"Dimples are nice. They are like icing on cake," says 34-year-old Elvis Lee of St Catherine, who admits to having a melting feeling when a pretty woman with dimples flashes them at him.

On cheeks and chins, dimples are considered pleasing marks of beauty in many cultures.

The marks which become more evident when those who have them smile are visible indentations of the skin, caused by underlying flesh, which forms on the cheek.

Dimples are said by researchers to be genetically inherited and are a dominant trait. When the person smiles, these muscles pull the skin inward, forming dimples.

Cheek dimples are sometimes considered a determinant of female beauty. Females with cheek dimples are sometimes stereotyped as being innocent.

Males with a dimple on their chin are considered especially attractive by some. Chin dimples are the result of the underlying bone structure - referred to as cleft chins - and are also considered quite attractive.

famous dimples

Among the famous who became even more memorable because of their chins were Elijah Wood, who played Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings movies, and singer Michael Jackson, although his chin dimple came courtesy of a plastic surgeon's scalpel.

Researchers note that cheek dimples, unlike chin dimples, are not caused by the underlying bone structure. These facial creases that occur at the edges of the mouth are formed by muscles that pull the skin inward. So desirable are dimples in the cheeks that plastic surgeons make good money adding them to their works of facial art.

Dimples on each cheek are relatively common. The single dimple is rarer, occurring on one side of the face only. Babies commonly have dimples, but sometimes these disappear or become less noticeable as the muscles lengthen with age.

Sources: www.wickipedia.com , www.nctimes.com and www.nationmaster.com.