Pillow Face / Chipmunk Cheeks

About

Pillow Face, also known as Chipmunk Cheeks is a slang term for common side effects of over-injecting the face with dermal fillers. The pillow face syndrome generally occurs when the face is overfilled and creates a puffy look, similar to a chipmunk's cheek. The expression "pillow face" was coined in early 2009 by tabloids and grew as a popular internet topic over the decades, especially under the gaze of celebrities and influencers' faces who appear to have the "pillow face" due to excess of facial cosmetic procedures.

Origin

The earliest known mention of the "pillow face" was posted by the tabloid Daily Mail^[1] on April 29th, 2009, in an article titled "Rise of the Pillow Face: The new look which gives away celebs who have had plastic surgery to try and recapture their youth." In the article, journalist Maysa Rawi suggests notable examples of celebrities that "may have had fat implants in their cheeks, causing the pillow face effect."

On March 12th, 2012, YouTuber^[2] Wayne Goss posted a video listing a few celebrities with "pillow face" features (seen below), which amassed over 880,000 views and 18,000 likes in 12 years.

Spread

The slang expression slowly grew popular on the internet in 2019, as netizens started to post memes and jokes related to celebrities with facial features similar to the pillow face and chipmunk cheeks. For instance, on July 24th, 2019, Facebook^[3] user @DrHallPlasticSurgery posted an illustration showing the levels of the pillow face syndrome (seen below), which amassed roughly 72 likes and 11 comments in five years.

On August 5th, 2024, TikTok^[4] user @rochel_leah_ posted a video commenting on the pillow face syndrome (seen below), which garnered over 12 million plays and 1 million likes in three months.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References