4 Ways to Determine Your Face Shape
Knowing your face shape is the starting point for better hairstyle, glasses, beard, makeup, and accessory choices. This page compares four ways to find yours — AI photo analysis, mirror tracing, tape measurement, and photo comparison — with time and accuracy for each, plus what to do if you fall between two shapes, which is more common than a clear result.
If you want to skip straight to the result: use the face shape finder — upload a photo and get your face shape in under 30 seconds.
The 7 Face Shapes Explained
There are seven widely recognised face shapes, each defined by the relative widths of the forehead, cheekbones, and jaw, combined with the ratio of face length to width. Most people fit primarily into one shape, though many sit between two.
Oval
Face length > width. Forehead slightly wider than jaw. Gently tapered edges. Most balanced shape.
Round
Width ≈ length. Full cheeks. Soft, curved jaw with no sharp angles.
Square
Forehead ≈ cheekbones ≈ jaw. Angular jaw corners. Face roughly as wide as long.
Heart
Forehead widest. Jaw significantly narrower. Often with a widow's peak. Narrow pointed chin.
Diamond
Cheekbones are widest. Both forehead and jaw are narrow. Pointed chin.
Oblong
Significantly longer than wide. Forehead, cheekbones, and jaw all similar width. Straight sides.
Triangle
Jaw is widest. Forehead significantly narrower than jaw. Opposite of heart shape.
4 Methods to Find Your Face Shape
AI Photo Analysis (Fastest & Most Accurate)
Step-by-step
- 1Go to faceshapedetector.app (the tool on this site)
- 2Upload a front-facing photo OR use your camera directly
- 3Ensure the photo has: good lighting, hair pulled back from the forehead, neutral expression, face centred in frame
- 4Click Analyze — the AI identifies 468 facial landmarks and computes your proportional ratios
- 5Your face shape result appears with a confidence percentage and personalised recommendations
Note: This method uses Google's MediaPipe Face Mesh — the same technology used in professional computer vision applications. It measures the actual proportional relationships between facial zones, which is why it is more accurate than visual estimation. The photo is processed entirely in your browser and never uploaded to any server.
Mirror Tracing Method
Stand about 30cm from a mirror with your hair pulled back, close one eye to reduce parallax, and trace your face outline directly onto the glass with a washable marker. Step back and compare the traced silhouette to the seven face shapes. It is quick and visual, but positioning errors can skew the outline, so treat it as a starting point rather than a final answer.
Note: The main limitation is parallax: even with one eye closed, small positioning differences can affect the outline. Compare the result against the measurement method if you are uncertain.
For the full mirror-tracing walkthrough and how to read your outline against each shape, see Full Mirror-Tracing Walkthrough.
Tape Measure Method
Step-by-step
- 1Use a flexible fabric measuring tape and pull all hair back — the hairline is part of the measurement
- 2Measure FOREHEAD WIDTH: across the widest point of your brow area
- 3Measure CHEEKBONE WIDTH: from the outer edge of one cheekbone to the other, just below the outer corners of the eyes
- 4Measure JAW WIDTH: from one jaw corner to the other, across the bottom of the face
- 5Measure FACE LENGTH: from the centre of your hairline to the tip of your chin
Note: The most common measurement error is measuring cheekbone width too low (actually measuring at the cheeks rather than the cheekbones) or jaw width too high. The jaw width measurement should be at the widest angle of the mandible — about 2–3cm above the chin point on most people.
For the full ratio calculator with numeric cutoffs for all 7 shapes, see Full Ratio Calculator With Numeric Cutoffs.
Photo Comparison Method
Step-by-step
- 1Take a front-facing photo with your phone — face centred, camera at eye level, hair pulled back
- 2Use consistent, even lighting — harsh shadows from one side distort the apparent face width
- 3Open the photo and visit the face shapes guide at /face-shapes
- 4Compare your photo outline to each of the seven shape reference images
- 5Focus on the jaw shape, the widest point of the face, and the face length-to-width ratio
- 6Select the two shapes closest to your outline and read both guides
Note: This is the least reliable method because human self-assessment is highly subjective. Most people have significant difficulty seeing their own face shape accurately because they are too familiar with their own face to assess it as a geometric shape. Use the photo comparison as a starting point and confirm with Method 1 or 3.
What to Do When You're Between Two Shapes
Most people are not a perfect example of one shape. A face that is slightly longer than wide with a moderately angular jaw could be called either oval or square depending on which measurement is weighted more heavily. This is entirely normal — the seven categories are useful approximations, not rigid boxes.
When you are between two shapes, the most practical approach is:
Identify the two shapes your measurements point toward most strongly
Read both style guides in full — for hairstyles, glasses, or whichever category matters to you
Note where the two guides agree — these overlapping recommendations are your safest choices
Where they disagree, lean toward the shape with the stronger measurement signal — if your jaw is significantly wider than your forehead, the triangle-shape guidance is more applicable even if other measurements suggest oblong
Test both shape's recommendations in low-stakes contexts first (accessories, makeup) before committing to permanent choices like haircuts or glasses frames
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out my face shape?
What are the 7 face shapes?
What if I am between two face shapes?
Is the AI face shape detector accurate?
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Naeem Ullah
Founder, Face Shape Detector • AI & Facial Proportion Researcher
Founder of faceshapedetector.app · 4+ years in facial proportion research · 200,000+ monthly readers
Naeem Ullah is the founder of Face Shape Detector and has spent over four years researching how facial landmark geometry translates into practical styling decisions. His work draws on training principles from professional hairstyling, optician certification programs, and academic literature on facial symmetry and proportion. He built the face detection system at the core of this tool and personally writes and reviews every styling guide published on this site. His guides are read by over 200,000 users monthly across 140+ countries.