Hip Dips, Explained: What Are They And Why Do They Form?

Hip dips, also called hip divots or violin hips, are naturally occurring indentations just below your waist, near where the outer thighs meet the hips.

Many new social media trends have emerged in recent years, focusing on certain bodily features. From how to achieve a thigh gap to getting rid of hip dips to enlarging the buttocks naturally, there is no shortage of content explaining each new trendy body part and how to change it. 

Despite the new craze to get rid of hip dips, know that they are perfectly normal and not something that must be eliminated. Hip dips form mainly due to genetics and physique – two things you can't change. This root cause means that violin hips cannot be removed or filled in alone. Diet and exercise may be great for targeting stubborn fat or growing muscle, but in the case of hip dips, they are less effective. 

Although hip dips are not dangerous and are a common bodily feature, many people still want to get rid of them. In that case, natural fat transfers allow patients to seamlessly fill even prominent hip dips when diet and exercise aren't enough. 

In this article, you'll learn everything you need to know about hip dips, including their meaning, causes, exercises for solid and healthy hips, and the best procedure to fill them.

What is a Hip Dip?

As the cosmetic surgeon and AirSculpt founder Dr. Aaron Rollins explains above, hip dips are depressions occurring naturally on the outside of the upper leg, just below the hip bone.

In some people, the skin in this area is more tightly attached to the leg bone, causing cavities to form.

The hip dip is an anatomical part of the human body structure and varies in appearance. In some people, the dimples on the hip are very prominent and appear as large depressions. In other cases, they are less visible.

How apparent they are depends on the bone structure of your pelvis and thighbone. Their appearance may also increase depending on muscle mass and how your body distributes fat.

The Anatomy of Hip Dips 

A hip dip forms mainly due to the anatomy of your skeleton, which is genetically determined. More specifically, the hip dip is primarily related to the shape of your pelvis and thigh bones and secondarily to how muscle and subcutaneous fat are distributed between them. 

The pelvis' largest bone, the ilium, is usually quite round, as shown in the anatomical skeleton image above. At the top of the ilium is the iliac crest, which is the most pronounced part of the pelvis and sticks out in most people. 

Below the pelvis, the upper part of your femur (the thigh bone) is called the greater trochanter. Muscle and fat are located between the trochanter and iliac crest, but these almost always curve inward, resulting in the hip dip. 

The degree to which hip depressions are pronounced depends mainly on the following factors:

• the width of your hip and the prominence of the iliac crest 

• the size of the upper part of the femur (the greater trochanter) 

• the distance between the pelvic region of the hip, the hip socket, and the greater trochanter 

• the length of the femoral neck

• fat distribution

• your muscle mass

These factors significantly influence the shape of the hips and buttocks and the appearance of the hips.

Hip depressions are more pronounced in people with wider hip bones and greater vertical distance between each hip. The size, position, and slope of the greater trochanter and femoral head can also influence the appearance of hip concavity. If the trochanter slopes downward, you are more likely to have a notable hip dip. 

These factors can combine to create a more expansive space between the bones, ultimately leading to a more pronounced notch in the hip bone.

Contrary to popular belief, hip dips are usually associated with smaller body fat stores in these areas, as less fat 'fills' the gap. 

Although increasing buttock muscle mass and putting on a certain amount of body fat can reduce the appearance of hip dimples to some extent, it is unlikely to get rid of them completely.

Unlike love handles or saddlebags, which respectively refer to fat on the flanks and outer thighs, the hip dip cannot be reduced by losing fat. In some patients, removing love handle and saddlebag fat can reduce the appearance of the hip dip by smoothing out the depression, but the actual size of the dip will be unaffected. 

Hip Depressions are Normal

Many people ask us, "What are hip dips, and are they normal?" Hip dips are entirely regular, and there is no need to worry about them medically.

As mentioned earlier, they are caused by your body's unique structure and are not an indicator of your health. Their presence does not necessarily reflect your body fat percentage. As you can see in the image above, the patient has quite noticeable hip dips, but she is close to her ideal weight. Clearly, fat did not play a role in developing these indentations. 

However, for many women, their presence does lower one's self-confidence. If you want to eliminate hip dips without undergoing an invasive procedure, keep reading to the end of this piece.

Will Any Workouts Help With Hip Dips?

While some exercises can help reduce the appearance of the hips, you can't get rid of them completely. You can build muscle in the lower body to round out the glutes and thighs or lose weight to reduce love handle and outer thigh fat, but these will not alter your skeletal makeup. 

Plus, you can't decide where your body stores fat or direct the body to lose fat in any specific area. If you are genetically prone to holding fat in your thighs, that part of the body will be the last to slim down once you begin losing weight.  

Despite the many online videos and websites listing the "secrets" to getting rid of your dips, no exercise, diet, or lifestyle habits will change your skeletal physique.

Once you know this, it will be easier to accept the normality of hip dips and focus on what you can do to strengthen and stabilize them.

Focus on Hip Function Instead 

Instead of focusing on how your hips look, focus on what matters: the strength and stability of your hips.

The hip is a general term for the pelvis bones (hip bone, butt bone, and pubic bone) and the surrounding muscles. They are essential for their role in stabilizing the body and are one of the most significant load-bearing structures in the body.

Good hip strength and stability facilitate daily activities and reduce the risk of injury. In fact, weak hips are associated with more knee pain, while hip-strengthening exercises are associated with less pain and injury.

Although you can't change the structure of your hips, you can do exercises to strengthen the muscles around your hips that are responsible for proper hip movement.

Exercises like glute bridges, fire hydrants, and hip abductions are excellent for developing these muscle groups and supporting hip stability and mobility. In addition, strengthening the gluteus medius and surrounding muscles can reduce the overall appearance of hip dips.

Check out this guide for exercises and other ways to lose hip dips without having to resort to an invasive treatment like hip implants. 

AirSculpt® Provides The Best Hip Dip Solution

The exclusive AirSculpt fat transfer technique provides a minimally invasive alternative to traditional liposuction-based methods. Using patented AirSculpt® technology ensures a safer and more accurate fat graft while reducing patient risks. 

Unlike fat transfers to the hips using conventional liposuction, the AirSculpt® Hip Flip™ doesn't use scalpels, stitches, needles, or general anesthesia, which is why our procedure allows for a much shorter recovery period. This precision-engineered technology plucks fat cell-by-cell with unmatched finesse, ensuring proportional results while allowing you to remain fully awake during hip dip surgery.  

Going more in-depth, this technique enables a far more precise body contouring result thanks to its use of power-automated tools instead of manual liposuction syringes. Hip indentations can be filled in naturally using one's own fat, and since this procedure needs only a modest amount of material, fat can be used from areas like the arms or bra rolls! Thin patients tend to have hip dips, so this treatment is great for those who do not have enough fat for a full BBL. 

Furthermore, the results are all-natural, as your own fat is used instead of a synthetic implant. Unlike the Brazilian Butt Lift, a Hip Flip™ only focuses on the hip dip region by rounding the lower body. A BBL, by contrast, uses more fat and also adds natural projection to the buttocks. 

For more information on how we can help you, call one of our more than 27 body sculpting offices worldwide to get started with your free consultation.