Face shapes

How the shapes are found

A face shape comes from four measurements: face length from hairline to chin, and the widths of the forehead, the cheekbones and the jaw. A face about one and a half times as long as it is wide, widest at the cheekbones, reads as oval. Equal length and width with soft angles reads as round; with strong angles, square. A wide forehead over a narrow chin reads as heart-shaped.

What builds a shape

The outline is set mainly by bone: the frontal bone of the forehead, the zygomatic bones of the cheeks and the mandible of the jaw. Muscle, fat and skin add to it, which is why faces change shape with age and weight. Hair matters too: a hairline, a fringe or a beard can change which shape a face seems to be. Every shape is normal and found everywhere.

Using the shapes

Most advice follows one rule of thumb: to balance a shape, choose the opposite, such as round frames for an angular face; to echo it, choose a match. Neither is right. The shapes are useful for talking to a barber or optician, but personal taste, comfort and what a person feels like themselves in matter more than any chart.

Famous face shape face guides

Zygomatic boneThe cheekbones, widest point of most facesForeheadForehead width marks heart and triangle facesChinPointed, broad or cleft, it ends the outlineWidow's peakA pointed hairline that frames many heart shapesFacial symmetryNo face is perfectly symmetric

Further reading

• Face on Wikipedia
• Facial symmetry on Wikipedia