back chin, and it is a cosmetic concern rather than a medical one.
Why does my chin wrinkle when I close my mouth?
Because the chin muscle is working to lift the lower lip and seal the lips. If the chin is short or set back, or the lips do not meet easily at rest, the muscle pulls harder and the skin over it puckers. A doctor can check whether support, muscle relaxing or a dental opinion is the right answer.
Can a chin dimple be removed?
A dimpled chin from muscle activity can often be softened by a doctor with a wrinkle-relaxing injection, chin filler or both. A cleft chin is part of the bone and muscle structure; most people leave it alone, and a doctor can advise whether filler would soften a shallow one.
Can wrinkle-relaxing injections fix a dimpled chin?
They can soften it by reducing how hard the chin muscle pulls on the skin, and an expert consensus named the orange-peel chin as the main reason to treat this muscle. The effect lasts months, so it is repeated. Too much can weaken the lower lip for a while, which is why dosing is kept careful.
Can filler fill in a cleft chin?
Sometimes, for a shallow cleft, but not always evenly, because the skin is tethered to the structures beneath. Filler is more often used to add projection to a short or set-back chin. A doctor can advise whether it suits your chin after examining it.
Is a cleft chin common?
It varies a lot between populations. Surveys in India found its frequency differed widely between groups and between men and women. Either way it is a normal feature, not a defect, and needs no treatment unless it bothers you.
Does SkinRev Lab treat chin dimples?
No. SkinRev Lab is a non-invasive centre and does not inject. Dr Sin Yong assesses chin dimpling at IN Eternity Clinic, Pacific Plaza, where he performs chin filler and wrinkle-relaxing injections, priced at consultation, and he will tell you if leaving it alone is the better choice.