Triangle Face Shape
A triangle face — sometimes called pear-shaped — is widest at the jaw and narrowest at the forehead. It is the inverse of a heart face and needs the opposite styling.
Drop a photo into the panel and it will say whether your four measurements read as triangle.
Click to choose a photo, or drop one here
Straight-on, even lighting, at arm's length gives the most comparable reading.
No photo to hand? Try one of these and see what the tool returns.
Runs in your browser. Your photo is never uploaded.
How a triangle face is measured
Jaw width exceeds cheekbone width, which in turn exceeds forehead width — the face widens steadily from top to bottom, the inverse of a heart shape.
- Jaw is the widest part of the face
- Forehead narrower than the cheekbones
- Width increases steadily downward
- Jawline often strong and defined
A triangle face widens steadily from forehead to jaw — the exact inverse of a heart shape. It is the rarest result after diamond, and the one where the label sounds least flattering while describing a jaw many people are actively trying to acquire.
Also called: Pear-shaped face, Trapezoid face.
How to tell if you have a triangle face
The triangle verdict comes from comparing the top of the face with the bottom, in that order.
- 1Hair fully back, facing the mirror square on.
- 2Measure across the forehead at its widest.
- 3Measure across the cheekbones.
- 4Measure the jaw, below one ear across to below the other.
- 5If the three go up in that order — forehead smallest, jaw largest — the shape is triangle.
A tape measure held against your own face is accurate to maybe half a centimetre, which is enough for the clear cases and not enough for the borderline ones. The tool above takes the same three widths from 478 landmarks instead.
Triangle vs Square face shape
Both have a strong jaw. In a square face the forehead and jaw are close in width; in a triangle the jaw is clearly the widest point and the forehead the narrowest. Measure the forehead — that is where they diverge.
The square face shape in full →Triangle vs Heart face shape
Exact inverses. Heart is wide at the forehead and narrow at the chin; triangle is narrow at the forehead and wide at the jaw. Every hair, glasses and makeup recommendation for one is reversed for the other.
The heart face shape in full →Hairstyles for a triangle face
Everything here is the mirror of heart-shape advice: add at the top, subtract at the bottom.
Works
- Volume at the crown and temples to widen the top
- Shorter layers around the cheekbone
- Side-swept styles that add apparent forehead width
Fights the shape
- Heavy length at the jaw, which adds width where there is already most
- Flat crowns, which leave the top narrow by comparison
Beard styles for a triangle face
Facial hair adds bulk exactly where a triangle face already has the most, so this is the one shape where less usually reads better.
- Keep the jaw line clean and closely trimmed
- Short stubble rather than a full beard, if any
- Avoid full beards and wide cheek lines, which extend the widest measurement
Makeup for a triangle face shape
The work is the mirror image of the heart advice: add at the top, take away at the jaw.
- Contour along the jaw corners to narrow the widest part
- Highlight the forehead and temples to add apparent width above
- Blush higher on the cheek, angled toward the temple
- Fuller, slightly wider brows, which broaden the narrow upper third
Glasses for a triangle face
Works
- Cat-eye and browline frames
- Frames heavier at the top
- Wide frames that add forehead width
Avoid
- Bottom-heavy frames
- Narrow frames that emphasise the taper
The triangle face shape on men
On men a triangle measurement usually describes a wide, heavy jaw under a narrow brow, and it is the one shape where the popular aesthetic and the styling advice point in opposite directions: the jaw the outline is named for is the feature most male readers arrive wanting more of, not less.
Triangle face shape celebrities
Triangle has the fewest celebrity lists of the seven, and the ones that exist mostly reuse the same handful of names. As with the other six, this site does not assign a shape to anyone it has not measured from a straight-on photo.
Procedures that change a triangle face
A triangle result usually leads to questions about the jaw rather than the forehead.
- Masseter BotoxChanges the width of your lower face at the masseter.
- Jaw ReductionChanges the width of your jaw angle.
- Temple FillerChanges hollowing at the temples.
A simulation is a visualisation, not a surgical plan, and nothing on this page is medical advice.
Triangle face shape — frequently asked questions
Is a triangle face the same as a pear-shaped face?
Yes. Both describe a face that is widest at the jaw and narrowest at the forehead, along with trapezoid in some charts. The condition is identical: jaw wider than cheekbones, cheekbones wider than forehead.
Will the tool ever tell me I have a triangle face?
Honestly, rarely. The classification rules used across the industry check other conditions first, and triangle is difficult to reach. We report it when the measurements clearly meet it.
What hairstyle suits a triangle face shape?
Volume at the top and nothing at the jaw. Height at the crown, layers that stop above the chin and side-swept fringes all widen the narrow upper third; long straight hair falling past the jaw emphasises the widest point.
Is a triangle face shape rare?
It is the second least common after diamond. It requires the three widths to increase steadily from forehead to jaw, and most faces are widest at the cheekbones or the forehead instead.
Does a beard make a triangle face look wider?
Yes, and this is the one shape where that is worth thinking about before growing one. A beard adds bulk at the jaw, which is already the widest measurement on the face. Close stubble or a clean jaw line keeps the outline where it is; a full beard extends it.