What Do High Cheekbones Look Like on Men? (Plus, How to Get Them)

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Find out what causes high cheekbones and why they're so coveted

Co-authored by Asif Pirani, MD and Luke Smith, MFA

Last Updated: October 2, 2025 Fact Checked

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• What are high cheekbones?
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• Why They're Attractive
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• Causes
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• Natural Enhancements
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• Contouring With Makeup
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• Cosmetic Procedures
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• Video

|Show more |Show less

When it comes to beauty standards, high cheekbones are high on the list for both men and women. People often say men look particularly good with high cheekbones, but why is that? How can you get them if you didn't win the genetic lottery? We talked to plastic surgeons, stylists, and personal trainers to answer all these questions and more.

High Cheekbones & Attractiveness

“High cheekbones” are when the ridges under your eyes are prominent and sit high on the face. Cheekbones are high if they’re at the same level as the bridge of your nose. Men with high cheekbones are perceived as healthy, masculine, and attractive. You can enhance your cheekbones with exercise and cosmetic procedures.

Steps

Section 1 of 6:

What are high cheekbones?

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1. 
   High cheekbones are prominent ridges near the eyes. On your skull, the cheekbones are the bones that rest just beneath your eyes, curving up and back. They tend to stick out and point down to your nose. “High” cheekbones are cheekbones that sit up higher on the face and are easily noticeable. Your cheekbones are high if they’re about on the same level as the bridge of your nose, and are the widest part of your face.

   • High vs low cheekbones: Low cheekbones, on the other hand, rest lower down on the cheek—about in line with your nostrils, which may be the widest part of your face—and may not be as noticeable.
   • How to tell if you have high cheekbones: Find the highest ridge of your cheekbone, where it sticks out the most. If it’s level with the bridge of your nose, your cheekbones are likely high. If it lower, you probably have low cheekbones

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Asif Pirani, MD, is a board-certified cosmetic plastic surgeon and founder of the Toronto Plastic Surgery Center based in Toronto, Canada.

   Julia Deshkova is a personal stylist with over 12 years of experience. She's passionate about helping her clients become more confident and empowered.

   Danny Gordon is an American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Certified Personal Trainer with over 20 years of physical training and teaching experience.

   Edward S. Kwak, MD is a Dual Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and the Owner of ESKMD Facial Plastic Surgery based in New York City.
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Section 2 of 6:

Why are high cheekbones on men attractive?

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1. 
   High cheekbones are seen as more masculine and confident. Research shows that people with more prominent, higher cheekbones are seen as more attractive. This is likely because more angular, sculpted features are usually seen as more “masculine,” and generally, the more masculine a guy is, the more desirable he is. Many models in the fashion industry, as well as celebrities, have high cheekbones, which makes them more appealing to the average person.

   • Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Asif Pirani, MD, says that the triangle shape made by high, prominent cheekbones is also very youthful, adding to its attractiveness.
   • Some say that people with high cheekbones are more friendly, confident, and extraverted, while people with low cheekbones are the opposite, but these are just stereotypes.
   • Personal stylist Julia Deshkova adds that there’s no single “most attractive” face shape. The face shape you’re born with is what works best for you!

Section 3 of 6:

What influences your cheekbone shape?

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   Genetics Your genetics are the biological “code” that makes you who you are. Things like your skin color, hair color, height, and practically every other physical feature, including your cheekbones, are coded in your genetics. Your genes are a combination of your parents’ features, making you look like a mix of your parents. If one of them has high cheekbones, you’re more likely to have high cheekbones, too.

   • There’s also an element of chance, though, too. If one parent has high cheekbones and the other doesn’t, for example, you might end up with less prominent cheekbones.
   • Your genetics have a lot to do with your ancestry and lineage, too. Some ethnicities have more pronounced cheekbones.
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   Weight Even if you have high cheekbones, they may not be super obvious if you have some fat on your face. Facial fat is natural and nothing to worry about—everyone has it. But everyone has different amounts of it, too, and people with less facial fat tend to have more pronounced facial shapes and features, like more prominent cheekbones bones. While this doesn’t make your cheekbones higher, making them more obvious can have a similar effect.
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   Age As you age, your face also changes. Older people have less collagen in their face, leading to some skin sagging, which can make for more prominent cheekbones, too. But aging can also lead to lower bone density, which can make your cheekbones look less noticeable. Of course, it’s all natural and nothing to be worried about, but your face shape can change as you age!

   • Your ears may look larger, your lips may shrink, and your skin may become loose in ways that can either exaggerate or hide your cheekbones.
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Section 4 of 6:

Natural Ways to Enhance Cheekbones

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   Do lots of cardio to lose weight in your face. Regular cardio exercise is the only natural way to burn fat in your face. While you can’t control where you lose the fat from, the good news is that you also don’t have to do any specific cardio to lose fat. For example, running a mile each day may still burn fat in your face, even though your face isn’t getting worked out. Certified personal trainer Danny Gordon reminds us that the leaner your body is, the more facial definition you’ll see.

   • Experts recommend getting at least 150 minutes of cardio each week. Cardio is anything that gets your heart rate up, like running, biking, swimming, or climbing.
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   Slim down with a low-fat, low-sugar diet. Another effective way to slim up your face is to diet. You don’t need a complicated regimen or eating schedule. For the most part, just take care to eat less foods that have high fat content, sugars, or artificial sweeteners. Whenever you can, reach for something lean and natural, like fruits and vegetables.

   • Avoid foods like high-fat dairy, processed meat, artificially flavored snacks, lots of gluten, and high-cholesterol foods.
   • Instead, choose foods like lean meats (chicken, fish), beans and lentils, low-fat dairy, vegetable oils, vegetables, fruits, and oats.
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   Try facial exercises for a less reliable option. You might’ve heard of facial exercises like “mewing” which promise to sculpt your face. But you can’t choose where on your body you lose fat from, and these exercises aren’t proven to help with long-term results. That said, it doesn’t hurt to try them!

   • For example, make a “kissy” face, hold it for 10 seconds, then relax. Repeat this for 10 minutes each day.
   • Suck in your cheeks for 5 seconds, then relax. Repeat this 20 times each day.
   • Also, open your mouth as wide as you can for 5 seconds, then relax. Repeat this 30 times a day.
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Section 5 of 6:

Contouring Cheekbones with Makeup

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1. 
   Apply highlighter to the ridges of your cheeks and contour to the hollows. Makeup artist Yuka Arora says it’s easy to bring out your cheekbones with a little makeup! She says to use a soft brush to apply light strokes of bronzer, contour, or blush into the hollows of your cheeks. Then, use a slim brush to lightly add just a small amount of highlighter to the ridges of your cheeks to make them pop.

   • To find the hollows of your cheeks, suck your cheeks in like you’re making a fish face. Where your cheek “folds” is the hollow. You can feel the indentation.
   • Makeup isn’t just for women! Almost every male celeb you know wears makeup to achieve their desired look.

Section 6 of 6:

Cosmetic Procedures

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   Dermal fillers Dr. Pirani tells us that fillers are some of the most common solutions when it comes to facial procedures. Dermal fillers are injections that go just under the skin to plump up certain areas of your face, like the cheeks, to add shape. They often cost up to $1,000 per syringe. There are many different kinds of dermal injections that last for different amounts of time. These include:

   • Hyaluronic acid, which is natural and lasts 6-12 months.
   • Calcium hydroxylapatite, which is also natural and lasts about 12 months.
   • Poly-L-lactic acid, which is natural and lasts 2+ years.
   • Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), which is not natural and is semi-permanent.
   • Board-certified plastic surgeon Edward S. Kwak, MD says that infections from dermal fillers are rare, but that people should avoid makeup for a day after the procedure, just in case.
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   Cheek implants Cheek implants are artificial materials that are surgically inserted under the skin to change the shape and size. They’re fairly common, cost about $3,000, take only about an hour, and are usually perfectly safe. Dr. Kwak tells us that patients often must rest and watch their diets for a month after surgery. There are 3 main kinds:

   • Submalar implants are inserted just beneath the eyes.
   • Malar implants are inserted below submalar implants to add bone structure.
   • Combination implants are when both submalar and malar implants are used.
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   Buccal fat removal Buccal fat removal costs about $3,000 and is when a surgeon removes the fat underneath your cheekbones and above your jaw to create a more angular face with more pronounced cheekbones. It’s best for people who have lots of facial fat. It involves making an incision inside your mouth to remove the fat.

   • The procedure is permanent, and recovery time is often a few weeks, and the procedure requires anaesthesia.
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   Facial fat transfer With facial fat transfers, a surgeon uses liposuction to remove fat from a place on your body with extra. Then, they use syringes to inject the fat under your face’s skin. When injected on the cheekbones, it can make them look higher and more prominent. It usually costs around $5,000. It’s a low-risk procedure with a pretty short recovery time, usually about 2-3 weeks.

   • The procedure can be semi-permanent, but people’s bodies sometimes reabsorb some of the fat over time, reversing the effects.
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   Face lift A face lift is a more expensive procedure, costing around $11,000. During a facelift, the skin of the face is literally pulled up and back in order to create a more angular, thinner, and youthful look, which often ends up enhancing the cheekbones, as well. It’s a common and fairly safe procedure, but the effects are permanent, and it does come with some risks, like scarring, nerve injury, or hair loss.

   • Recovery often takes up to 1 month, a period which can include swelling, pain, and numbness.
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