Face Shape Detector: See the Numbers, Not Just a Label
Most detectors hand you one word and hope you believe it. This one reads 468 landmark points, scores all 8 face shapes, prints the four measurements it used, and tells you when your result is borderline. Nothing is uploaded.
Scan My Face Now ›Quick answer: Upload a front facing photo, use your camera, or type in four tape measurements. The tool finds your face length, forehead width, cheekbone width and jaw width, reads whether your jaw curves or corners, and ranks all 8 face shapes by how well each one fits. You get the winning shape, the runner up, the exact numbers behind it, and a full style guide. If the top two are close, it says so instead of picking one quietly.
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What Is My Face Shape? Three Ways to Find Out
This is the question the whole category exists to answer, and there are only three honest ways to settle it. A face shape scanner reading a photo, a tape measure, or a careful look in the mirror. The tool above does the first two. Here is when each one is the right choice.
| Method | Time | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Photo or camera scan | About 10 seconds | You want a fast answer and you can take a clean, hair back, chin level shot |
| Tape measurements | About 3 minutes | You want the precise version, or your scan came back borderline |
| Mirror check | About 30 seconds | You have no camera or tape and just want a rough idea |
The mirror check, if you want it now. Pull your hair back and look straight ahead. Ask three questions in order. Is your face clearly longer than it is wide, or close to square? Which is widest, your forehead, your cheekbones, or your jaw? And does your jaw turn a corner below your ear, or curve smoothly? Those three answers narrow eight shapes down to one or two almost every time, which is exactly the logic the scanner runs.
You will see this kind of tool called a face shape analyzer, a face shape finder, a face shape identifier, a face type detector or simply a face shape test. They all mean the same thing. What actually separates them is whether they show you the measurement or just the label. If you would rather answer questions than take a photo, the mirror method above is the no camera version, and if you want to determine your face shape to the nearest millimetre, use the Measurements tab.
What This Detector Does That Others Do Not
Nearly every face shape tool online works the same way: you upload a photo, a spinner turns, and a single word appears. You are told the AI was trained on thousands of faces. You are not told what it measured, how confident it is, or what would have changed the answer.
That is the gap this tool is built around. A measurement you cannot inspect is just an opinion with a progress bar in front of it.
| Typical detector | This detector | |
|---|---|---|
| Shapes covered | 6, with oblong and rectangle merged | 8, kept apart by jaw contour |
| What you are shown | One shape name | All 8 ranked, with the runner up named |
| The measurements | Never shown | Printed under your result |
| Close calls | Picked silently | Flagged as borderline on screen |
| Thresholds used | Not published | Published on every shape page |
| Margin of error | Not mentioned | Explained below, in detail |
| No photo option | Rarely offered | Full manual measurement mode |
| Where it runs | Often a server upload | Your browser only |
How the Detection Actually Works
No magic, and no training on thousands of faces. It is geometry, and you can follow every step.
Step 1: the landmarks
Google MediaPipe FaceLandmarker maps 468 points across your face from the image. This part runs as a model file downloaded into your browser tab. It is the only piece that needs the internet, and it only downloads once.
Step 2: the four measurements
From those points the tool takes four distances. For each width it samples several candidate landmark pairs and keeps the largest, because the definitions all say widest point, and one arbitrary pair is not the widest point.
| Measurement | Where it is taken |
|---|---|
| Face length | Top of the forehead down to the bottom of the chin, then extended slightly toward the estimated hairline |
| Forehead width | Widest of several pairs across the upper face |
| Cheekbone width | Widest of several pairs across the mid face |
| Jaw width | Widest of several pairs across the jaw angles |
Step 3: the jaw contour
This is the step almost no other tool takes. The jawline is measured at three heights, near the ear, mid jaw, and near the chin. Comparing them shows whether your jaw holds its width or tapers away. That single reading is what separates round from square, and oblong from rectangle, so without it you are stuck at six shapes.
It is deliberately a sliding scale rather than three fixed labels. A jaw that sits between angular and soft should lower your confidence, not flip your whole result.
Step 4: scoring all 8
Every shape has a published ratio band and a published width signature. Your numbers are scored against all eight, and the scores are shown as a ranked list. The shape at the top is simply the one that fits best, and you can see by how much.
The 8 Face Shapes This Tool Identifies
Six shape tools merge oblong with rectangle because they cannot measure a jaw contour. We can, so we keep them apart.
| Shape | Length / cheek width | Width signature | Jaw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oval | 1.30 to 1.50 | Cheeks widest, gentle taper down | Soft |
| Round | 1.00 to 1.25 | All three widths close together | Soft |
| Square | 1.00 to 1.28 | All three widths close together | Angular |
| Oblong | 1.50 and above | Widths hold steady, sides parallel | Soft |
| Rectangle | 1.50 and above | Widths hold steady, sides parallel | Angular |
| Heart | 1.25 to 1.55 | Forehead widest, jaw narrowest | Pointed |
| Diamond | 1.35 to 1.55 | Cheeks widest, both ends narrow | Pointed |
| Triangle | 1.20 to 1.50 | Jaw widest, forehead narrowest | Angular |
Full measurement guides, style advice and what to avoid, one page per shape: diamond face shape and oblong face shape are live now, and the remaining six are being written. Put your email in the box after your result if you want to know when yours goes up.
How to Take a Photo That Measures Correctly
Most wrong results are not the tool failing. They are the photo. Five things matter, roughly in this order.
- Pull your hair fully back. A fringe hides the hairline, and the hairline is where the longest measurement starts. This single thing causes more wrong results than everything else combined.
- Keep your chin level. Looking up or down changes your face length directly, and length is what most shape decisions turn on.
- Use the back camera if you can. Selfie lenses are wide angle. They stretch the middle of the frame, which inflates the cheekbone reading and can push an oval result toward diamond.
- Stand back, three to five feet, camera at eye level. Close up shots exaggerate whatever is nearest the lens.
- Neutral expression, glasses off. Smiling lifts the cheeks and widens the cheekbone reading. Frames sit right across the point being measured.
For stylists, barbers and opticians: if you are measuring a client, the same rules apply and the Measurements tab is worth the extra minute. It removes the hairline estimate entirely, and you can record the four numbers in their file so a colleague gets the same answer next visit.
What This Detector Cannot Do
Every tool in this category has the same weakness, and almost none of them mention it.
No landmark model has a hairline point. These models track skin and bone, not hair, so the highest point they can find sits below where your hair actually starts. But every face shape definition measures length from the hairline. So the top point has to be extended by a correction factor, and that is an approximation, not a measurement. It is deliberately kept small here, and it is why your ratio can shift slightly between photos.
The other three are your own doing and easy to fix: chin tilt, camera distance, and lens type. All three move the numbers more than most people expect.
And one honest limitation that is not technical at all: face shape categories are a styling convention, not a measured standard. No professional body defines them. Different guides use different thresholds and different numbers of shapes. Two careful tools can read the same face and label it differently, and neither is lying. What a tool can do is publish its thresholds, show its measurements, and admit when a call was close. That is what this one does.
Face Shape Detector: Questions People Actually Ask
What is a face shape detector?
A face shape detector is a tool that reads the outline of your face from a photo and works out which face shape category your proportions fall into. It maps landmark points, measures your face length, forehead width, cheekbone width and jaw width, then compares those numbers against the definition of each shape. This one runs entirely inside your browser and prints the four measurements it used so you can check the arithmetic yourself.
How accurate is a face shape detector?
More accurate than guessing in a mirror, and less accurate than a tape measure. The landmark detection is precise, but face length is an estimate because no landmark model has a hairline point, so the top of the face has to be extended by a correction factor. Camera angle, chin tilt and lens type also shift the numbers. Treat the result as a strong estimate, and use the Measurements tab if you want the precise version.
Is my photo uploaded or stored anywhere?
No. The face landmark model is downloaded into your browser tab and the analysis happens on your own device. Your photo is never sent to a server, never stored, and disappears when you close the tab. You can confirm this yourself by opening developer tools, switching to the Network tab, and running a scan. You will see the model file download once and no image upload at any point.
How many face shapes does this detector identify?
Eight: oval, round, square, oblong, rectangle, heart, diamond and triangle. Most detectors do six and merge oblong with rectangle. We keep them apart because the tool reads your jaw contour, comparing three widths along the jawline to see whether it holds its width or tapers, which is the only thing that separates those two shapes.
Why do different face shape detectors give different results?
Because face shape categories are a styling convention, not a measured standard. Tools disagree on the ratio thresholds, on where to measure the forehead, on whether width means cheekbone width or the widest point of the face, and on how many shapes exist. Two honest tools can read the same face and label it differently. That is why this one prints its thresholds and its measurements instead of asking you to trust a label.
Can I use the detector without uploading a photo?
Yes, in two ways. The Camera tab captures and measures without ever creating a file, and the Measurements tab needs no image at all: you enter four numbers taken with a soft tape. Manual entry is the most accurate route, because you choose the hairline point yourself instead of letting the tool estimate it.
What does a borderline result mean?
It means the top two shapes scored within about ten points of each other, which is inside the margin of error for a photo measurement. Your face genuinely sits between the two categories rather than the tool being confused. When that happens the tool says so on screen and names both shapes, so you can read both style guides and use whichever suits you.
Does the detector work for men and women?
Yes. The measurements and the geometry are identical regardless of gender. The style guidance that comes with your result covers hair, glasses, beard, makeup and necklines, so you can read the parts that apply to you and ignore the rest.
Should I take my glasses off before scanning?
Yes if you can. Frames sit across the cheekbone area and thick arms can obscure the outer edge of the face, which is exactly where the cheekbone width is measured. Hair pulled back and glasses off gives the cleanest reading.
Is the face shape detector free?
Yes, completely. No account, no email, no app download and no limit on how many times you scan. There is an optional email box after your result if you want to hear when a new tool goes live, and ignoring it changes nothing.
Keep Measuring
Ten seconds, eight shapes, and the numbers to back it up
Photo, camera, or four measurements by hand. Nothing is uploaded, and nothing is hidden.
Open the Console ›Every score on this page is a geometric measurement of facial proportions. It is not a beauty rating, a medical assessment, or cosmetic advice. Last reviewed .