Concerns / Upper Face / Temple Hollowing
Temple hollowing:
why temples become sunken
The temple is the shallow area between the outer edge of the eyebrow, the hairline and the upper cheekbone. When it loses support, the face reads as narrower across the upper third, the outer eyebrow sits lower, and the bony rim around the eye becomes more visible.
Patients rarely arrive describing it in those terms. More often they say their face looks tired or drawn, or that their glasses have started sitting differently.
Dr Ibrahim Hawli
MBBS · Registered Medical Practitioner
Ahpra registration MED0002627622
Ahpra registration MED0002627622
In short
Temple hollowing is a loss of structural support in the temporal region, caused by reduction in the fat pads that sit there, thinning of the temporalis muscle, and gradual bone change beneath. It is not only an ageing change. Significant weight loss, sustained endurance exercise and some medical conditions produce it in younger people. Because the region carries vessels close to the surface, assessment here is anatomical rather than cosmetic.
01 / Anatomy
What the temple
actually is
The temporal region is not a simple hollow. It is a layered structure, and each layer contributes to how full or hollow the area appears. Hollowing can originate in any of them, and the layer involved changes what is appropriate. This is why an examination includes palpation rather than observation alone.
01
Skin
Thinner here than on the cheek, with little subcutaneous cushioning. Superficial veins are often visible in fair skinned patients even at rest.
02
Superficial fat
A thin layer immediately beneath the skin.
03
Temporoparietal fascia
A sheet of connective tissue carrying the superficial temporal artery and its branches.
04
Temporalis muscle and deep fat pad
The temporalis is a chewing muscle, fanning downward to attach to the jaw. The fat pad sits between muscle and bone.
05
Temporal bone
The floor of the region.
02 / Mechanisms
Why temples
become hollow
Four separate mechanisms. Most patients have more than one, and establishing the balance between them is what makes a plan realistic.
01
Fat pad reduction
The fat pads in the temporal region lose volume over time. The most common single contributor, accelerating from the fourth decade.
02
Muscle thinning
The temporalis is a functional muscle. Ageing, reduced chewing load and certain medications reduce its bulk. In some patients the hollow follows the outline of the muscle itself.
03
Bone change
The bone beneath remodels gradually across decades. Less bone means less floor beneath the soft tissue.
04
Skin thinning
As the dermis loses collagen and elastin, the underlying contour shows through. Two people with identical fat volume can look very different.
03 / Often Missed
Temple hollowing is not
only about ageing
This is the part most patients are never told, and it changes the conversation entirely.
If your hollowing appeared alongside a change in weight, training or health, the cause may be entirely different from what you assumed, and so is the appropriate response.
Weight loss
Facial fat reduces along with body fat, and the temples are among the first areas to show it. Rapid or substantial weight loss can produce visible hollowing in someone in their twenties or thirties. If your hollowing followed significant weight loss, that is likely the main driver rather than ageing.
Sustained endurance exercise
Long distance runners, cyclists and triathletes frequently show earlier temporal hollowing for the same reason. Very low body fat maintained across years does not spare the face.
Illness, medication and medical conditions
Chronic illness, some long term medications and conditions causing generalised fat loss can all present this way. If hollowing has appeared quickly without weight change, that is a reason to see your GP before considering anything cosmetic.
Genetics and skull shape
Some people simply have a more concave temporal region and always have. A photograph from ten years ago usually settles this question, and it is worth bringing one.
04 / Connected Areas
Why the temples affect
how your eyes look
Patients often present concerned about the outer eye area and are surprised when the temple comes up.
The temporal region provides lateral support to the tail of the eyebrow. When that support reduces, the outer brow drops slightly. A lower lateral brow makes the upper eyelid appear heavier and the eye appear smaller, without anything having changed in the eyelid itself.
The same mechanism explains why the bony rim around the eye becomes more defined as the temple hollows. The rim has not changed. The soft tissue that softened its edge has.
This is why the temple is assessed as part of the upper face rather than as a separate item, and why looking at the eye area without looking at the temple can produce an outcome that does not address what the patient actually noticed.
05 / Why Care Matters Here
The temple carries structures close to the surface
The superficial temporal artery runs upward through the temporoparietal fascia, and its branches are palpable in many patients. A prominent vein, referred to in clinical literature as the sentinel vein, sits in a reasonably consistent position near the outer brow and is used as an anatomical landmark.
Because of this, the temporal region is treated in clinical training as an area demanding precise anatomical knowledge rather than a straightforward one. That is not a statement about care standards. It is the reason the region is taught in layered detail.
A question worth asking
Which layer is my hollowing coming from?
Anyone assessing this area should be able to tell you which layer they believe your hollowing originates in, and why.
If they cannot, the assessment has not been done.
06 / Assessment
What an assessment of the temple covers
What is appropriate for you, if anything, is discussed during that appointment.
- Depth and extent of the hollow, at rest and with the jaw clenched, which isolates the muscle contribution
- Palpation to establish which layer is involved
- Skin thickness, and whether superficial vessels are visible
- Lateral eyebrow position, and symmetry between sides
- Prominence of the bony rim around the eye and of the cheekbone
- Whether recent weight change, exercise pattern or medical history explains the change
- Asymmetry, since one side is frequently more hollow than the other
- Whether anything is clinically appropriate, including the option of nothing
07 / Before You Decide
What to know before
your consultation
Every option carries potential risks as well as potential benefits, and no cosmetic medical procedure is risk free. In the temporal region the relevant consideration is the vascular anatomy described above, which is why in person examination and a conservative approach matter here more than in most areas.
Bring a list of your current medications, and a photograph from several years ago if you have one.
Assessed at consultation
Factors that may make an approach inadvisable
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Active infection or inflammation in the area
- Certain neuromuscular or autoimmune conditions
- Certain medications, including blood thinning medication
- Unexplained rapid hollowing, which should be investigated medically first
- Previous surgery or trauma affecting the region
- Unrealistic expectations about achievable change
Individual results vary. Not all people are suitable candidates. In some cases the appropriate recommendation is that nothing be undertaken.
08 / What Happens
What happens at your consultation in Glenroy
Appointments run 30 to 45 minutes. A consultation fee applies and is confirmed when you book. No referral is required.
01
Discussion
What you have noticed, when it changed, any recent weight or health changes, medical history, current medications and previous cosmetic work.
02
Assessment
The temporal region is examined at rest and with the jaw clenched, with palpation to establish the layer involved. Brow position, symmetry and skin thickness are assessed.
03
Information
What is clinically appropriate, what it involves, expected timeline, risks, alternatives and the option of proceeding with nothing.
04
Decision
You are not asked to decide on the day. Time to consider information is part of informed consent.
09 / Service Area
Assessment for patients across Melbourne's northern suburbs
Tajmeel Cliniq is on Glenroy Road, close to Glenroy Station and the Pascoe Vale Road corridor. Patients attend from Glenroy, Oak Park, Pascoe Vale, Hadfield, Gowanbrae, Fawkner, Broadmeadows, Moonee Ponds, Campbellfield, Craigieburn and Roxburgh Park.
The clinic is on Level 1. Street parking is available on Glenroy Road and adjacent side streets.
Opening hours
- Sunday10am to 5pm
- Monday10am to 5pm
- TuesdayClosed
- Wednesday10am to 5pm
- Thursday10am to 5pm
- FridayClosed
- SaturdayClosed
Tajmeel Cliniq
Level 1, 10 Glenroy Road, Glenroy VIC 3046
0404 342 222
info@tajmeelcliniq.com.au
Level 1, 10 Glenroy Road, Glenroy VIC 3046
0404 342 222
info@tajmeelcliniq.com.au
10 / Common Questions
Questions patients ask
about hollow temples
If your question is not answered here, ask it at your consultation. There is time set aside for exactly that.
Most commonly a reduction in the fat pads that sit in the temporal region, combined with thinning of the chewing muscle beneath and gradual bone change. Weight loss, sustained endurance exercise and some medical conditions produce the same appearance in younger people.
Yes, and it is a frequent cause. Facial fat reduces along with body fat, and the temples show it early. If your hollowing followed significant weight loss, that is likely the main driver rather than ageing.
They can. The temple provides lateral support to the tail of the eyebrow. When that support reduces, the outer brow sits lower, which makes the upper eyelid appear heavier and the eye appear smaller even though the eyelid itself has not changed.
Usually not, but sudden or rapid hollowing without weight change is worth discussing with your GP first. Chronic illness, some medications and conditions causing generalised fat loss can present this way.
Sustained endurance training that keeps body fat very low across years is associated with earlier temporal hollowing. It is not the exercise itself but the maintained low body fat.
The temporal region has a layered anatomy and carries vessels close to the surface, including the superficial temporal artery. Which layer your hollowing originates in changes what is appropriate, and that can only be established by examination and palpation.
A consultation fee applies and is confirmed when you book. Call 0404 342 222.
Related concerns
The upper face is assessed as a whole
Written and medically reviewed by
Dr Ibrahim Hawli
MBBS. Level 1 Certification, American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine. Advanced training in non surgical rhinoplasty with Aesthetic Intelligence.
Ahpra registration MED0002627622. Dr Hawli practises cosmetic medicine at Tajmeel Cliniq in Glenroy, Melbourne, and conducts every consultation in person.
Last reviewed: [insert month year] · Next review due: [insert month year]
Your first step is
an assessment.
0404 342 222 · Level 1, 10 Glenroy Road, Glenroy
This page provides general information about cosmetic medical consultations and does not constitute medical advice. Any cosmetic medical procedure carries risks. Individual outcomes vary and not all people are suitable candidates. Any decision follows an individual consultation and assessment with a registered medical practitioner. Dr Ibrahim Hawli, Ahpra registration MED0002627622.