7 Different Face Shapes and How to Determine Yours

Have you ever ended up with a haircut that didn’t suit you as much as it suited the celebrity who inspired it? I mean, haven’t we all experimented with bangs at least once in our lives? They turned out banging for some but not so much for others. Even those oversized rimmed glasses failed many of us. Life is cruel, right? Well, not quite. We just chose a haircut and a style of glasses that didn’t suit our face shape. There are 7 different face shapes and you might want to know about yours.

Why? Because identifying your face shape can help you choose the best haircut and the most flattering style of glasses. You can also figure out the perfect eyebrow shape and contouring technique. So let’s proceed with the pressing question — what is my face shape?

What is my face shape?

You will most likely have one of these 7 face shapes: round, oval, heart, square, diamond, pear, and oblong. Some cosmetic surgeons believe that our faces are hybrids or combinations of shapes. But there are always some distinct features that place us in one of these 7 face shape categories. An important thing to remember though is that your face shape may change with age and weight gain or loss. Let’s look at the 7 most common face shapes and find out what yours might be.

What Are The 7 Different Face Shapes?

Round Face Shape

The round face shape is easy to identify. A wider hairline and fuller cheeks are a straight giveaway. But here’s a feature-by-feature breakdown so that there are no confusions.

• Face: You have a symmetrical face that’s the same in length and width. All your features are soft with no defined or sharp angles. You may also notice the sides of your face gently curving outwards instead of being straight.
• Forehead: You have a wider hairline with a rounded forehead.
• Cheeks: Your cheeks are fuller and the widest part of your face.
• Jawline: Your jawline is rounded with soft angles.

If you are still having trouble identifying your face to this shape, Selena Gomez, Chrissy Teigen, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Jennifer Lawrence are all examples of a round face.

Oval Face Shape

Oval face shape is characterized by a longer and narrower face. The length of an oval face might be 2x or 1.5x the width. The good news is that it’s considered the most versatile face shape. You can rock any hairstyle or glasses if you are an oval face-shaped beauty.

• Face: Your face appears longer than wider. Just like the round face shape, your facial features are also soft with gentle curves.
• Forehead: Your forehead is tall and slightly wider than your cheeks and chin.
• Cheeks: Your cheekbones are the widest part of your face.
• Jawline: Your jawline is narrower than your cheeks but doesn’t have any sharp angles.

Oval face shape has many similar facial features like a round face shape except for the length. Blake Lively, Beyonce, and Bella Hadid all have an oval face shape if you are looking for some references.

Heart Face Shape

Heart face shape is almost what it sounds like — wider at the top and smaller at the bottom. But unlike an oval face shape that’s 1.5x or 2x longer than the width, the heart shape is only very slightly longer than the width at the cheekbones. You have a heart-shaped face if you have the following features.

• Face: Your face is widest at the forehead and gradually gets narrower with the jawline being the narrowest part.
• Forehead: Your forehead is the widest part of your face. Your hairline might also have a v-shaped hairline at the center of your forehead (this v-shaped hairline is also called widow’s peak).
• Cheeks: Your cheeks have the same or slightly smaller width than your forehead.
• Jawline: You have a sharp and narrow jawline with a pointed chin.

Even if you don’t have a defined widow’s peak, a pointed chin is a tell-tale feature of a heart face shape. Heart-shape is ultra-feminine and makes all hairstyles look gorgeous. Reese Witherspoon and Chloë Grace Moretz have a heart face shape.

Square Face Shape

The most prominent feature of a square face shape is a strong and squared jawline. Many believe that people with square face shape age very well. You are a square face queen if:

• Face: Your face is as long as it’s wide but your facial features are sharper and angular rather than rounded.
• Forehead: Your forehead is about the same width as your cheekbone and jawline. You also have a wide and straight hairline.
• Cheeks: Your cheekbones have the same width as your forehead and jawline. But instead of curving, the sides of your face follow a straight line from top to bottom.
• Jawline: You have a squared jawline with sharp edges. Unlike other face shapes, your chin doesn’t get narrower and pointed.

Demi Lovato, Olivia Wilde, and Angelina Jolie all have a square face shape.

Diamond Face Shape

Diamond face shape is widest at the cheeks and narrower at the forehead and jawline. You will find similarities in diamond face shape and heart face shape except that the former is not wide at the top.

• Face: Your face is longer than it is wide. If someone were to draw lines to connect the center of your forehead and your chin to your cheeks, it would make a diamond shape.
• Forehead: Your forehead is smaller in width than your cheekbones.
• Cheeks: You have high and pointed cheekbones that are wider than both your forehead and jawline.
• Jawline: You have a narrow jawline with a pointed chin.

Jennifer Lopez, Serena Williams, and Megan Fox have a diamond face shape. It may be an uncommon face shape but it can rock so many styles.

Pear Face Shape

Pear face shape is also called triangle face shape. Just like a triangle, it is wider at the jawline and narrower at the forehead.

• Face: Your face is the widest at the jawline and gradually gets narrower from cheeks to the temples. It would resemble the shape of a pear.
• Forehead: You have a narrower forehead with a rounded hairline.
• Cheeks: Your cheeks are rounded but narrower than your jawline.
• Jawline: Your jawline is the widest part of your face. It’s full and slightly squared.

Pear face shape is quite rare. Jennifer Aniston and Kelly Osbourne have a pear face shape.

Oblong Face Shape

An oblong face shape is like a square face shape except for the length. Forehead, cheekbones, and jawline are all similar in width but the face is longer than it is wide.

• Face: Your face is twice as long as it is wide. It resembles a square face shape but appears longer.
• Forehead: You have a tall forehead and a straight hairline. Your forehead is the same width as your cheeks and jawline.
• Cheeks: Your cheeks are not rounded. Both sides of your cheeks follow a straight line from your temples to your jawline.
• Jawline: You have a squared jawline that aligns with your forehead.

You might get an oblong face shape confused with an oval face shape. But the difference between the two is that the oblong face shape has a forehead that’s as wide as the cheeks. Whereas an oval face shape has a wider forehead. Sarah Jessica Parker and Gisele Bundchen have an oblong face shape.

Now that you know all the face shapes and have figured out yours, you can identify the hairstyles, eyebrow shapes, glasses frames, and contouring techniques that are ideal for you.