How to Actually Measure Your Face Shape

The 4 measurements you need

Pull your hair back, look straight ahead in a mirror, and use a soft fabric tape measure (or a piece of string + ruler).

1. Forehead width: the widest part of your forehead, usually halfway between your eyebrows and your hairline.
2. Cheekbone width: across the highest, widest points of your cheekbones, just under the outer corners of your eyes.
3. Jaw width: from the angle of your jaw on one side, across to the other side, passing under your chin.
4. Face length: from the center of your hairline straight down to the tip of your chin.

Write all 4 numbers down before you start comparing.

The ratio that decides your shape

Compare your measurements:

• If face length is more than 1.5x your cheekbone width: you're Long (oblong).
• If face length is roughly equal to cheekbone width AND your jaw is angular: you're Square.
• If face length is roughly equal to cheekbone width AND your jaw is curved: you're Round.
• If your cheekbones are widest, with narrower forehead AND narrower chin: you're Diamond.
• If your forehead is widest and tapers to a narrow chin: you're Heart.
• If face length is slightly greater than cheekbone width AND your forehead, cheeks, and jaw are similar widths with soft curves: you're Oval.

Why eyeballing it in the mirror fails

The most common at-home test is the "trace your face on the mirror" trick. You look in a mirror, draw the outline of your face with lipstick or a dry-erase marker, then compare the shape.

It almost always gives the wrong answer. Here's why:

• Your mirror is closer to you than the average viewing distance, so proportions distort.
• You can't see your own face shape objectively (your brain corrects for what it expects to see).
• Lipstick lines wobble.
• Your hair frames the result.

The tape-measure method is boring, but it's reliable.

The 6 face shapes, decoded

A quick reference for what each shape looks like:

• Oval: balanced, slightly longer than wide, soft jaw. The "easy" shape, most haircuts work.
• Round: equal length and width, full cheeks, soft rounded jaw. Reads youthful.
• Square: equal length and width, strong angular jaw, forehead/cheek/jaw similar widths.
• Heart: wide forehead, narrow pointed chin. Often high cheekbones.
• Diamond: cheekbones widest, forehead and chin both narrower.
• Long (oblong): clearly longer than wide, similar widths throughout.

What your face shape changes

Once you know your shape, you get clearer answers to:

• Which haircuts make your features pop and which flatten them
• Where to contour and where to highlight
• What glasses frame shape suits you
• Which earring lengths balance your face

See full guides for each shape at all 6 face shapes.

When to let Glowprint do it

Tape measures are great if you have one and the patience to use it. If you don't, Glowprint reads your face shape directly from a selfie. The app does the same proportional analysis automatically, in about 30 seconds. Free.

Mistakes that lead to the wrong face shape

Measuring is simple, but a couple of habits send people to the wrong answer.

Judging by your hair, not your bones

A blunt bob can make an oval look square, and long layers can make a round face read long. Pull your hair completely back before you measure, so you're reading bone structure and not a haircut.

Forcing yourself into one box

Plenty of faces are blends, like a square-oval or a round-heart. That's normal. Go with the two shapes your jaw and hairline lean toward and borrow styling tips from both.

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers to what people ask most. Want a definitive read on your own coloring? The free face scan gives you your season, palette, and the colors to skip in 30 seconds.