How to determine your face shape

Nov 09, 2010 8:58 PM by Alina Tarkhanian

Posted in SheKnows TV / SheKnows TV: BeYouTiful / BeYouTiful Makeup & Skincare

Put Your Best
Face Forward

Did you know that there are 6 basic face shapes? Determining your face shape will help you decide what new hairstyle to try out, how to groom your eyebrows, even when buying a new pair of glasses. In a few simple steps, you’ll be able to determine your unique face shape and what styles are best suited for you.

Determining your face shape

First you want to stand in front of a mirror in a well-lit room. Pull your hair back in a ponytail or wear a headband. You really need to see your entire face to properly evaluate its shape. You may also want to have a tape measure handy for precise measurements and a pen and paper to jot down your responses.

Now look closely at your face and ask yourself a few questions. Using your hairline and jaw line as a reference, what is the general shape of your face: wide, average or narrow?

Next, picture an imaginary line going across the widest point of your forehead. Imagine a line going across your jaw line. Is your forehead wider than your jaw or vice versa? Are they the same width? To get an accurate reading, use the tape measure. At this point, you will also want to note if your cheekbones are a prominent feature of your face. Are your cheekbones the widest part of your face?

You also need to measure the length of your face and compare it to the width. Using your tape measure, measure from the middle of your hairline to the point of your chin.

Look at your chin. What is the general shape: round, square or pointy?

Once you've done these preliminary steps, you're ready to evaluate your results. Here are the six face shapes and their unique characteristics:

Face shapes

Oval – Your forehead is slightly wider than your chin. The length of your face is roughly one and a half times the width.

Round – The length and width of your face are about the same. Your cheeks are prominent.

Oblong – Similar to the oval shape, but longer and less wide. The chin is also on the pointy side.

Square – Your forehead and jaw line are the same width. Your jaw is the most prominent feature of your face.

Heart – Your forehead and cheekbones are wider than your jaw line. You also have a pointy chin.

Diamond – The cheekbones are your most prominent feature with your forehead and jaw line on the narrow side.

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Comments

Comments on "How to determine your face shape"

Widest part of my forehead is 9" Widest part of cheekbones is 10.5" Widest part of Jaw is 9" Length of my face is 8.5" I am a bit confused by the discription whether I am round oval or square could you help kind regards Orla

When you say width of your face, does that mean the jaw width, the cheek width, or the forehead width? My jaw is the widest part(9.5). My forehead is much more narrow than my jaw (6). The width of my cheeks (8.5) are slightly larger than the length of my face (8). I think I am round, but maybe square, and I think there is also a pear. I'm so confused!

What they do is shotern your jaw bones on both sides to shotern up your chin and make your jaw line softer. That is usally for people who have a severe underbite. It's not pleasant to go through, your jaw has to be wired shut for about 4 weeks.

Thanks! It's exactly correct & usefull.