What a heart-shaped face looks like
A heart-shaped face is broadest at the top and narrows toward the chin. The forehead is about as wide as the cheekbones, sometimes wider, and below them the outline tapers to a clearly narrower jaw and a slim, often pointed chin. Stylists also call it the inverted triangle face shape, since the outline is a triangle standing on its tip.
A widow's peak, the V-shaped point some hairlines have, can make the top look even more like a heart, but it belongs to the hairline rather than the face outline and can appear above any shape. Length does not define a heart face shape either; what sets it apart is how quickly the width falls away below the cheekbones.
How to tell if you have a heart-shaped face
Use a soft tape measure and a mirror, or a clear straight-on photo. Pull your hair off your forehead first, since bangs cover the width that decides this shape.
- Length: straight down from the midpoint of your hairline to the lowest point of your chin.
- Forehead: along the brow line, from temple to temple.
- Cheekbones: at their widest, usually a little below the outer corners of your eyes.
- Jaw: from one jaw corner to the other, where the jaw turns up toward each ear.
- Chin and mouth: across the chin a little above its lowest point, then across your relaxed mouth.
A heart shape shows a forehead at least 95% as wide as the cheekbones, a jaw at most about 80% of the cheekbone width, and a chin narrower than about one and a quarter times the mouth. These are the detector's cut-offs, and they are still being calibrated against annotated test photos, so treat them as guides. If measuring by hand feels fiddly, let the face shape detector estimate the widths from a selfie: it locates 478 points on your face without the photo ever leaving your browser.
Heart vs. diamond, oval and triangle
Three shapes are easy to confuse with a heart.
- Diamond: check the forehead. Both narrow to a slim chin, but a diamond face has a forehead clearly narrower than the cheekbones, at most about 85% of their width. When your forehead falls between the two marks, you may see "Between Heart and Diamond" instead of a forced answer.
- Oval: check the jaw and chin. An oval face also narrows toward the bottom, but gently, ending in a rounded chin. A heart narrows further, so a slim oval with a pointed chin can land between the two.
- Triangle: the mirror image. A triangle face shape flips the outline, with the jaw widest and the forehead narrowest, so much of its styling advice runs the other way.
Hairstyles for a heart-shaped face: add width low
The idea behind every suggestion: bring some width down to the jaw and chin, and add none at the forehead and crown.
- Fullness at the jaw. A chin-length bob, a layered lob or long waves that widen below the jaw put volume where the face is narrowest. On shorter styles, hair left longer around the ears or a low fade that keeps the sides fuller does the same.
- A fringe over part of the forehead. Side-swept or curtain bangs break up the width of the forehead. On short cuts, a textured fringe crop or short layers swept forward work the same way.
- Height kept low. A low chignon keeps volume at the nape instead of the crown. A high top knot, a high pompadour or a slicked-back style does the opposite, adding height on top or showing the forehead's full width.
Women's hairstyles. Pick a length by where it puts the volume. A chin-length bob ends at the narrowest part of a heart-shaped face, so its fullness sits right beside the jaw. A layered lob falls to about the collarbone, with layers that start at the jaw and widen as they go, which suits you if you want more movement than a bob. On long hair, waves that begin around the cheekbones and grow fuller below the jaw fill out the space around a slim chin. Curtain bangs narrow the visible forehead and side-swept bangs cover part of its width, so either one brings the eye down. To wear your hair up, a low chignon keeps the volume at the nape, while a high top knot, a slicked-back ponytail or a short crop with height moves it to the crown.
Men's hairstyles. With shorter hair, the same balance comes from a little length at the sides, some hair brought forward and no extra height. A side part with medium volume looks tidy without lifting the top. A textured fringe crop or short layers swept forward shorten the visible forehead, and a messy curtain fringe breaks it up with a parting. Medium-length hair with a fringe does two jobs on a heart-shaped face: the fringe narrows the top while the length around the ears adds width near the jaw. If you like a fade, ask for a low one, so the sides stay fuller down by the jaw. A high pompadour, a slicked-back undercut or a high skin fade under a tall top works the other way, taking width away low and adding it on top.
Facial hair adds width exactly where this shape is narrowest: a full beard or a short boxed beard widens the jaw, and a chin strap kept fuller at the chin broadens the point.
Glasses, necklines, earrings, hats and makeup
- Glasses: bottom-heavy frames balance a narrow chin, oval frames sit easily between a wide forehead and a slim chin, and rimless or light frames add nothing at the top. Browline frames and upswept cat-eyes add width at the brow and temples, the widest part of the face.
- Necklines: a boat neck, crew neck or cowl neck adds a horizontal line or soft volume below the chin. A deep V points at the chin and repeats the taper.
- Earrings: teardrops, chandeliers and triangle drops are widest at the bottom and fill the space beside the jaw. Inverted-triangle studs echo the face's own outline.
- Hats: a medium brim keeps the top in proportion and a slouchy beanie covers some of the forehead. A very wide brim adds width up top.
- Makeup: contour the temples, the outer forehead and the tip of the chin; highlight under the eyes and at the jaw corners so the lower face reads wider.
When a photo makes a face look heart-shaped
Check these before you trust a result from one photo.
- Bangs cover the forehead, the one width that separates heart from diamond. Pin them back for the scan.
- Camera height and distance. A phone held above your eyes, especially up close, enlarges the forehead and shrinks the chin, which can make an oval look like a heart. Hold it about 1 m (3 ft) away, level with your eyes.
- Head tilt. Tipping your chin down enlarges the forehead and shrinks the chin; tipping it up does the reverse.
- Expression. A smile changes the width of your mouth and cheeks, and the chin is measured against the mouth, so keep a relaxed, neutral face.
For everyday photos the goal changes: shoot at eye level or slightly below, since a high angle exaggerates the forehead, and try a gentle closed-mouth smile to broaden the lower face. The same scan also reports your facial thirds and symmetry. No shape is better than another; yours simply tells you which widths to balance.
Updated 2026-09-26
