What is a square face shape?
A square face is nearly as wide at the jaw as it is at the forehead and cheekbones. Those three widths sit close together, the jaw has a visible angle below each ear, and the chin is broad and fairly flat. The face is a little longer than it is wide, but not by much, and the hairline often runs straight across.
The key feature is the jaw angle. A round face and a square face can have almost the same proportions; the difference is whether the jawline curves smoothly or turns a corner. That corner gives a square face its strong, structured look, often described as striking or defined.
Styling a square face is a choice, not a correction. If you want a softer overall look, use curves: waves, layers, round frames, rounded brows. If you like the structure, clean geometric cuts and a buzz or crop put it on show.
How to tell if you have a square face
Forehead, cheekbones and jaw close in width, a defined jaw angle and a broad, flat chin.
- 1Forehead
- 2Cheekbones
- 3Jawline
- 4Face length
- Length
- A little longer than wide, about 1.3 to 1.4 times
- Widest point
- Even: forehead, cheekbones and jaw close in width
- Forehead
- Broad, often with a straight hairline
- Jaw and chin
- Wide jaw with a defined angle, broad flat chin
- Your forehead, cheekbones and jaw measure within a finger's width of each other.
- Your jaw has a visible corner below each ear rather than a smooth curve.
- Your chin is broad and fairly flat across the bottom.
- Your hairline tends to run straight across the forehead.
How to measure a square 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. Keep your chin level, since tilting the head up or down changes how the jaw angle looks. 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 square face, the three widths are within a small margin of each other, the length is only slightly longer than the width, and the jaw has a clear corner. Run a finger along your jaw: if it turns a corner below the ear, that is the square signal. Our face shape detector measures the widths and the jaw angle from a photo, on your device.
Best hairstyles for a square face (women)
Decide whether to soften or accent the angles. Soft layers, waves and side parts round off the corners; sharp, geometric cuts at the jaw make them more dramatic. Both are valid.
Waves and a deep side part add curves and a diagonal line that soften the straight hairline and the jaw corners.
Face-framing layers that brush the jaw blur its corners and draw the eye down past them.
A soft, center-parted fringe rounds off a straight hairline and frames the eyes.
Choppy layers and wispy bangs add movement all around, which balances the strong outline.
Best haircuts for men with a square face
A short, messy top with a light fringe adds texture without competing with the jaw.
A classic part suits the strong structure and keeps a polished, balanced look.
Square faces are among the best suited to a buzz cut, because the jaw already provides the structure.
Hair combed back with some volume on top shows off the angles and adds a little length.
Haircuts to think twice about
None of these are rules. They are the cuts most likely to work against a square face, and why.
A blunt line that ends exactly at the jaw repeats and frames the widest corner, so the face reads boxy.
Heavy straight bangs add another horizontal line across a straight hairline and shorten the face.
Flat, center-parted hair forms straight vertical lines on each side that box in the face.
Glasses for a square face
Curves are the most direct contrast to a square jaw.
Soft ovals round off the angles without looking delicate.
The teardrop shape is narrower at the bottom and draws the eye away from the jaw.
Square frames repeat the angles and make the whole face look more geometric.
Hard, angular shapes add more corners. Wear them only if you want a bold, dramatic look.
Choose frames slightly wider than the widest part of your face, with thin rims or rounded corners, and sit them high on the nose.
Brows, beard and contour for a square face
Brows
A soft, rounded arch balances a square face better than a sharp, angular one. Keep the brows fairly full, with the peak above the outer edge of the iris, and let the tail curve gently rather than drop in a straight line.
Beard styles
A beard can either soften a square jaw or sharpen it. To soften, grow a full beard and trim the bottom into a gentle curve. To accent the structure, keep a short, even beard or stubble that follows the jawline. Avoid a very boxy beard with hard corners, which makes the lower face look wider.
A full beard with a rounded bottom softens the jaw corners and the flat chin.
Light stubble keeps the jaw visible and adds a little shadow along it.
Hair at the chin draws attention to the center and adds a little length.
Makeup and contour placement
If you like contour, place a soft shade on the outer corners of the forehead and along the corners of the jaw, below the ears, and blend it well toward the neck. Put blush on the apples of the cheeks in a round motion rather than a sharp angle. Highlight the center of the forehead, the top of the cheekbones and the center of the chin.
Blend well and keep it light; the aim is to round off the corners slightly, not to change the shape. Soft, diffused blush suits square faces better than a sharp sculpted line. If you would like to see haircuts on your own face before committing, the full analysis previews them on your photo.
Celebrities with a square face shape
Names commonly cited for the square 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.
Square or another shape?
The shapes most often confused with this one, and how to tell them apart.
If your length and width are close but your jaw curves smoothly with no visible corner, you are more likely round.
If your forehead, cheekbones and jaw are even but your face is clearly longer than it is wide, look at oblong.
If your jaw is noticeably wider than your forehead, rather than about the same, look at triangle.