What is a heart face shape?
A heart face is widest at the top. The forehead and temples are broad, the cheekbones are nearly as wide, and from there the face narrows toward a smaller chin, which is often slightly pointed. Many people with this shape also have a widow's peak, which completes the outline of a heart.
Some guides call it an inverted triangle, and some separate a "heart" (with a widow's peak and rounded forehead) from an "inverted triangle" (straighter forehead, sharper chin). For styling, they work the same way: the top is wider than the bottom.
Styling a heart face is about balance between the two halves. You do not need to hide your forehead; you just add a little width and movement around the jaw and keep heavy volume away from the top of the head.
How to tell if you have a heart face
A wide forehead, cheekbones almost as wide, and a face that narrows to a small, often pointed chin.
- 1Forehead
- 2Cheekbones
- 3Jawline
- 4Face length
- Length
- About 1.4 to 1.5 times the width
- Widest point
- Forehead and temples
- Forehead
- Broad, with the cheekbones close behind
- Jaw and chin
- Clearly narrower, tapering to a small or pointed chin
- Your forehead is the widest part of your face, or ties with your cheekbones.
- Your jaw is noticeably narrower than your forehead.
- Your chin is small, narrow or comes to a soft point.
- You may have a widow's peak, a V-shaped point in the center of your hairline.
How to measure a heart face
Pull your hair back and look straight into a mirror, or take a photo at arm's length with the phone at eye level. Then compare four distances:
- Forehead: across the widest part, roughly halfway between your brows and hairline.
- Cheekbones: across the highest points, just below the outer corners of your eyes.
- Jawline: from the corner of your jaw below one ear to the same point on the other side.
- Length: from the center of your hairline to the tip of your chin.
For a heart face, the forehead is the widest measurement or ties with the cheekbones, the jaw is clearly the narrowest, and the length is around 1.4 to 1.5 times the width. If you have a widow's peak, measure the length from the top of the peak. If you would rather not measure, our face shape detector does it from a photo, on your device.
Best hairstyles for a heart face (women)
Balance the wider top with width and movement around the jaw and chin. Keep volume at the crown moderate and let the hair do its work below the cheekbones.
A side-swept fringe crosses the forehead on a diagonal, which breaks up its width and softens a widow's peak.
A center-parted fringe frames the eyes and narrows the forehead visually, while the face stays open.
A bob that ends at the chin puts fullness exactly where the face is narrowest, so the outline reads more even.
Waves that start below the cheekbones add width at the jaw and keep the top of the head smooth.
Best haircuts for men with a heart face
A loose fringe covers part of the forehead and brings the eye down, away from the widest point.
A softly combed side part with some length on top keeps the forehead from looking broad and exposed.
Hair down to the jaw adds width where a heart face narrows, and works well with a beard.
A short forward fringe narrows the forehead visually, while the neat sides keep the temples calm.
Haircuts to think twice about
None of these are rules. They are the cuts most likely to work against a heart face, and why.
Height and volume on top widen the upper face, which is already the broadest part.
Combing everything back shows the full width of the forehead and the hairline, with nothing to balance the narrow chin.
A high knot pulls the hair away from the jaw and draws the eye up to the forehead.
Glasses for a heart face
Weight in the lower rim adds visual width near the narrower half of the face.
Soft, rounded lenses echo the gentle chin without stressing the forehead.
A light frame keeps the attention off the brow line and the wider forehead.
A heavy top bar repeats and widens the brow and forehead area.
Strong upswept corners add width at the temples. A subtle cat-eye is fine.
Pick frames no wider than your forehead, with a lighter top line and a little more presence at the bottom.
Brows, beard and contour for a heart face
Brows
Soft, rounded brows with a low or gentle arch suit heart faces. A sharp, high arch emphasizes the width at the temples, so keep the peak modest and the tail not too long. Brows that are a touch fuller toward the inner end help bring focus to the center of the face.
Beard styles
A beard is one of the easiest ways to balance a heart face, because it adds width and fullness exactly where the face narrows. Keep the sides at least as full as the chin, and avoid a long, pointed beard that extends the chin downward, which would sharpen the heart outline rather than soften it.
A full beard adds width and fullness at the jaw, which balances the broader forehead.
A rounded beard fills out the narrow chin while keeping the outline soft.
Keeping the sides full gives the jaw more presence without adding length at the chin.
Makeup and contour placement
If you contour, use a soft shade at the outer edges of the forehead and temples, blended into the hairline, and a touch on the tip of the chin if it is pointed. Highlight the center of the forehead lightly, the top of the cheekbones and the area just above the jaw. Place blush slightly lower on the cheeks, on the apples and blended outward, rather than high toward the temples.
If your chin is quite pointed, a slightly fuller lip shape and a soft highlight just above the jaw keep the lower face from looking too narrow. If your forehead is very broad, skip highlighter at the temples entirely.
Celebrities with a heart face shape
Names commonly cited for the heart face shape in style guides and magazines, not measurements. Lists differ between sources, and hair, angles and makeup change how a face reads in photos, so use them for the overall impression only.
Heart or another shape?
The shapes most often confused with this one, and how to tell them apart.
If your cheekbones are clearly wider than your forehead, rather than the forehead being widest, you are likely diamond.
If your forehead is only slightly wider than your jaw and your chin is rounded rather than pointed, you may be oval.
Heart is sometimes called an inverted triangle; a regular triangle face is the opposite, with the jaw wider than the forehead.