How to Determine Face Shape

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This article was co-written by Anjuli Yera, MD. Anjuli Yera is a Licensed Professional Makeup Artist in West Palm Beach, FL. With over 15 years of experience, she specializes in makeup artistry, airbursh application, bridal and wedding makeup. Her work has been included in the St. Louis Bride, STL Today and Miami Times. She has received awards such as WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award, Best of The Knot Award and Top Pro Status on Thumbtack. In addition, she was invited to KSDK’s ‘Show Me St. Louise’ to do Makeup Trend of the Year program. Anjuli is a self-trained professional makeup artist, she also attended Artistry Makeup Academy to improve her makeup. highly skilled.

There are 8 references cited in this article that you can see at the bottom of the page.

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The shape of the face can influence the choice of hairstyle, eyeglasses and makeup to look best. Let’s start this off by getting familiar with the basic shapes. You can determine your face shape with a few measurements and use your newfound knowledge to choose hairstyles, makeup, and accessories that enhance your facial features.

Table of Contents

Face measurement

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Use a soft tape measure. To measure the face, you need a soft tape measure like a tailor’s ruler. These rulers can be easily purchased at grocery stores. Measure in inches or centimeters is okay; It’s important to compare measurements, you don’t need exact numbers. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Tuck your hair back. If your hair is long, you should put it up or tie it behind your back. With shorter hairstyles, you can wax or clip them up.

Do not use a tape measure to measure the face. Not only is the tape measure much more difficult to measure, but you can also injure yourself if you accidentally make the ruler roll while measuring.

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Take a pen and paper. To determine your face shape by measurements, you’ll need to write down each measurement and compare it with each other when you’re done. Find something to record the measurements. ^{[2] X Research Source}

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Mirror. Face measurement is easiest if you can see your movements. Stand or sit in front of a large mirror in a well-lit room. Place the mirror in front of your chin. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

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Measure the widest part of the forehead. This part is usually between the eyebrows and the hairline. Measure across the forehead, from the hairline side to side. Record measurements. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

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Measure across cheekbones. This operation is a bit complicated. Touch your cheekbones to find the highest protrusion. This is usually located just below the outer corners of the eyes. Once you have determined the exact position, use the ruler across the cheekbone from side to side. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Remember that the bridge of the nose can push the ruler up and make the width larger than it really is. For a more accurate measurement, hold the tape measure straight in front of your face and eyeballs, at the same level as your cheekbones. When measuring this way, you need to make sure to keep the tape measure away from your face at all times.

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Measure from the angle of the jaw to the tip of the chin. Hold one end of the tape measure at the corner of your jaw below your ear and pull the other end to the tip of your chin. Do the same on the other side and add the two measurements together, or you can simply double the first measurement. The result will be the full length of the function. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

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Measure face length. Measure from the midpoint of the top hairline down to the tip of your chin. If you have a receding or shaved hairline, you need to estimate the position of the hairline. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

This measurement can be wrong if you have a high nose. Instead of measuring closely to the curves of your face, hold the tape measure straight from top to bottom in front of your face and eyeballs in a position in line with the hairline down to the chin.

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Compare each measurement to determine face shape. After taking facial measurements and recording them, determine the largest and smallest measurements. Compare the proportions of the face with the basic shapes of the face. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

For example, if the width and length of the face are equal, it is probably round or square. Square faces have wider and more angular jaws than round faces.
If your face is longer than it is wide, you probably have an oblong, oval, or rectangular face shape. To determine each face shape, consider your forehead, cheekbones, and jawline measurements.
If the measurements get smaller from forehead to jaw, your face is heart or oval. If the measurements are the same from top to bottom, your face is likely oblong, square, or rectangular in shape.
If your face widens from forehead to jaw, then you have a triangular face.

Beautify face shape

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Choose a hairstyle that makes your face shape look better. Hair length can make your face look longer or wider. You need long hair to help balance the proportions of your face. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Long straight hair is a very suitable choice for round and square faces, as it increases the length and reduces the width of the face.
Ultra-short hairstyles with more volume at the top, such as the pixie cut, can also lengthen a short face and draw attention to the eyes and cheekbones.
Medium to short hairstyles, such as chin-length hair or shoulder-length bobs, can make long faces appear shorter and fuller. These hairstyles are good choices for oval and oblong faces.

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Create a hairstyle that suits your face. The shape of your face is an important factor in deciding which bangs look best to you (or whether you should wear them or not). Consider the following when deciding to have bangs: ^{[10] X Research Source}

Thin and long bangs that form an A-shape on the forehead can make a square face look softer.
Side parted bangs look good on many face shapes, including round faces, heart-shaped faces, oval faces, and oblong faces.
Flat, long, and straight bangs can make a narrow forehead look wider and make a long face look shorter.

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Choose frames that help balance your face shape if you wear glasses. Glasses can dramatically change the shape of your face. If you wear glasses, choose frames that help balance your face instead of exaggerating your face shape. Example: ^{[11] X Research Source}

Maintain the balance of an oval face with frames that fit the width of your face.
If you have a heart-shaped face, reduce the width of the top half with light-colored frames or glasses without borders. You can also choose frames with wider bottoms.
With a long, oblong or rectangular face, choose wide frames, close to the bridge of the nose and decorated on the temples to make the face look wider.
For narrow upper faces, such as triangle faces, choose frames that are wider at the top, such as cat eye frames.
Choose small frames for short, wide faces, such as square or oval faces. Curved frames will make an angular face more balanced, while angled frames are best suited for round faces.
Soften an angular diamond-shaped face with oval frames.

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Beautify the face shape with makeup. You need to apply makeup so that the proportions of the face are balanced and bring out your best features. Example: ^{[12] X Research Source}

Increase the width of an elongated face by applying blush on the cheeks and spreading outward towards the temples. Reduce face length by contouring hairline and jawline.
Use contouring powder to reduce the width of the forehead on a heart-shaped face.
Contour a round face by applying contouring powder around the circumference of the face and below the cheekbones. Apply highlighter to the center of the face (between the forehead, the bridge of the nose, the highest part of the cheeks and the chin).
Soften a square face by shading the contours of the forehead, temples and jaw, and applying highlighter on the cheekbones.
For faces with narrower foreheads like diamond and triangle faces, you can widen the gap between the ends of your eyebrows a bit to make the upper part appear wider.

Recognize the basic shapes of the face

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Define an oval face with small strokes. If your face is oblong but tapering from forehead to jaw, you have an oval face. An oval face is usually one-and-a-half times as long as it is wide. ^{[13] X Research Source}

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Observe the width of the cheekbones to define a round face. The round face has the largest width across the cheekbones, accompanied by a round forehead and jaw. A good rule of thumb is that round faces are usually the same length (measured from hairline to chin) as wide (measured across the cheekbones). ^{[14] X Research Source}

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Look for a wide forehead and small chin to define a heart-shaped face. The heart face has the widest forehead width and narrows down to the chin. The forehead is wider than the cheekbones, and the jaw is narrower than the cheekbones and forehead. ^{[15] X Research Source}

A heart-shaped face is often accompanied by a pointed chin.

Advice

Some articles on face shape claim that a certain face shape is “ideal” or “desirable”. However, those comments are purely subjective. No face shape is more beautiful than another.
Determining face shape is not an exact science, even if you use measurements. Use your judgment to determine which face shape is most similar to yours.
To look your best, you should keep your face shape in mind when deciding on a hairstyle and makeup. In addition, you also need to consider the shape of your face when choosing accessories such as hats and eyeglasses.

Steps

Face measurement

Beautify face shape

Recognize the basic shapes of the face

Advice

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