The round face shape

What a round face shape is

A round face has two defining proportions. The length from hairline to chin is close to the width across the cheekbones, usually within about 15 percent, and the outline has no angles: the jaw curves smoothly into the chin, the temples curve into the hairline, and the widest point sits at the cheeks rather than at the forehead or jaw.

Two things it is not. It is not a face that is simply full or fleshy; a slim person can have a round bone structure, and a heavier person can have an oblong one. And it is not a square face with a softer finish; a square face has straight sides and a jaw nearly as wide as the cheekbones, while a round face tapers, just gently.

When our test classifies a face as round it typically finds a length-to-width ratio between 1.1 and 1.3, forehead and jaw widths that are close to each other, both a little narrower than the cheekbones, a wide chin angle with no point, and an open, soft jaw angle. The round and square classes sit next to each other in the classifier and are the most often confused pair; the chin angle and the jaw angle are what separate them.

How to tell if you have a round face

Pull your hair back and photograph your face straight on at eye level, or take the four measurements described below and compare them.

1. Face length, hairline to chin tip.
2. Cheekbone width, across the most prominent points below the outer corners of the eyes.
3. Forehead width, across the widest part of the forehead.
4. Jaw width, straight across at the level of the mouth.

You have a round face if the length and cheekbone width are close, the forehead and jaw are both a little narrower than the cheekbones and similar to each other, and the chin is broad and rounded rather than pointed or squared. If your jaw is as wide as your cheekbones and the corner of the jaw is a visible angle, see the square face shape. If your face is clearly longer than it is wide, look at oval.

The face shape test gives you these ratios from a photo and reports the runner-up, which for round faces is usually square or oval.

Round vs square vs oval

The practical tell between round and square is the corner of the jaw below the ear. Press a finger there: on a square face you find a distinct angle of bone, on a round face the jaw curves without a corner.

What styling a round face is trying to do

Almost all advice for a round face has the same two aims: add length so the face reads a little longer than wide, and add angles so the outline is not all curves. Neither is a correction of a fault; they are ways of adding contrast so the features stand out. A round face with everything soft can look undefined in photos, and a round face with one or two sharp lines added by hair, frames or contour looks sculpted.

The mirror-image mistake is adding width. Chin-length bobs, wide round glasses, cheek-heavy beards and blush placed on the outer cheek all add width to a face that already has it.

Best hairstyles for a round face

• Length past the chin. Hair that ends at the chin draws a horizontal line across the widest part of the face. Anything that ends below the chin lengthens it.
• Volume on top, not at the sides. A little height at the crown, a quiff for men, or root lift for women adds length. Volume at the sides adds width.
• Side parts and off-centre fringes break the symmetry of a round outline and create a diagonal, which reads as an angle.
• Long layers starting below the chin keep the sides flat while adding movement.
• Avoid chin-length blunt bobs, blunt straight-across bangs, tight curls cropped at the ears, and any cut with the width at cheek level.

Cuts by length and texture, plus men's styles, are on the hairstyles for a round face page.

Best glasses for a round face

Angular frames are the standard advice and it holds up: rectangular, square and geometric frames add the straight lines a round face lacks. Frames that are a little wider than the face also help, because they make the face look narrower by comparison. A strong browline or a frame with an angular top edge does the same.

Avoid small round frames and thick round frames, which repeat the outline and make the face look rounder. Full detail is on the glasses for a round face page.

Best beard styles for a round face

A beard is the most effective single styling tool a man with a round face has, because it can add length directly. Keep the beard longer at the chin and shorter on the cheeks: a goatee, a ducktail or a full beard trimmed short on the sides and left longer under the chin all pull the face downward into a longer outline. Keep the cheek line low and the sideburns tight so no width is added at cheek level. The beard styles for a round face page has lengths and lines.

Makeup for a round face

Contour is used along the sides of the face, from the temples down under the cheekbones, to create the shadow of a narrower outline, and a little under the chin to define the jaw. Blush sits higher on the cheekbone and blends diagonally toward the temple, which lifts rather than widens. Brows with a defined arch add an angle. See the makeup for a round face page for placement.

Celebrities with a round face

Faces commonly described as round include Selena Gomez, Chrissy Teigen, Ginnifer Goodwin, Mila Kunis, Leonardo DiCaprio and Elijah Wood. What their most photographed looks share is instructive: hair with height or length rather than width, side parts, and, for the men, beards that lengthen the chin.

Frequently asked questions

Is a round face the same as a chubby face?

No. Round describes bone proportions: a face nearly as wide as it is long with a curved outline. Weight changes the outline of any face shape, and a round-boned face can be very slim.

Can a round face have high cheekbones?

Yes, and it often does. The cheekbones are the widest point on a round face, which is exactly why it reads as round. High cheekbones give a round face its best feature to emphasise with blush and highlight.

Do round faces look younger?

Fuller cheeks and a soft jaw are associated with youth, and round faces are often described that way. The flip side is that a round face can look less defined in photographs, which is what adding an angle or two through styling addresses.

Will my round face become oval if I lose weight?

Weight loss reduces the soft tissue over the cheeks and jaw and can make a round face read closer to oval, but the length-to-width ratio of the bones does not change. Re-test with a current photo to see where you are.