What Is My Face Shape?

By Najmus Sayadat, Co-Founder & Product Lead, FaceAuraAI · Last updated 7 October 2026

You can estimate face shape by comparing forehead, cheekbone, and jaw width and face length — or by uploading a front-facing photo to an estimator.

Method 1: the mirror check

Fastest, and the least precise. Pull all your hair back off your forehead, temples and jaw. Stand square to the mirror, head level, with even light from the front. Then answer four questions:

1. 1Is your face clearly longer than it is wide, or about as long as it is wide?
2. 2Which is widest: your forehead, your cheekbones or your jaw, or are they close together?
3. 3Does your jaw have defined corners below your ears, or does it curve?
4. 4Is your chin pointed, rounded or broad?

Your answers usually narrow it to two shapes. To separate them, measure.

If the outline is hard to judge, trace it on the mirror with a washable marker or soap, then step back. The face shape quiz is the guided version of these questions.

Method 2: measure with a tape

You need a soft tape (or string and a ruler), a mirror, your hair pulled back and your head level. Use the same unit for all four.

1. Forehead width

   01

   Measure straight across your forehead at its widest point, usually about halfway between your eyebrows and your hairline.

2. Cheekbone width

   02

   Find the highest point of each cheekbone, just below the outer corner of each eye, and measure straight across between them.

3. Jaw width

   03

   Find the corner of your jaw below each ear — where the jaw turns towards the chin — and measure straight across between the two corners.

4. Face length

   04

   Measure from the centre of your hairline straight down to the bottom of your chin. If your hairline is receding, start where it used to be.

Match your measurements to a shape

Divide your face length, forehead width and jaw width each by your cheekbone width. That gives three ratios, and the unit cancels out.

These are typical tape-measure patterns, not cut-offs. Your numbers won't land squarely on any row, so the row closest across all three ratios is your likely shape. A second close row means you sit between two.

Length sorts first: round and square sit near 1, oblong near 1.55. Heart is the only pattern with the forehead wider than the cheekbones, triangle the only one with the jaw wider.

The face shape calculator does this comparison for you, shows the next closest shape, and uploads nothing.

Method 3: measure from a photo

The most repeatable read: the same photo always gives the same result. The detector maps 468 facial landmarks in a front-facing photo and measures the same widths and length, plus the jaw and chin angles a tape can't capture. You get your likely shape, a confidence label (High, Medium or Lower) with its reasons, and the next closest shape.

Your photo is sent once over an encrypted connection to check lighting and sharpness. Landmarks are found in your browser first; if it can't, our server finds them (our own model or Amazon Rekognition). The photo is held in memory for that request only, never written to disk or a database, and never used to train models.

Check your face shape from a photo

What makes a good photo

• Face the camera straight on.
• Use even light from the front.
• Pull your hair off your forehead, temples and jaw.
• Take your glasses off.
• Keep a neutral expression, and hold the phone at arm's length: a close lens widens the middle of the face.

Why the photo uses different numbers

The photo detector measures length from the top of its forehead outline, which usually sits below your hairline, so its length ratios run lower than a tape's. That's why it has its own published rules, and why you shouldn't compare your tape ratios with them. If a photo and a tape disagree, read both shape guides. See how the rules work.

Which method should you trust?

Each method sees something the others don't.

Use the photo for the most repeatable read; use the tape when you'd rather not upload. When they disagree, both shapes are worth reading about.

Common mistakes

• Hair covering the hairline or jawA fringe hides where your face starts; hair at the jaw hides its corners.
• A tilted or turned headTilting changes how long your face looks; turning makes one side wider.
• Close-up lens distortionA phone held close widens the middle of your face.
• Measuring the jaw along the curveMeasure straight across between the corners, not along the jawline.
• Expecting one clean matchMost faces sit between two shapes. Read both guides: the advice usually overlaps.

The seven face shape families

• OvalClearly longer than wide; cheekbones widest; rounded jaw.
• RoundAbout as long as wide; cheeks widest; soft, curved jaw.
• SquareAbout as long as wide; all three widths close; angular jaw corners.
• HeartLonger than wide; forehead and cheekbones widest; jaw tapering to a point.
• DiamondLonger than wide; cheekbones widest; narrow forehead and chin.
• Oblong (rectangle)Noticeably longer than wide; all three widths close; fairly straight sides.
• Triangle (pear)Longer than wide; jaw widest; full, wide jaw.

See all seven face shapes side by side.

How FaceAuraAI estimates shape

The photo method scores every shape against published, deterministic rules: re-run on 1,003 cached portraits, they reproduce every label. That shows consistency, not a guarantee for every face. How FaceAuraAI works explains the rules, and How we check quality shows the check and its known limits.