Face Shapes for Men: How to Find Yours and What Suits It

There are six face shapes for men: oval, round, square, oblong (or rectangle), heart and diamond. You find yours by comparing four measurements (forehead, cheekbones, jaw and face length) and checking whether your jaw has a corner or a curve. Once you know the shape, picking from the hairstyles directory y el beard styles we have written up gets a good deal easier, because you know which direction a cut or a beard needs to pull.

Key takeaways:

• Male face shapes come down to three widths and one length, plus the angle of the jaw.
• Oval faces suit almost anything. Every other shape has one thing to add and one thing to leave alone.
• Round and square faces are about as wide as they are long. The corner at the jaw is what separates them.
• Long faces want width and a fringe. Round faces want height and length at the chin.
• Most men are a mix of two shapes. Go with the feature that stands out most.

None of this is a rule. A face shape is a starting point for a conversation with your barber, and it tells you one useful thing, which is where a haircut or a beard adds weight and whether that weight is helping.

How to work out your face shape

You need a mirror, a soft tape measure (or string and a ruler) and five minutes. Pull your hair back off your face, stand square to the mirror in even light with your chin level, and take four measurements.

1. Forehead width. Measure straight across the forehead at its widest point, roughly halfway between your eyebrows and your hairline, from one side to the other.
2. Cheekbone width. Find the most prominent point of each cheekbone, usually just below the outer corner of each eye, and measure across.
3. Jaw width. Measure across the jaw at its widest point, from just below one ear to just below the other, where the jaw turns upwards.
4. Face length. Measure from the middle of your hairline straight down to the bottom of your chin. If your hairline has moved back, use where it used to sit, roughly where your forehead starts to curve over.

Then the fifth check, which needs no tape. Run a finger along your jaw from the chin back towards the ear. A definite corner where the bone turns upwards means an angular jaw. One smooth curve means a rounded one. This settles more arguments than all four numbers put together.

The phone photo method. Have someone photograph you straight on from a couple of metres away, zoomed in a little. A selfie at arm’s length distorts the face, making the middle look bigger and the sides narrower. Draw the four lines on the photo with the markup tool and compare them. You do not need centimetres, just which line is longest and how the length compares to the widths.

Face shape chart for men

The table below sets out what each of the six shapes looks like in those measurements. Find the row that matches your numbers most closely.

If two rows look equally close, read both sections and the part further down about being between two shapes. It is common.

Oval face

An oval face is longer than it is wide, but not dramatically so. It is widest at the cheekbones, narrows slightly towards a rounded jaw, and has no hard corners anywhere. It is also the shape most men think they have, so check the jaw and the length honestly before claiming it.

Haircuts that suit it. Almost everything, because the proportions are already balanced and the cut itself gets to decide the look. A side part is the safe smart choice, a textured crop is the low effort one, and a quiff o un slick back work when you want something with more presence. Choose on hair type and time, not face shape.

What to avoid. Very little. The only real risk is overdoing one direction. Lots of height on top with a long beard below can pull an oval face towards oblong.

Beards that suit it. Again, most of them. Barba de tres días, un barba de ejecutivo and a barba recortada are all good starting points. The Estilos de barba para rostros ovalados page goes through the rest, and the two things worth avoiding, which are heavy length at the chin and heavy width at the cheeks.

Round face

A round face is about as wide as it is long. Forehead, cheekbones and jaw are close to the same width, the cheeks are the fullest part, and the jaw curves from chin to ear with no corner in it. The corner is what tells it apart from square, which has the same proportions.

Haircuts that suit it. The job is length, and the way to add it is height on top with shorter sides. A pompadour, un faux hawk, un high fade and a mid taper fade all do that.

What to avoid. Heavy, straight fringes and full sides, which both make the face look wider. Very short all over is fine, but a round face can look rounder under a buzz cut than under a cut with some lift.

Beards that suit it. Here too the job is length. Put the hair at the chin and keep the cheeks short and tapered. A perilla, un Van Dyke o un cola de pato all pull the face downwards. Avoid big untapered full beards and wide mutton chops, which add width exactly where you have the most. The beard styles for round faces page has the lengths and the trimming detail.

Square face

A square face is about as wide as it is long, with forehead, cheekbones and jaw all close to the same width. The jaw has a definite corner where it turns up towards the ear, and the chin is usually broad.

Haircuts that suit it. A strong jaw carries a short cut well, so a crew cut o un buzz cut shows it off. A desvanecimiento bajo with a parting suits a defined jaw, and an undercut gives the top some length to play with. If you want to soften the angles rather than show them, curtains put length and softness at the sides.

What to avoid. Not much. A very squared-off top, as on a classic flat top, can make the whole head look boxy, so ask for the corners to be rounded slightly. If you want a fringe, a textured one sits better than a heavy straight one.

Beards that suit it. The aim is to soften the corners without hiding the jaw. Heavy stubble does that with almost no effort, a barba completa works if the bottom edge is rounded, and a barba redonda pulls the eye to the middle of the face. Avoid flat bottom edges, chin straps and wide mutton chops, which all add more straight lines. The Estilos de barba para rostros cuadrados page explains why.

Oblong or rectangle face

An oblong face is clearly longer than it is wide, with fairly straight sides that run from temple to jaw without much curve. Forehead, cheekbones and jaw are close to the same width. If the jaw has hard corners as well, it is usually called a rectangle face, which is a long face with a square jaw.

Haircuts that suit it. The opposite of a round face. You want width, and a fringe shortens the face better than anything, so a French crop, un Caesar haircut, un fringe o un Edgar all suit a long face. Longer curtains also work, because the length at the sides adds width.

What to avoid. Height. Quiffs, pompadours, faux hawks and high fades all make a long face look longer, and a slick back exposes the forehead and does the same. Very tight sides narrow it further, so keep a little length there.

Beards that suit it. Width again. Chuletas de cordero put the most volume at the sides, a bigote en forma de chevron adds a horizontal line, and a full beard works if it is kept fuller at the cheeks than at the chin. Avoid anything pointed, such as a goatee or Van Dyke, which pulls the eye downwards. The Estilos de barba para rostros alargados page covers the rest.

Heart face

A heart face is widest at the forehead and narrows down to a narrow jaw and a pointed or slim chin. It is usually a little longer than it is wide.

Haircuts that suit it. You want to break up the width of the forehead and keep weight off the top. A side part, a comb over o un short back and sides with a parting all do that. A fringe or a textured crop narrows the forehead by covering part of it.

What to avoid. Lots of height on top, which makes the forehead look wider. A quiff or a high fade can still work, but keep the height modest. A buzz cut or crew cut is fine, but it shows the full width of the forehead.

Beards that suit it. A beard adds weight to the narrow lower half, which is exactly what a heart face wants. A full beard or a boxed beard fills out the jaw, and a wide, rounded Garibaldi does it with more length. Go carefully with very pointed styles, which make a narrow chin look narrower.

Diamond face

A diamond face is widest at the cheekbones, by a clear margin, with a narrower forehead and a narrow jaw that ends in a pointed chin. It is longer than it is wide. It is often mistaken for oval, which also peaks at the cheekbones but much more gently.

Haircuts that suit it. You want to add some width at the forehead and soften the cheekbones. A fringe is the simplest way to widen a narrow forehead, so a French crop, a textured crop or an Edgar all suit it. Curtains work too, because the length at the sides softens wide cheekbones.

What to avoid. Very short sides. A high and tight or a high skin fade makes the cheekbones look even wider. If you like a fade, keep some fullness on top and at the temples.

Beards that suit it. Put the weight at the chin and jaw, where the face is narrowest, and keep the cheeks short. A Balbo, un perilla larga or a short boxed beard all do that. Avoid mutton chops, which add width right where you have the most of it.

What if you are between two shapes

Most faces are not a textbook example of anything. That is normal.

Work out the one feature that stands out most and dress for that. If it is length, follow the oblong advice. If it is a corner at the jaw, follow the square advice. If two shapes give you the same answer, which happens more often than not, you have your haircut. If they disagree, ask your barber, who has seen far more heads than you have.

A face that is widest at the jaw is sometimes called a triangle. The advice is roughly the reverse of a heart face, so add some width on top and keep a beard short and close at the jaw.

Glasses and face shape

The same principle applies to frames. Pick a shape that contrasts with your face rather than repeating it.

• Caras redondas suit angular, rectangular frames.
• Square faces suit rounder or oval frames that soften the jaw.
• Oblong faces suit deeper frames, which take up more of the face’s length.
• Heart faces suit frames that are lighter at the top, or rimless.
• Diamond faces suit oval frames or frames with a strong browline.
• Rostros ovalados suit most frames, as long as they are about as wide as the face.

An optician with the frames in hand will tell you more than any chart.

Preguntas que suele hacer la gente