How to Determine Face Shape

Before you start

• Pull all your hair back from your face, including bangs and the hair over your temples.
• Take off glasses and anything that covers the jawline, such as a scarf or high collar.
• Stand or sit up straight and look straight ahead with a relaxed, closed mouth.
• Use even, front-facing light so that no shadow hides the side of your face or your jaw.

Method 1: the mirror trace

This is the quickest method and needs only a mirror and a washable marker, lipstick or soap.

1. Stand about 30 cm (one foot) from a mirror, keep your head still and close one eye.
2. Trace the outline of your face on the glass, from the hairline around the chin and back up.
3. Step back and look at the outline. Where is it widest? Is it longer than wide? Are there corners at the jaw?

The trace makes proportions much easier to judge than looking at your face directly, because your eyes are no longer drawn to your features. Its weakness is accuracy: a slight head movement while tracing distorts the outline.

Method 2: measure with a tape

For numbers you can compare, use a soft tape measure and take four measurements:

1. Forehead: across the widest part, near the temples.
2. Cheekbones: across the highest points, just below the outer corners of the eyes.
3. Jaw: from the corner of the jaw below one ear to the same point on the other side.
4. Face length: from the center of the hairline to the bottom of the chin.

Divide each one by the cheekbone width. Or enter the four numbers in the face shape calculator, which does the math and scores all seven shapes for you.

Method 3: let a detector measure a photo

The face shape detector does the tape-measure method from a photo. It places 478 landmarks on your face, finds your hairline, measures the same four lines plus the angle of your jaw, and shows the lines on your photo so you can check them. It also warns you when the photo is likely to give a wrong reading, for example when your head is turned or your mouth is open. Everything runs in your browser and your photo is never uploaded.

How to determine face shape from your measurements

Work through these questions in order. The first clear answer usually decides the shape.

1. Is your face length at least 1.6 times your cheekbone width, with forehead, cheekbones and jaw all similar? You have an oblong face.
2. Is your jaw clearly the widest part, wider than your forehead? You have a triangle face.
3. Is your forehead the widest part (or equal to the cheekbones), with a much narrower jaw and a narrow chin? You have a heart face.
4. Are your cheekbones clearly wider than both your forehead and your jaw, with a narrow chin? You have a diamond face.
5. Is your face length less than about 1.3 times the width? Then check the jaw: angular corners mean square, a soft curve means round.
6. Otherwise (longer than wide, widest at the cheekbones, soft jaw): you have an oval face.

Why different methods can disagree

If the mirror says oval and the tape says round, neither is necessarily wrong. A few things cause most disagreements:

• Where face length starts. Measuring from the hairline gives a longer face than measuring from the brow or nose bridge. A receding or very high hairline also shifts the result.
• Where the forehead is measured. The forehead gets narrower toward the hairline, so measuring higher gives a narrower forehead.
• Soft tissue. Full cheeks make a face read rounder than its bone structure; a lean face reads more angular.
• Borderline faces. Many people sit between two shapes. A small change in one measurement flips the label but not the face.

That is why the face shape detector gives a percentage for every shape. When two shapes are close, use the advice they share.

What to do with your face shape

Once you know your shape, each shape guide lists the haircuts, glasses, beard styles and makeup techniques that balance it. The general idea is simple: add length where the face is short, add width where it is narrow, and soften strong angles or define soft curves. Treat these as suggestions, not rules.