How to use the face shape finder
- Choose photo or measurements. Upload a front facing selfie or take one with your camera, or switch to entering four measurements with a soft tape.
- Use good light and pull your hair back. Face a window in daylight, keep your head straight and your hair off your forehead and jaw.
- Check the four measurements. The tool reads forehead width, cheekbone width, jaw width and face length. If you measure by hand, measure each one twice.
- Pick your jaw type. Choose soft, angular or pointed so the tool can separate oval from square and heart from diamond.
- Read your shape and haircut ideas. See your face shape, the cuts and fringes that flatter it and the styles to skip.
Find your face shape from a photo
The quickest way is to use the photo option above. Upload a clear, straight-on selfie or take one with your phone camera. The tool maps 478 points on your face, measures your forehead, cheekbones, jawline and face length, and draws the lines on your photo so you can see exactly what it measured. It all happens inside your browser, so your photo is never uploaded or stored anywhere.
For the best result, pull your hair back, look straight at the camera, keep a neutral expression and avoid wide angle lenses held very close to your face, which stretch the features in the middle.
How to measure your face shape at home
You only need a soft sewing tape measure, a mirror and about two minutes. Pull your hair back off your face with a clip or headband so nothing hides your hairline or jaw. Stand straight, look ahead and keep your face relaxed, because smiling pushes your cheeks outward and skews the numbers.
- Forehead. Measure across the widest part of your forehead, usually from the peak of one eyebrow arch to the other.
- Cheekbones. Find the pointy bone just below the outer corner of each eye and measure straight across between them.
- Jawline. Place the tape at the corner of your jaw just under one ear and run it straight across to the same point on the other side.
- Face length. Measure from the center of your hairline straight down to the tip of your chin.
No tape measure? Take a straight-on selfie with your hair tied back, then measure the same four points on the screen with a ruler. Because the finder works on proportions, the result is the same whether you use inches, centimeters or millimeters on a photo.
Worked example
Say your measurements are a forehead of 13.7 cm (5.4 in), cheekbones of 14.2 cm (5.6 in), a jaw of 11.7 cm (4.6 in) and a length of 19.3 cm (7.6 in), with a softly curved jaw. The face is about 1.36 times as long as the cheekbones are wide, the cheekbones are the widest part and the jaw is clearly narrower than the forehead. That pattern is an oval face, the result the calculator gives for these numbers.
The seven face shapes explained
| Face shape | How to spot it | Styling goal |
|---|---|---|
| Oval | Longer than wide, forehead a touch wider than a soft jaw | Almost anything works, so show it off |
| Round | Length and width almost equal, full cheeks, soft jaw | Add height and a few angles |
| Square | Forehead, cheeks and jaw similar width, angular jaw corners | Soften the jawline with movement |
| Heart | Widest at the forehead, narrowing to a slim chin | Add fullness near the jaw |
| Diamond | Cheekbones widest, narrow forehead and chin | Add width at the forehead and chin |
| Oblong | Clearly longer than wide, straight sides | Add width and shorten with bangs |
| Triangle | Jaw wider than the forehead | Build volume at the crown and temples |
How the face shape calculator works
The tool compares your four measurements in the same way a stylist does by eye. First it works out your length to width ratio, dividing face length by the widest of your three width measurements. A ratio around 1.5 or more points to an oblong face, while anything close to 1 means your face is nearly as wide as it is long.
Next it looks at which width is the largest. When the forehead is clearly the widest and the jaw is at least 15 percent narrower, you have a heart shape. When the cheekbones stand out above both the forehead and jaw, you have a diamond. When the jaw is wider than the forehead, the face is a triangle. If all three widths sit within about 12 percent of each other, your jaw and length decide between round, square, oval and oblong.
Choosing a haircut for your face shape
Face shape is a useful starting point, not a rulebook. Hair texture, density and how much time you spend styling matter just as much. A heart-shaped face with very fine hair might love a chin length bob, while the same face with thick curls may prefer long layers that let the curl pattern breathe.
Take a screenshot of your result to your next salon appointment. It gives your stylist a quick summary of your proportions, and you can talk through which of the suggested cuts suits your texture and routine. For more ideas, browse our guides to the wolf cut, the butterfly haircut and men's haircuts for every face shape.
What glasses suit my face shape?
Opticians use one simple rule: pick frames that contrast with your face. Angular frames balance soft, curved faces, and round frames soften strong, angular ones. Then match the frame to the widest part of your face so it neither pinches nor overhangs. The finder above adds frame suggestions and a frame size to every result.
| Face shape | Glasses frames to try | Frames to go easy on |
|---|---|---|
| Oval | Almost anything; square, rectangular and geometric frames as wide as your face | Very wide or very small frames |
| Round | Rectangular, square and browline frames | Small round frames |
| Square | Round, oval, cat eye and thin metal frames | Heavy square frames |
| Heart | Bottom heavy, rimless, oval frames and aviators | Top heavy frames and thick brow bars |
| Diamond | Cat eye, browline, oval and rimless frames | Narrow frames inside the cheekbones |
| Oblong | Deep, tall and oversized frames with bold temples | Small, shallow frames |
| Triangle | Browline, cat eye and frames heavier on top | Bottom heavy frames |
Men and women follow the same rule. A round face suits a rectangular or browline frame on anyone, and a square jaw looks softer in a round metal frame on anyone.
What size glasses do I need?
Every frame has three numbers printed inside one arm, such as 52-18-140: the lens width (52 mm), the bridge (18 mm) and the arm length (140 mm). The front of the frame is roughly front width = (lens width × 2) + bridge + about 8 mm for the hinges and rims.
So a 52-18-140 frame is about 52 × 2 + 18 + 8 = 130 mm across. Aim for a front about as wide as your face at the cheekbones, or up to 1 cm narrower.
Worked example. The face in the worked example above measures 14.2 cm across the cheekbones, which is 142 mm. A good front width is 132 to 142 mm. With an 18 mm bridge that means a lens width of about (137 − 26) ÷ 2 ≈ 56 mm, so a 56-18-140 frame fits well while a 50-18 frame (126 mm) would look small. The finder does this sum for you when you enter centimeters or inches.
| Cheekbone width | Frame front to look for | Lens width (18 mm bridge) | Typical size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.5 cm (4.9 in) | 115 to 125 mm | about 47 mm | Small |
| 13.5 cm (5.3 in) | 125 to 135 mm | about 52 mm | Medium |
| 14.2 cm (5.6 in) | 132 to 142 mm | about 56 mm | Medium to large |
| 15 cm (5.9 in) | 140 to 150 mm | about 60 mm | Large |
Pair your face shape with the right hair color
Once you know your shape, the next question is usually color. Placement can shape a face as much as the cut. Brighter pieces around the face draw the eye up and out, while deeper tones at the sides slim a wider jaw. Take our skin undertone quiz to find the shades that suit your coloring.
