Hip dips, those slight inward curves just below your hip bones, are a common feature of many body shapes. While perfectly normal, some individuals seek ways to soften their appearance for a smoother silhouette. At Silhouette Plastic Surgery Institute, our board-certified plastic surgeons understand these concerns and offer a range of solutions, from targeted exercises to advanced cosmetic procedures. Whether you’re exploring workout routines or considering options like Sculptra injections or fat transfer, understanding hip dips is the first step to achieving your desired body contour.
Understanding Hip Dips: More Than Just Skin Deep
Hip dips, often referred to as “violin hips” due to their resemblance to the curves of a violin, are indentations along the side of your body, below the hip bone and above the thigh. They occur when the skin is tethered to the deeper trochanter of the femur, creating an inward curve. It’s crucial to distinguish hip dips from love handles, which are excess fat deposits around the waistline. Hip dips are structural, determined by your skeletal frame, while love handles are related to subcutaneous fat.
Hip Dips vs. Love Handles: What’s the Difference?
Love handles are characterized by excess fat accumulating around the sides of the abdomen and hips. They are a result of fat storage and can be influenced by diet and exercise. Hip dips, conversely, are not primarily caused by excess fat. They are structural indentations caused by the shape of your pelvis and the way your muscles and fat are distributed around your bones. While love handles are a deposit of fat, hip dips are an anatomical feature related to bone structure.
What Causes Hip Dips? The Role of Bone Structure
Hip dips are largely determined by your bone structure, specifically the shape and height of your iliac crest (hip bone) and femur (thigh bone). When the iliac crest sits higher than the trochanter of the femur, it creates a space where the skin and fat are pulled inward, resulting in a hip dip. Genetics play a significant role in determining your bone structure, making hip dips a hereditary trait. Factors like muscle mass and fat distribution can influence how pronounced hip dips appear, but the underlying cause is skeletal.
Are Hip Dips Normal? Embracing Body Diversity
Hip dips are absolutely normal and do not indicate any health issues or abnormalities. They are simply a variation in body shape, as common as having different heights or shoe sizes. Body shapes vary greatly, and hip dips are just one example of this natural diversity. While societal trends may sometimes favor a perfectly rounded hip shape, it’s important to recognize that hip dips are a common and natural part of many body structures. However, if you personally desire to minimize the appearance of your hip dips, there are strategies you can explore.
Non-Surgical Ways to Minimize Hip Dips: Targeted Exercise
While you cannot change your bone structure through exercise, you can build muscle mass in the surrounding areas to help reduce the visual depth of hip dips. Focusing on exercises that target the glutes, outer thighs (abductors), and inner thighs (adductors) can help build muscle to create a smoother contour. It’s important to have realistic expectations; exercise can improve muscle tone and shape, but it may not completely eliminate hip dips due to their skeletal basis.
Best Exercises for Hip Dips: Building Muscle for a Curvier Shape
Here are some effective exercises you can incorporate into your routine to target the muscles around your hips and thighs:
1. Squats: A fundamental exercise that works multiple muscle groups, including the glutes and quadriceps.
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly pointed out.
- Engage your core and glutes.
- Lower your hips as if sitting in a chair, keeping your back straight and chest up.
- Ensure your knees track over your toes and your feet remain flat.
- Push back up to the starting position, squeezing your glutes at the top.
2. Curtsy Lunges: This variation of lunges specifically targets the gluteus medius, a key muscle for hip abduction, as well as inner thighs.
- Stand with feet together, hands on hips or chest.
- Step back diagonally with your left leg behind your right, lowering into a lunge.
- Keep your front knee over your ankle and your core engaged.
- Push back up to the starting position and repeat on the other side, alternating legs.
3. Curtsy Step Downs: Similar to curtsy lunges but performed on an elevated surface to increase range of motion and glute activation.
- Stand on a sturdy step or bench.
- Step one leg down and behind the standing leg, crossing it as in a curtsy lunge.
- Lower your body by bending your front knee until your back foot lightly touches the floor.
- Return to the starting position and repeat on one leg before switching sides.
4. Banded Lateral Walks: Excellent for engaging the gluteus medius and abductors, crucial for hip stability and shape. Use a resistance band around your knees or ankles.
- Place a resistance band around your thighs, just above your knees.
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.
- Step laterally to one side, maintaining tension on the band.
- Keep your feet pointing forward and your core engaged. Take steps in one direction for a set number of reps, then switch directions.
5. Banded Clam Shells: These “hip opener” exercises isolate the gluteus medius and promote external hip rotation. Use a light resistance band.
- Lie on your side with knees bent and feet stacked, resistance band around your thighs above your knees.
- Keeping your feet together, rotate your top knee upwards, opening your legs like a clam shell.
- Control the movement and avoid rotating your hips backward. Pause at the top and slowly return to the starting position.
6. Side Leg Raises: Focus on hip abduction, directly targeting the outer glutes. Can be done with or without a resistance band.
- Lie on your side with legs straight and stacked, with or without a resistance band around your ankles.
- Slowly raise your top leg straight up towards the ceiling, keeping your core engaged and hips stable.
- Avoid rotating your leg forward or backward. Pause at the top and slowly lower your leg back down.
7. Fire Hydrants: Strengthen glutes and improve hip mobility.
- Start on your hands and knees, back flat and core engaged.
- Lift one leg out to the side, keeping your knee bent at a 90-degree angle, mimicking a dog lifting its leg to a fire hydrant.
- Keep your hips and torso square to the ground and avoid arching your back. Lower your leg back to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
8. Glute Bridges: Effective for strengthening the glutes and core. Variations can increase difficulty.
- Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart.
- Engage your glutes and lift your hips off the floor, creating a straight line from your shoulders to your knees.
- Squeeze your glutes at the top and hold for a few seconds before slowly lowering back down.
9. Hip Thrusts: A more advanced glute exercise often performed with a barbell, but bodyweight or resistance bands can also be used.
- Position your upper back against a bench or elevated surface.
- Sit on the floor with knees bent and feet flat, then lean back against the bench.
- Drive through your heels and lift your hips towards the ceiling, squeezing your glutes at the top.
- Lower your hips back to the starting position with control.
Consistency and proper form are key to seeing results from these exercises. Aim for 2-3 sessions per week, focusing on quality over quantity.
Surgical and Non-Surgical Treatments for Hip Dips: Professional Options
For individuals seeking more immediate and noticeable changes in hip contour, cosmetic procedures offer effective solutions. When exercise alone isn’t enough to achieve your desired results, or for those seeking faster outcomes, procedures like fat transfer and Sculptra injections can provide significant improvement.
Surgical Options: Reshaping Your Hips
1. Fat Transfer to Hip Dips (Body Contouring): A natural and effective way to fill in hip dips using your own body fat.
Fat transfer, also known as autologous fat grafting, involves liposuction to gently remove excess fat from areas like the abdomen, thighs, or buttocks. This harvested fat is then purified and strategically injected into the hip dip area to add volume and create a smoother, more rounded hip contour. Fat transfer offers the dual benefit of reducing unwanted fat in donor areas while enhancing hip shape. The results are natural-looking and long-lasting, as the transferred fat becomes integrated into the surrounding tissues.
Non-Surgical Options: Injectable Volume
2. Sculptra Hip Dip Injections: A non-surgical injectable treatment that stimulates collagen production to gradually fill hip dips.
Sculptra is a dermal filler composed of poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), a biocompatible and biodegradable synthetic substance. When injected into the hip dip area, Sculptra works by stimulating your body’s own collagen production. Over time, this increased collagen volume gradually fills in the indentations, creating a smoother and more rounded appearance. Sculptra requires a series of treatments spaced several weeks apart, and results develop gradually over a few months as collagen production increases. The effects of Sculptra can last for up to two years, offering a longer-term non-surgical solution.
Choosing the Right Approach and Seeking Expert Advice
Deciding how to address hip dips is a personal choice that depends on your individual goals, body type, and desired outcomes. Exercise is a healthy and accessible option for building muscle and improving overall fitness, which may indirectly minimize the appearance of hip dips. However, for more significant and targeted contouring, cosmetic procedures like fat transfer and Sculptra injections offer more direct and often faster results.
Consulting with a board-certified plastic surgeon, like Dr. Daneshmand at Silhouette Plastic Surgery Institute, is crucial to determine the best approach for you. A consultation allows for a personalized assessment of your anatomy, discussion of your goals, and expert recommendations tailored to your specific needs. Whether you’re leaning towards exercise strategies or exploring surgical or non-surgical treatments, professional guidance ensures you make informed decisions and achieve the best possible results.
To learn more about your options for addressing hip dips and to schedule a consultation, please contact Silhouette Plastic Surgery at 949-359-8397 or fill out our online intake form. We are here to help you achieve your desired body shape with expertise and personalized care.
