What is a round face shape?
A round face is about as long as it is wide. The cheeks are the widest and fullest part, the forehead is a little narrower with a rounded hairline, and the jawline curves from ear to chin without a visible corner. The chin is usually short and soft.
The outline comes mostly from bone structure and from where the hairline sits, which is why it often runs in families. It is also one of the shapes that changes with age, since faces tend to lengthen slightly over the years.
The styling logic is simple: a round face has curves and width, so lines that add length and angles create contrast. That means volume on top rather than at the sides, parts and layers that run vertically or diagonally, and frames with straight edges.
How to tell if you have a round face
About as long as it is wide, full cheeks as the widest point, a soft jaw and a rounded chin.
- 1Forehead
- 2Cheekbones
- 3Jawline
- 4Face length
- Length
- Close to the width, up to about 1.3 times
- Widest point
- Cheekbones and the cheeks below them
- Forehead
- Slightly narrower than the cheekbones, rounded hairline
- Jaw and chin
- Wide, soft jaw with no clear angle, rounded chin
- The length of your face, hairline to chin, is close to its width across the cheekbones.
- Your cheeks are the fullest and widest part of your face.
- Your jawline curves smoothly from ear to chin, with no sharp corner below the ears.
- Your hairline is rounded rather than straight across, and your chin is short and soft.
How to measure a round 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. Close-up selfies make faces look longer and narrower, so distance matters here. 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 round face, the length is close to the cheekbone width, the cheekbones are the widest measurement, and the jaw is wide but has no sharp corner. If the jaw does have a clear angle, check square. Our face shape detector measures all four from a photo, on your device.
Best hairstyles for a round face (women)
Add a little height and a few vertical or angular lines. Volume on top, length below the chin and side parts all lengthen the face; width at cheek level and blunt lines at the jaw widen it.
Layers that start below the chin create vertical lines past the widest point and let the face read longer.
A deep side part breaks the symmetry of a round face, and the diagonal line across the forehead adds structure.
A long bob that ends past the jaw, worn with a side part, frames the cheeks without adding width at their level.
A textured pixie with height on top and a side-swept fringe lifts the eye up and shows off the cheekbones.
Best haircuts for men with a round face
Height at the front adds length and gives the round outline a stronger, more vertical top.
Lots of volume on top with tight sides is one of the most reliable ways to lengthen a round face.
The part and the sweep on top add an angle and a bit of height, while short sides keep the width down.
Short sides and a longer top swept to one side create asymmetry and height at the same time.
Haircuts to think twice about
None of these are rules. They are the cuts most likely to work against a round face, and why.
A bob that ends at the chin puts the widest horizontal line exactly at the fullest part of the face.
Heavy straight bangs shorten the face and add a horizontal line, so a round face looks even rounder.
Curly volume at cheek and chin level adds width where the face is already widest. Keep curls longer or lift them up.
Glasses for a round face
Straight lines and width add the angles a round face does not have.
A strong, slightly upswept top line lifts the face and adds structure.
Upswept outer corners draw the eye up and out toward the temples.
Small round frames repeat the face's curves and can look tight.
Soft, narrow ovals add more roundness without any contrast.
Choose frames slightly wider than your cheekbones, a little deeper than they are tall is fine, and keep the bridge clear so the nose area reads longer.
Brows, beard and contour for a round face
Brows
A defined arch suits a round face well. Let the brow rise to a clear peak above the outer edge of the iris and taper down to the tail. Avoid very round, flat or heavily curved brows, which repeat the face's softness.
Beard styles
A beard is one of the easiest ways to change the outline of a round face. Keep the cheeks and sides short and let the chin grow a little longer, trimmed with a flat or slightly squared bottom. That adds length and a jawline angle. Avoid a beard that is fuller at the sides than at the chin, which widens the face.
Short sides and more length at the chin add vertical length and a squarer bottom line.
Hair concentrated at the chin draws the eye down the center of the face and lengthens it.
A squared-off bottom adds the angle a soft jaw does not have.
Makeup and contour placement
If you like contour, place a soft shade along the outer edge of the face, from the temples down under the cheekbones toward the corner of the mouth, and lightly along the sides of the jaw. Angle blush upward from the apples toward the temples. Highlight the center of the forehead, the bridge of the nose and the center of the chin to add length.
Keep the result subtle: blend everything well so there are no visible stripes, and work in daylight. If you skip contour, angled blush alone does most of the work. If you want to see how different cuts and colors look on your own photo, the full analysis previews them for you.
Celebrities with a round face shape
Names commonly cited for the round 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.
Round or another shape?
The shapes most often confused with this one, and how to tell them apart.