How to Get Hollow Cheeks: 4 Proven Ways

You’ve seen them on Instagram. The sharp, chiseled cheekbones that could cut glass. Models and celebrities effortlessly rocking that sculpted “snatched” look. You try to recreate it by tilting your head, sucking in your cheeks, and snapping a hundred selfies until one finally catches the light just right. But when you relax your face and look in the mirror, the hollow cheeks have vanished.

This scenario is more common than you might think. The desire for defined, hollow cheeks has exploded in recent years, driven by social media trends like the viral ‘hoodie method’ or ‘hollow cheeks challenge’. But behind the viral videos and quick-fix hacks lies a complex interplay of genetics, body composition, and lifestyle.

This comprehensive guide cuts through the noise. Whether you’re trying to get hollow cheeks naturally, enhance them with makeup, or explore more permanent solutions, here’s everything you need to know.

What Exactly Are Hollow Cheeks?

Before we dive into the “how,” let’s establish the “what.” In aesthetic terms, hollow cheeks refer to the appearance of having minimal fat in the area between your cheekbones and jawbone. This creates a sunken, chiseled look with noticeable shadows beneath the cheekbones. Doctors sometimes call this a reduction in mid‑face volume.

The Science Behind the Shape: Why We Lose Cheek Volume

Understanding the underlying causes of hollow cheeks is the first step toward achieving them (or deciding you want to avoid them).

1. Genetics: Your Blueprint

This is the most critical factor. “Genetics plays an undeniable role in how your cheeks look even before aging or external factors come into play”. Your DNA determines:

• Bone Structure: The shape and prominence of your cheekbones and jawline.

• Fat Distribution: Where your body stores and loses fat. Some people are born with less facial fat deposition or variations in their buccal fat pads (the deep fat pad in the cheek).

• Skin Elasticity: Genetic variations affect collagen production and breakdown rates.

If you don’t have naturally prominent cheekbones, achieving the hollow cheek look without surgery or strategic makeup might be a fantasy.

2. The Aging Process: Time and Tides

Aging is the most common cause of developing hollow cheeks later in life. Several biological processes are at play:

• Collagen Decline: After your mid‑20s, collagen production drops by about 1% per year, leading to thinner skin and less structural support.

• Fat Pad Shrinkage and Migration: The fat pads in your mid‑face naturally diminish or shift downward.

• Bone Resorption: Your skeletal framework gradually loses density, reducing support for the cheeks.

• Loss of Elasticity: Facial muscles lose their normal tone and elasticity, leading to sagging.

3. Lifestyle and Diet

Your daily habits can accelerate or slow down the development of hollow cheeks. Factors include:

• Rapid or Significant Weight Loss: This can reduce facial fat and accentuate a hollowed appearance.

• Poor Nutrition and Dehydration: Malnutrition and dehydration can lead to a loss of subcutaneous fat and a gaunt look.

• Lack of Sleep and High Stress: Oxidative stress from poor sleep and lifestyle choices can weaken support tissues.

• Smoking: Heavy tobacco use damages skin elasticity and can contribute to a hollowed appearance.

• Extreme Exercise: Extremely low body fat can naturally lead to less facial fat.

The Natural and DIY Methods: Can You Really Train Your Cheeks?

For those who want to avoid the doctor’s office, the natural approach is tempting. But what actually works? Let’s break down the options.

Facial Exercises (Facial Yoga)

Can you really get hollow cheeks by exercising? The idea is to tone and strengthen the facial muscles to create a more defined, lifted appearance. Proponents of facial fitness suggest it can help prevent or lessen the prominence of hollow cheeks.

Here are some common exercises suggested by experts:

• The Cheek Inflation: Hold your mouth closed and fill it with air. Move the air under your upper lip for 10 seconds, then to your left cheek, then your right. Repeat the cycle.

• The Exaggerated Smile: Stand in front of a mirror. Smile as hard and exaggeratedly as you can, holding for 10 seconds. Repeat 5 times. Then, puff out your cheeks for a maximum of 10 seconds.

• Cheek Lifting: Smile as you press down on the lower part of your eye socket using your index fingers.

The Verdict: Some studies suggest facial exercises can improve muscle tone. However, it’s crucial to understand that you cannot target fat loss. Exercises will not burn fat in your cheeks. Instead, they might help lift and tone the muscles beneath, potentially making the skin appear tighter and more defined. For those already thin, this could, ironically, make hollows more pronounced. A balanced approach, possibly combined with healthy weight management, may yield minor improvements.

Diet and Overall Fat Loss

The most scientifically sound natural method for reducing facial fat is to lower your overall body fat percentage. Because spot reduction is a myth, the best way to decrease facial fat is through a healthy diet and regular exercise.

• Eat a calorie‑controlled diet.

• Stay hydrated.

• Maintain a balanced, nutrient-rich diet.

The Caveat: Even if you successfully lower your body fat, you might not see a dramatic hollowing of the face. If you already have a relatively low body fat percentage, the results will be negligible. Genetics ultimately dictates where your body loses fat first and last.

The Makeup Illusion: Your Instant Fix

If you want hollow cheeks right now, makeup is your most powerful and immediate tool. Contouring is an art that leverages light and shadow to create the illusion of a sculpted face.

The Light and Shade Rule

“Enhancing your cheekbones with make-up is all about creating the right amount of light and shade. Remember: highlight what you want to bring forward; contour what you want to push back”.

A Step-by-Step Contouring Guide

1. Underpainting: For the most natural look, apply your cream contour under your foundation. This creates a subtle, seamless finish that looks like a natural shadow.

2. Apply Contour: Using a cream contour one or two shades darker than your skin, draw a line directly beneath your cheekbone in the hollow of your cheek. Start at the hairline by your ear and angle it down towards your mouth. Blend upward toward your cheekbone and ear (crucially, not downward) with a sponge or your fingers.

3. Add Highlighter: Apply a cream or powder highlighter along the top of your cheekbones to bring them forward.

4. Add Blush: Apply blush higher on the cheek to create lift and a natural flush.

Expert Tip: Don’t drag the face down. For mature or slim faces, focus contour just on top of the cheekbone. Using a soft taupe or grey-beige powder can mimic a natural shadow.

The Quick-Fix Temporary Tricks

The Viral ‘Hoodie Method’

Social media is full of hacks, one of the most popular being the ‘hoodie method’ where you use the hood of your sweatshirt to compress your cheeks, creating an instant hollow look.

The Reality: This creates a temporary illusion by pushing the fat pads inward and upward. It only lasts as long as the compression is maintained and is not a permanent solution.

Contouring Palettes

Specially curated professional contour palettes are designed to make application easier. Some are designed to “sharpen the hollows of the cheeks” with a contour and sculpt shade, and a highlight to brighten.

Cosmetic Procedures: The More Permanent Options

For those seeking a significant and lasting change, cosmetic procedures offer the most dramatic results. These should always be discussed with a board-certified professional.

Dermal Fillers (Hyaluronic Acid, etc.)

This is one of the most popular methods to add or restore volume to the face. A trained healthcare provider injects fillers into specific areas to restructure the mid‑face. Depending on the product used, these fillers can last from several months to several years. By strategically adding volume, a plastic surgeon can actually create the illusion of hollow cheeks by defining the transition between the cheekbone and the hollow.

Collagen Biostimulators

Instead of adding volume directly, these stimulate your own collagen production for a gradual and subtle restoration of skin density and volume.

Fat Transfer (Liposuction and Injection)

A plastic surgeon can use liposuction to remove fat from another part of your body and inject it into your cheeks as a filler.

Buccal Fat Removal

This is a surgical procedure where the buccal fat pads inside the cheeks are removed, creating a more hollow appearance. It is a more invasive and permanent option.

Common Mistakes and Challenges

1. Expecting a Miraculous Transformation: Genetics is a huge factor. If you have a round face and small cheekbones, diet and exercise alone may not sculpt hollow cheeks.

2. Over-Contouring: Using the wrong shade (too dark or orange-toned) or not blending properly can look muddy and fake.

3. Spot Reduction Myth: Believing that chewing gum or facial exercises alone will burn cheek fat. They will not; they will only tone muscle.

4. Unhealthy Weight Loss: Drastically cutting calories can lead to malnutrition and a gaunt, aged appearance, which is the opposite of the youthful, sculpted look many desire.

Pros, Cons, and Balanced Analysis

The Future of Facial Sculpting (2026 and Beyond)

As we look towards 2026, the trends in facial aesthetics are leaning toward a more holistic and natural approach. While the desire for defined features remains, the era of “one-size-fits-all” is fading.

Future trends include:

• Personalized Fillers and Treatments: Relying more on genetic profiling and facial analysis to tailor treatments to individual bone structure and fat loss patterns.

• Combination Therapies: Combining collagen biostimulators, microneedling, and PRP for a synergistic effect that restores volume and improves skin quality rather than just “filling”.

• Preventative Skincare: A shift towards preventive treatments in the late 20s, like collagen-boosting serums and SPF, to delay the need for more invasive procedures.

• Advanced Non-Surgical Lifting: The development of more effective technologies like thread lifts and advanced laser therapies to provide subtle lifting without surgery.

Conclusion: Key Takeaways

• Understand Your Blueprint: Genetics is the biggest determinant of whether you can get hollow cheeks. If you have prominent cheekbones, you have a head start.

• Fitness and Diet Can Help: Lowering overall body fat can reduce facial fat, but you can’t spot-reduce the cheeks.

• Makeup is Your Best Instant Tool: Strategic contouring and highlighting create a flawless, immediate illusion of a sculpted face.

• Procedures Offer Real Change: Cosmetic treatments like fillers and surgery offer significant, lasting results but come with cost and risk.

• Beware of Quick Fixes: Viral hacks like the ‘hoodie method’ are just temporary illusions, not solutions.

• Beauty is Subjective: While hollow cheeks are a current trend, remember that fuller, plumper cheeks are also widely considered beautiful. The goal isn’t to chase a trend but to look like the healthiest, most vibrant version of yourself.

Ultimately, the journey to a more sculpted face is a personal one. Choose a path that aligns with your health, budget, and personal style. It’s never just about one look—it’s about feeling confident in your own skin.

Detailed FAQs

Q: Can I get hollow cheeks by just losing weight?

A: Not necessarily. Losing weight can help reduce facial fat, but where your body loses fat is genetically determined. If you don’t have prominent cheekbones, weight loss alone may not create a hollow look; it could simply make your face look gaunt.

Q: Do facial exercises really work to get hollow cheeks?

A: Facial exercises can help tone the underlying muscles, which may tighten the skin and improve definition. However, they do not burn fat, so they won’t hollow out a full cheek. They are more of a supportive measure than a direct solution.

Q: What is the fastest way to get hollow cheeks?

A: The fastest way is through makeup. Contouring can create an instant illusion of hollow cheeks. Cosmetic procedures like fillers offer immediate results, but they require time for the appointment and potential swelling to subside.

Q: Are hollow cheeks a sign of aging?

A: Often, yes. As you age, you naturally lose collagen, subcutaneous fat, and bone density, which can lead to a hollowed appearance in the mid-face. It can also be a symptom of other health conditions like malnutrition.

Q: Is it unhealthy to have hollow cheeks?

A: Not necessarily. For many, it is simply a genetic trait. However, hollow cheeks can also be a sign of an eating disorder, malnutrition, or certain health conditions. There’s no health advantage to having hollow cheeks, and maintaining a healthy body weight is more important for overall well-being.

Sources:

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• Healthline. (2020, May 18). Sunken Cheeks: Causes, Treatment, and Prevention. 

• Ward MD. (2026). The Real Reason Behind Hollow Cheeks: DNA or Time? 

• Epiderma. (2026). Loss of Facial Volume – Causes and Treatments. 

• wikiHow. (2025, January 24). How to Get Hollow Cheeks: Natural & Cosmetic Options. 

• Snapchat. (2025). Daniel Sorbun’s Viral ‘Hoodie Method’ for Instant Hollow Cheeks Revealed. 

• Snapchat. (2025). COOL Gurl’s Ultimate Guide. 

• Zandifar, Hootan MD. (2024). The Role of Genetics in Facial Aging and Plastic Surgery Solutions. 

• SheerLuxe. (2025). How To Enhance Your Cheekbones With Make-Up. 

• L’Oréal Paris. (2019). 3 tips for regaining plump cheeks without injections. 

• Lybrate. (2016). I’m just 25 years old male… 

• Lybrate. (2016). My age 21 male I do not have cheeks… 

• LORAC. (n.d.). Medium-Dark Petite PRO Contour Palette.