The 7 Face Shapes at a Glance
Face shapes describe the outline of your face from the front: how long it is compared with its width, and which of three widths is the biggest. Those widths are the forehead, the cheekbones and the jaw. Every shape is a different mix of the same four measurements.
Oval: a little longer than wide, with the cheekbones slightly wider than a gently rounded jaw. Round: about as wide as it is long, with full cheeks and a soft jaw. Square: a strong, angular jaw about as wide as the forehead and cheekbones. Oblong (also called long or rectangle): clearly longer than wide, with straight sides. Heart: a wide forehead that tapers to a narrow, often pointed chin. Diamond: wide cheekbones with a narrower forehead and chin. Triangle (also called pear): a jaw wider than the forehead.
How Common Is Each Face Shape?
Most face shape guides never say how common each shape is, so Ollie measured it. The face scan in Ollie Stylist was run on one to three straight-on photos of each of 4,032 celebrities in Ollie's index, using exactly the same measurements and rules it uses on you.
The results: oval 22%, heart 18%, triangle 14.5%, round 12.2%, oblong 12.1%, square 11.9% and diamond 9.3%. Men and women differ a lot. Heart was the most common shape among women (26.9%, against 12.9% of men), while square faces were mostly male (16.7% of men, only 3.1% of women). Diamond was far more common among women (17.8%) than men (4.6%).
Celebrities aren't a random sample of people, and hair, angle and expression nudge any single photo, so treat these as rough shares rather than census figures. They still show the pattern stylists describe: oval is the most common single shape, but most people are something else.
How to Tell Your Face Shape Apart
Pull your hair back and look straight at a mirror or a front-facing photo taken at arm's length or further (close selfies widen the middle of the face). Then compare: Is your face clearly longer than it is wide? If yes, you're probably oblong, or oval if the jaw is softly rounded. If length and width are close, you're probably round (soft jaw) or square (angular jaw).
Next, find the widest point. Widest at the forehead points to heart. Widest at the cheekbones, with a narrow forehead and chin, points to diamond. Widest at the jaw points to triangle. For a full walkthrough with a tape measure, see how to work out your face shape.
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What Suits Each Face Shape
The rule behind almost all face shape advice is balance: add visual weight where the face is narrow and keep it away from where the face is wide. A round face gains length from height on top and close sides. An oblong face gains width from fuller sides and a fringe, and loses length by avoiding extra height. A square face softens with texture and movement. A heart face balances with volume around the jaw and chin. A diamond face suits fringes and fullness at the temples. A triangle face suits volume on top and at the temples.
The same logic runs through glasses (frames that contrast with your outline), beards (adding or removing width at the jaw) and even necklines. If you'd rather not guess, the free face scan in Ollie Stylist measures your face in your browser and ranks haircuts, beards and glasses for your shape. Nothing from the scan is uploaded.
Read more: The Best Haircut for Your Face Shape: A Chart for All 7
Why Your Face Shape Can Seem to Change
Most faces sit between two shapes, and small things move the reading: your hairline, weight, the angle of the camera and even your expression. That's why Ollie's scan reports how likely each shape is instead of a single label, and scores haircuts against all of them. One photo can't pin a face shape down exactly. If two shapes come out close, the advice for both usually overlaps, and the cuts that suit both are the safest bet.