$1,500 ‘dimpleplasties’ have become the hottest plastic surgery trend: ‘I always wanted dimples’

In the constant pursuit of youth, some aesthetic junkies are shelling out thousands for one simple, childlike feature: dimples.

The rise of dimpleplasties — a minimally invasive procedure to create the appearance of natural dimples on one or both cheeks — follows the popularity of the “dimple maker” beauty tool, which pinches the face to create the illusion of indentations but comes with the risk of skin damage.

But rather than settle for potentially dangerous DIY methods, youth chasers are forking over at least $1,500 — or more — for permanent, cosmetic surgery.

“I wish I knew about it sooner,” a 29-year-old Minnesota hair stylist named Amanda told Allure, comparing the procedure to “being at the dentist.”

She added: “I always wanted dimples growing up!”

Dimples have long been a symbol of youth, explained psychologist Dr. Don Grant, pointing to Shirley Temple as the “literal poster child” of the dimple. Off the heels of the year of “girlhood” — girl math, girl dinner, “lazy girl” jobs and workouts — it should come as no shock that the girlish facial feature is a hot commodity.

Johnny, a 34-year-old Los Angeles chef, said he chose to get a dimpleplasty because having a dimple only on one cheek felt lop-sided and made him self-conscious after growing up around dimpled faces — his siblings and mom have symmetrical, darling dents.

“They were comfy, charming, cool,” he told GQ of dimples. “It always gave me this heartwarming feeling.”

Dimples are, however, increasingly rare. According to Allure, only 20 to 30% of adults have naturally pitted cheeks, which have a chance of disappearing as people age due to the loss of fat in the face that accompanies aging.

The latter was true for Alan, who lost his boyish dimples when his adolescent chubbiness dissipated. Now nearly 40, he’s going under the knife to reclaim the “cheeky smile” of his youth again.

“As I get on to 40, to have someone say I have a cheeky smile is a big confidence boost,” said the London-based father-of-two. “It’s nice to hear people say that.”

Ironically, the darling indentations are technically a deformity, noted board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Kimberly Lee, who “recreates nature” by making incisions on the inside of the cheeks, removing a bit of tissue and stitching it back together.

“I look to see where the natural smile lines are going to be and use that as a guideline,” she said. “I want the dimples to be formed in a way that looks like they were natural and they were meant to be there, and they may have even been there when the patient was born.”

Some round-faced patients, however, require buccal fat removal for the faux dimples to be visible, while other people’s anatomy may not “take” the dimple, rendering the surgery useless.

Amanda said she’s received “so many compliments” on her cheeky feature, which looks so natural that some people didn’t notice she hasn’t always had dimples.

“Some people noticed and asked if I’ve always had dimples, but they had no idea I had this procedure done,” she said.

The demand for dimples akin to famous faces like supermodel Miranda Kerr has forced Lee’s patients to book three months in advance, echoing the growing market value for dimple creation, which surpassed 302 million in 2022.

But, like all aesthetic trends, Lee warned that the dimple fixation may soon wane — just look at those with “breast regret” reversing their augmentations, or the celebrities removing their implants. Not to mention, a dimpleplasty is rather difficult to reverse.

“I do not recommend trends [as the impetus] for surgical procedures as the results tend to be permanent,” Lee told Allure.