HOW TO KNOW YOUR FACE SHAPE 

To determine your face shape, start by tying up your hair and taking a picture of your face. Then, analyze the photo by mentally drawing two lines: one vertical line that splits your face into left and right halves, and one horizontal line that divides it into top and bottom sections.

Another method is to stand in front of a well-lit mirror with your hair tied back. Using a lipstick, makeup pencil, chalk, or a whiteboard marker, carefully trace the outline of your face directly onto the mirror—excluding your ears—while keeping your head straight and still. There are six primary face shapes: round, square, oval, heart, rectangular, and diamond.

Round face

For this face shape, the vertical and horizontal proportions are nearly equal. The defining features include soft, rounded angles with no sharp lines, giving the face a smooth and gentle appearance.

While often mistaken for an oval face shape, a round face has a smaller forehead, and the distance from the bottom of the nose to the chin is shorter than the full length of the nose.

Best Glasses: When selecting sunglasses or prescription glasses, avoid rounded frames that emphasize the face’s curves. Instead, opt for styles with straight lines—rectangular and square frames are the most flattering choices.

Best Haircuts: Medium to long hairstyles that slightly cover the cheekbones are ideal for this face shape. If you prefer bangs, avoid blunt, straight cuts and go for diagonal or side-swept styles to create a more balanced look.

Square face

A square face shape has equal vertical and horizontal proportions, similar to a round face. However, the key difference is its more defined, straight edges and angular structure.

Best Glasses: When selecting sunglasses or prescription glasses, opt for aviator or cat-eye frames. These styles help soften the strong, straight lines of the face, creating a more balanced look.

Best Haircuts: Asymmetrical and voluminous hairstyles work well with this face shape. Short haircuts are also a flattering choice, as they complement the face’s structured features.

Oval face

An oval face shape is slightly longer than it is wide, with a vertical length about one-third greater than the horizontal. This face type has soft, balanced proportions with no prominent angles.

Best Glasses: Both rounded and straight frames complement an oval face. The key is choosing a well-proportioned size—not too large or too small—to maintain balance with the face’s natural shape.

Best Haircuts: Asymmetrical and layered hairstyles enhance this face shape beautifully. Straight bangs are also a great option, as they create the illusion of a shorter face.

Heart face

A heart-shaped face is longer than it is wide, characterized by a pointed chin, a broad forehead, and prominent cheekbones. The jawline tapers as it reaches the chin, giving it an appearance similar to an inverted triangle.

Best Glasses: Rounded or aviator-style frames are ideal for this face shape, as they soften the wider forehead and create balance. Glasses with curved edges help harmonize facial proportions.

Best Haircuts: Medium-length, voluminous hairstyles complement this face shape beautifully. Bangs are also a great choice, as they help create the illusion of a shorter forehead.

Oblong or rectangular face

An oblong face, also known as a rectangular face shape, is significantly longer than it is wide, with straight, well-defined sides and a subtly curved jawline. Unlike a square face, the jaw is less pronounced, and the forehead and jawline typically share the same width, giving the face a rectangular appearance.

Best Glasses: To soften the strong vertical lines of this face shape, aviator or cat-eye frames are ideal. These styles add curves and balance to the overall look.

Best Haircuts: Asymmetrical and layered hairstyles work best, adding movement and volume to counteract the face’s length. Bangs can also help create the illusion of a shorter forehead.

Diamond face

A diamond-shaped face is longer than it is wide, featuring prominent cheekbones as its widest point, a narrow forehead, and a pointed chin. While similar to a heart-shaped face, the key difference is that the forehead is narrower, creating a more angular look. The jawline is long and straight, tapering gently towards the chin.

Best Glasses: Round or oval-bottomed frames are ideal for softening the sharp angles of a diamond-shaped face, helping to create a more balanced appearance.

Best Haircuts: Layered hairstyles work best, adding volume to balance the face’s natural structure. Straight bangs can also be flattering, as they help soften the overall look.

WHAT IS MY FACE SHAPE? HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT HAIRSTYLE

You’ve come to the correct place if you’ve found yourself haphazardly searching for answers to questions like “What is my face shape” or “What face shape do I have.” Perhaps all you’re interested in knowing is if your face is square or heart-shaped. Alternatively, perhaps you’re interested in learning how your face shape can influence some of your future style choices. When choosing a hairstyle, sunglasses, eyebrow grooming, or makeup application, it might be helpful to know and comprehend the form of your face. Interestingly, the shape of your face can indicate how it will age. Just knowing the contour of your face adds another dimension to your decision-making or self-awareness.

TYPES OF FACE SHAPE

OVAL

The jaw is narrower than the cheekbones and the oval face shape is longer than wide. The oval face shape complements almost every hairstyle since it is very proportionate. Any cut length looks fantastic! Best wishes! To draw attention to the area around the lips, chin, or cheekbones, add layers.

ROUND

The round face shape is distinguished by fullness below the cheekbones and a wide hairline. Longer hair gives these facial shapes a longer appearance, which looks fantastic. For this face shape, long layers work well, while short layers can draw attention to the face’s roundness. A round face can also appear longer with side-swept bangs.

SQUARE

A broad jawline and hairline define the square face form. The square-shaped face requires width at the sides and height at the top. The square face shape is balanced with soft bangs, texture, and deep side parts. Longer length complements their more angular, strong jawline beautifully. Straight lines should be avoided with this face shape.

DIAMOND

The diamond face shape is distinguished by broad cheekbones and a small chin and forehead. Narrower sides and fuller chins are the ideal hairstyles for this type of face. For this facial shape, a bob is an excellent haircut. Straight bangs can also be added to this facial shape to shrink the face. To draw attention to your prominent cheekbones, you should also consider tucking your hair behind your ears!

HEART

A narrower chin and larger forehead define this face form. This style’s side-swept bangs assist in covering up the forehead’s breadth. Maintaining a broader style around the jaw helps accentuate the narrower chin.

OBLONG

The skeletal structure of this facial shape is incredibly lengthy and narrow. Longer hair makes the face appear even longer by drawing it down. Keep your hair shorter or add shorter layers if your face is oblong. A broader face can also be achieved by adding body and curls.

HOW TO TELL YOUR FACE SHAPE

JAW SHAPE

Look at your jawline. You probably have an oval or round face shape if it appears to be somewhat curved or on the rounder side. You probably fit into the heart, rectangle, or square face shape family if it’s pointed, angular, or sharp. Later on, more about these! 

FACE LENGTH AND WIDTH

After you’ve measured the width and length of your face, take time to eyeball your jawline. Either Team Rectangle or Team Oval best describes you if your face appears longer than it is wide. Makeup experts suggest taking precise measurements of your forehead, cheekbones, and jawline if you want to get very detailed. You can use a pencil, a tape measure, or anything you happen to have on hand. 

TRACE YOUR SELFIE

This face shape recognition method is for you if you like accuracy. It is taking a clear, front-facing image of yourself, preferably a selfie, printing it out, and tracing your face to see which shape it most closely resembles. Simply adhere to these easy steps:

  • You can either take a nice selfie with your hair pulled back for maximum exposure to your facial form, or you can use an existing photo of yourself for this activity. Make sure you are somewhat near the camera, but not too near as to skew the perspective. 
  • Put a thin, transparent layer of paper—wax paper works well for this—over your picture. After that, you can either draw a full circle around your face or only draw dots on the sides of your face that are the easiest to see, such as your chin, cheekbones, jawline, forehead, and temples. Connect the dots, at last!
  • Which form does it most resemble? If it appears oval, you have an oval face shape; if it seems square, your page is square-shaped. You understand. Your face form is represented by the shape that emerges on that page; if it appears to be halfway between two different shapes, you can identify which shape it is.

MAKEUP

  • Select whatever black cosmetics item you own; however, avoid using or caring for it too much as you will eventually run out of it. It works perfectly with dark pencil eyeliner, crimson or black lipstick, or even a stick of foundation or contouring.
  • After selecting your product, pull your hair back and position yourself in front of a mirror. For easy, accurate drawing, make sure you are at least an arm’s length away from the mirror, but no closer. Don’t shift your position; instead, keep your head still.
  • Trace your face in the mirror while remaining perfectly motionless and facing forward. Try to maintain your composure, but don’t worry if you make a mistake—the main goal of this approach is to have fun. After you’ve traced your face, stand back and admire your creation.

HAIRSTYLES FOR FACE SHAPES

SQUARE FACE SHAPE HAIRSTYLES

With a square-shaped face, you can choose to soften your strong jawline or draw attention to the squareness of your face. To accentuate your facial shape, consider a short bob or blunt bangs to accentuate your strong jawline. To counteract the squareness, wear your hair straight and long with layers starting a few inches from the end to draw the eyes down and lengthen your face, or try soft, wispy bangs falling to the side to create diagonal lines and soften the lines on your face. Choose shorter, more delicate bangs that fall just past the cheekbones to draw attention to them if you’re courageous enough to try them.

OVAL FACE SHAPE HAIRSTYLES

The primary objective of selecting an appropriate haircut for an oval face shape is to prevent facial elongation. Try a blunt bob with face-framing parts that fall past the shoulder if you want to go shorter. Otherwise, to create volume and prevent your hair from falling flat, go for a shoulder-length cut with delicate layers. A small alteration to your hairstyle might have a significant impact if you intend to maintain your hair long. If you want to balance your appearance without cutting your hair, try side-swept bangs, which work well on oval faces.

ROUND FACE SHAPE HAIRSTYLES

Your first objective when styling a round face is to lengthen it and give it an oval appearance. One easy technique to achieve this is to consistently have a small strand of hair sticking out from one side of your face. Your face will appear to be visibly shorter as a result, deceiving the eye into believing it is narrower.

If cut and groomed properly, short hair looks very good on round faces, so go ahead and get that trendy lob. To add more angles to a round face, try a deep side part, or draw your hair up into a high ponytail to lengthen your face. A short pixie cut with volume at the top, if you’re feeling very brave, looks amazing on round face types since it softly adds angles and structure. 

OBLONG FACE SHAPE HAIRSTYLES

Curls are a great alternative for long face shapes, as the main objective is to make the face appear wider than it is to balance off the longer length. Why do you believe Carrie Bradshaw had such amazing looks all the time? She opened up her facial form with her natural curls, in addition to her opulent closet full of couture designers’ creations.

For a wider appearance, loose curls and waves can be achieved with excellent success with flat iron waves. To give the appearance of a larger face, you want the widest part of your waves to fall around your cheekbones. To do this, begin curling your hair closer to the root. Getting greater volume and width may also be accomplished quickly and easily with a quality salon-style blowout. Remember that you’re looking for width rather than length in any hairdo you choose. 

HEART FACE SHAPE HAIRSTYLES

You can opt to balance out your heart-shaped face by making the bottom half of your face appear broader, or you can choose to highlight your tapering facial form. If you want to draw attention to the heart-shaped shape of your face, wear your hair up in a high ponytail or high top knot. If not, go for a lob that merely reaches the shoulder to accentuate the width of your jawline. Try a deep side part with loose waves that break at the collarbone if you want to leave your hair longer. This will help detract from the forehead.

DIAMOND FACE SHAPE HAIRSTYLES

Your major goal should be to enhance your attractive face shape rather than to balance anything out, although diamond face forms are desired for their symmetry and balance. Choose between a short, textured lob or long, side-swept bangs that draw attention to your cheekbones with long layers. To further highlight your bone structure, try wearing your hair in a neat high ponytail or tucked behind your ears in the middle. 

FINAL TAKEAWAY

No one fits neatly into an oval, square, or heart-shaped box; we are all made up of multitudes. That being said, it can be difficult to choose a new hairdo or trademark makeup look among the many possibilities available. However, if you approach the process with some direction, it can be much less intimidating.

Your face shape is one of the easiest things to notice when it comes to attractiveness. When looking for cosmetic ideas, locating celebrities that have similar face shapes to you might help you choose which contouring techniques or haircuts would suit you the best. This is similar to looking for skin tones or eye colors.