Although "thin is in," that's often not true for cheeks.

Chubby apple cheeks resemble those of babies, so we see them as signs of beauty, health and youthful vitality.

Gaunt cheeks remind us of people in concentration camps, long-term alcoholics or of people who're just plain getting older.

As a general rule, we don't react well to cheekbones prominently set off by cheeks that appear to be sinking into the mouth. We prefer it when fatty tissue evens out the cheeks, removing wrinkles. That also helps prevent your cheek's skin from sagging.

It's normal for younger people to have more subcutaneous fat in their cheeks.

That's why face lifts are a popular form of cosmetic surgery.

But you don't need to go under the knife to look younger and more attractive.

You Can't Gain Weight in Your Cheeks Alone

No matter what anyone may tell you, you can't just eat more calories and "direct" them to be stored in your cheeks.

Your body just doesn't work like that. If only it did!

That's why you can't reduce your waistline by performing situps or toe touches. Although you're mainly exercising the abdominal area around your waist, that doesn't mean the fat you burn from exercising is taken from there. Your body takes it from all over your body - wherever fat is stored in your cells.

By the same token, you can't add fat just to your cheekbones.

If you eat more calories and/or exercise less, your body will store the excess calories as fat . . . wherever it thinks is best - and you'd be foolish to disregard that even if you had a choice. (Which you don't.)

Therefore, eating more high-calorie foods will add fat tissue to your cheeks - and to the rest of your body as well.

If you need to gain weight, that's fine. Most Americans, however, want to lose weight . . . except on their cheekbones.

However, your cheeks do respond to appropriate physical stimulation and exercise.

How Passing Time Ages Cheeks and Other Facial Features

We have pads of fat between our muscles and skin. As we age, those fat pads grow slimmer. Because it's our fat pads that give our faces their shape, the thinning of these fat pads causes our facial features to sink, droop and drop - including our cheeks. 

Because our faces have only a little flesh on top of our bones - compared to most other parts of our bodies - just a relatively slight thinning of fat pads can make a noticeable, and unwelcome, change in our appearance.

If the underlying muscles become bigger, however, that can help make your face look more like your youthful self.

According to a study published six years ago in JAMA Dermatology, facial exercises and massage improved the facial appearance of middle-aged women, erasing some signs of aging. 

The study took place at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The study was small, so more research is needed, but it was the first of its kind to show results. The middle-aged women who took part performed facial exercises every day or every other day for thirty minutes.

The exercises were developed by the study's co-author, Gary Sikorski of Happy Face Yoga.

The improvements in their appearance included fuller lower and upper cheeks.

Facial Routines and Massages

First, warm up your facial muscles by placing your fingertips on the center of your forehead. Lightly massage the skin ten times using a smooth, circular motion. This gets your blood flowing, relaxing tension you may be holding in your forehead. 

Move your fingertips down, and gently massage your cheeks the same way - ten times each way, using a circular motion.

Move your skin upward and outward. Downward movement may encourage sagging.

(Caution: your facial skin is thin and delicate, so don't stretch it hard enough to injure it.)

1. Grin while opening your mouth wide as though you're saying the letter "O." Use your fingertips to raise, then lower, your cheeks. Do that for thirty seconds.

Repeat 5 to 6 times. Add time and reps as your cheek muscles strengthen.

2. Lift your cheek muscles with your finger tips - both sides at once - while pursing your lips together, and smile.

Hold at least 20 seconds. Repeat. 

3. Inhale through your mouth, but keep the air in your mouth, so its skin is stretched to its limit, like a full balloon. 

While still holding air in your mouth, tap all around the stretched skin, especially your cheeks and over your cheekbones. Use your fingertips, and always keep it gentle.

Do that for at least 30 seconds. Inhale and exhale through your nose.

4. Use a real balloon, or simply pretend to blow into one.

Let the effort stretch your cheeks for at least fifteen seconds. Repeat at least five times.

What About Mewing?

Mewing is the process of aligning your tongue on the roof of your mouth. In recent years, it's become a fad among teenagers.

Basically, you press your tongue to the roof of your mouth. The goal is to make your jawline look tighter and slimmer, restructuring your face.

The American Academy of Orthodontics says there's little scientific evidence that support mewing's claims.

If you push your tongue up to the roof of your mouth for the recommended thirty minutes a day, your tongue muscles will no doubt get stronger thanks to the daily workout.

But don't expect other results.

https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2018/january/facial-exercises-help-middle-aged-women-appear-more-youthful/

https://luvly.care/blog/exercises-for-cheeks

https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Chubby-Cheeks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOXIhpHLT8s

https://mewing.coach/blog/how-get-chubby-cheeks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvNoEaEXQNw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYRMPE-BNkQ

https://mewing.coach/blog/how-get-chubby-cheeks

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/health/2024/02/17/what-is-mewing-should-you-be-doing-it-netflix-open-wide/72629088007/