Square Face Shape: How to Tell If Your Face Is Square

Square faces are defined by the jaw. The jaw is nearly as wide as the cheekbones, and where it turns toward the chin there is a visible corner rather than a smooth curve. The forehead is usually broad too, so the sides of the face look fairly straight, and the chin is wide and flat.

In our calibration the faces generated as square had the widest jaws of the set, about 0.82 to 0.85 of their cheekbone width, compared with about 0.78 for most oval faces, and the sharpest jaw corners. Those two measurements carry most of a square reading.

These are the measurements our face shape detector treats as typical of each shape. Widths and length are divided by the cheekbone width, so they compare faces of any size. Real faces vary around these values, and a face between two columns reads as a blend of both shapes.

Pull your hair back and check these points in a mirror or a straight-on photo:

• Measure across your forehead, your cheekbones and your jaw just above the corners. In a square face the three are close.
• Trace your jawline with a finger. A square jaw has a clear corner below the ear before it runs to the chin.
• Look at your chin. Square faces have a broad chin with a fairly flat bottom edge.
• If the widths match but your jawline curves smoothly without a corner, compare with the round face shape.
• If your face is clearly longer than it is wide, compare with the oblong face shape.

Square and round faces are both short and wide. The jaw separates them: corners and a flat chin for square, a smooth curve and a rounded chin for round. In our calibration the two were each other's most common runner-up.

Oblong faces share the even widths and sometimes the defined jaw, but they are clearly longer. A square jaw on a long face reads oblong, sometimes called rectangular.

Styling advice for square faces usually aims to soften the angles. Layers, waves and side parts break up straight lines, and lengths that fall below the jaw draw attention away from its corners. Blunt cuts that end right at the jaw tend to frame it and make it look wider.

For glasses, round and oval frames contrast with an angular jaw, and frames slightly wider than the cheekbones balance a broad forehead. Very square, heavy frames repeat the angles. Treat these as ideas to try.

See seven hairstyles for a square face, for women and men →

Clenching the jaw or a tense expression makes the jaw muscles stand out and the corners look sharper. A full beard widens the visible jaw, and a close-up selfie widens the lower face. Relax your jaw, take the photo at eye level from arm's length or farther, and check the result with the face shape detector.