The triangle face shape

What a triangle face shape is

A triangle face is defined by a jaw that is wider than the forehead. The face is narrowest across the forehead, widens at the cheekbones, and is widest of all at the corners of the jaw. From the front, the outline broadens as it goes down, like a triangle standing on its base.

The jaw corners are usually easy to see, and the chin is broad or squared rather than pointed. The hairline is often narrow and the temples can look a little hollow, which adds to the impression of a small upper face. Many guides call the same shape a pear face.

The proportions the site's width rules look for: a jaw-to-cheekbone ratio that exceeds the forehead-to-cheekbone ratio by more than about 0.04, and a chin angle over about 108°, meaning a broad chin rather than a point. Length can be anything from short to long; the widths are what define it.

Length changes how the shape reads. A short triangle face, about as long as it is wide, looks close to round or square with a small forehead. A long one looks closer to oblong with a heavy base. The styling below applies to both; the long version can take a little less height on top.

One naming trap. Some guides describe an "inverted triangle" face, which is the opposite proportion: wide forehead, narrow chin. On this site that shape is the heart face. The triangle face on this page always means jaw wider than forehead.

How to tell if you have a triangle face

Photograph your face straight on with hair pulled back, or take the four standard measurements:

1. Forehead width, across the widest part of the forehead.
2. Cheekbone width, across the most prominent points.
3. Jaw width, straight across at the level of the mouth, or corner to corner just below the ears.
4. Face length, hairline to chin.

You have a triangle face if the jaw is the widest of the three widths and the forehead is the narrowest. If the jaw and forehead are about equal, you are more likely square; if the jaw is wide but the corners are soft and the face is short, look at round.

With a tape measure, the useful check is the gap between the forehead and the jaw. On most square and round faces the two widths are within a centimetre of each other. On a triangle face the jaw is wider by more than that, and the difference shows with the hair pulled back.

The face shape test reports the forehead and jaw ratios and the chin angle from a photo. One thing to know: the five-class model it uses does not have a triangle class. It learned oval, round, square, heart and oblong, so a triangle face is reported as square or round, whichever is closer.

The site's width rules do compute a triangle score alongside the model. When those rules put triangle first, the result card adds "Your widths lean triangle" with a link to this page, while the headline stays square or round. On the card, a jaw ratio clearly above the forehead ratio is the triangle signature.

Triangle vs square vs round

The square face is the one most often confused with triangle, because both have a strong, angular jaw. The difference is the forehead: on a square face it matches the jaw, on a triangle face it is noticeably narrower. Styling for the two overlaps at the jaw and diverges at the top.

What styling a triangle face is trying to do

The triangle face is bottom-heavy: the jaw is the dominant feature and the forehead and temples are small. Styling aims to add width and height to the upper face and to keep visual weight off the jawline.

Concretely:

• Hair with volume at the crown and temples
• Layers that end above the jaw, not at it
• Glasses that are heavier at the top than the bottom
• Beards kept short along the jaw
• Contour along the jaw corners, highlight on the forehead

The mirror-image mistakes: chin-length blunt cuts, bottom-heavy frames, and wide full beards, all of which add to the width the face already has at the bottom.

Best hairstyles for a triangle face

• Volume at the crown through layers, a root lift or a textured top adds height and balances the jaw.
• Side parts and side-swept fronts widen the forehead by breaking its edge.
• Layers ending at the cheekbone or above put movement at the upper face and keep the ends away from the jaw.
• Soft fringes that sit above the brow fill in a narrow forehead.
• Avoid blunt cuts that end at the chin or jaw, tight flat styles with no height, and heavy weight at the jawline.

The hairstyles for a triangle face page has cuts by length, plus men's styles.

Best glasses for a triangle face

Frames that are heavier, wider or more detailed at the top balance a triangle face: browline frames, cat-eye shapes, aviators with a strong top bar, and frames with colour concentrated on the upper rim. A frame about as wide as the jaw makes the top of the face read as wide as the bottom.

Avoid heavy lower rims, small narrow frames that make the jaw look wider by contrast, and rimless styles that add nothing up top. More on the glasses for a triangle face page.

Best beard styles for a triangle face

A beard grows where a triangle face is already widest, so it needs shaping rather than fullness. Keep the beard short along the jaw and put any length at the chin: a goatee, a short boxed beard trimmed close at the sides, or heavy stubble with a clean neck line.

Avoid wide full beards and mutton chops, which add width at the jaw corners. See the beard styles for a triangle face page.

Makeup for a triangle face

Contour along the jaw corners and just under the jawline narrows the widest part; highlight across the forehead and at the temples brings the upper face forward. Blush swept up from the cheek toward the temple lifts the eye.

Brows with a defined arch add height to the upper face and suit a triangle shape well. Details on the makeup for a triangle face page.

Celebrities with a triangle face

Faces often described as triangle or pear-shaped include Minnie Driver, Kelly Osbourne and Keith Urban. Their most repeated looks have height or volume on top and hair kept away from the jaw, which is the triangle-face playbook. Descriptions vary between guides, since a strong jaw is also read as square.

Frequently asked questions

Is a triangle face the same as a pear face?

Yes. Pear and triangle both describe a face that is narrow at the forehead and widest at the jaw. Some writers use pear for the softer, rounder version and triangle for the more angular one, but the proportions and the styling advice are the same.

Why does the test say square or round when I think I am triangle?

The model behind the test learned five shapes from a labelled photo set, and triangle was not one of them. A triangle face is reported as the nearest of the five, usually square or round. The width rules run alongside, and when they lead with triangle the result card says so.

Is a wide jaw unattractive?

No. A defined jaw is the feature a lot of contouring and beard shaping tries to create. Styling for a triangle face is about balance between top and bottom, not about hiding the jaw. The jawline test measures jaw width and angle on their own if you want the numbers.

What is the difference between a triangle face and an inverted triangle?

They are opposites. A triangle face is widest at the jaw. An inverted triangle is widest at the forehead and narrows to the chin, which this site treats as a heart face. If your forehead is your widest point, read the heart face page instead.

Does a triangle face change with age?

The proportions stay, but the jaw can look softer as skin loses firmness along the jawline, and a receding hairline can make the forehead look larger. Both move a triangle face a little toward square or oval in photographs. Styling advice adjusts with it; measure again every few years.