Is a triangle face the same as a pear-shaped face?

Yes, the two names describe the same proportion: a jaw wider than the forehead. Some systems also call it a base-down triangle. The styling logic is identical whichever name is used.

How is a triangle face different from a square one?

A square face has a forehead and jaw of roughly equal width, so it reads as a block. A triangle has a jaw clearly wider than the forehead, so it broadens towards the bottom. Measure both widths and compare them directly.

Does short hair suit a triangle face?

It often works very well, because a short textured cut concentrates volume high on the head, which is exactly where this shape has least width. The thing to avoid is a short cut that keeps its bulk down near the ears and jaw.

Why does my bob never look right?

If it finishes level with the jaw, it is drawing a hard horizontal line across the widest part of the face and matching that width with hair. It is the single most common reason people with this proportion dislike a cut they chose from a photograph. Taking the same bob two or three centimetres shorter, so it sits above the jaw, or well past the shoulder, so the width breaks up, usually solves it without changing the style.

Can earrings or a beard change the balance?

Both sit in the area that already carries the most width, so both push in the same direction as the shape rather than against it. Long, narrow drop earrings add length rather than width and tend to work better than wide studs or hoops. A beard shaped shorter at the sides and slightly longer at the chin lengthens rather than broadens. Neither is a rule, but both are worth knowing before blaming the haircut.

Triangle face shape

The jaw is wider than the forehead, near 1.02 against cheekbone width while the forehead sits near 0.78.

Last reviewed 10 August 2026By Sravya

The ratios that define it

face

Length ÷ cheek: 1.16
Forehead ÷ cheek: 0.78
Jaw ÷ cheek: 1.02

These are editorial thresholds for a repeatable comparison, not anthropometric norms. Landing a few hundredths away from a figure means nothing. Landing a long way from one of them is what decides the shape.

Work out my face shape

A triangle face, sometimes called a pear shape, has a jaw that is wider than the forehead. It is the reverse of a heart face. The width sits low, the forehead is comparatively narrow, and the outline broadens as it moves down.

It is the least discussed of the seven shapes, so people with this proportion are often handed heart or oval advice by default. That advice usually adds weight around the jaw, which is the one thing this shape does not need.

The label carries more baggage than the others, because a broad lower face gets talked about as something to fix rather than something to dress. It is worth separating the two. Knowing where the width sits tells you which direction a cut or a frame will push things, and that is all it tells you. Plenty of people with this proportion have no interest in narrowing anything and simply want to know why a particular bob never looked right.

How to check whether this is your shape

Measure the forehead at its widest point and the jaw from angle to angle. If the jaw figure comes out larger than the forehead figure, the shape is triangle. That single comparison settles it.

Check against the cheekbones as well. The thresholds used here put a triangle jaw near 1.02 of cheekbone width, meaning the jaw can be the widest part of the whole face, with the forehead near 0.78.

Length sits near 1.16 against cheekbone width, so the face is not especially long. If it is long as well as bottom-heavy, treat the length as the first thing to manage.

Take the forehead measurement with the hair completely off the face and at the widest point between the brows and the hairline. Measuring at the hairline itself understates forehead width on almost everyone, and on this shape that error exaggerates a difference that is already the defining feature.

One further check helps when the numbers are close. Look at the face straight on and ask where the outline is widest overall. On a triangle the widest line falls at or below ear level. On a square it falls across the middle, and on a heart it falls at the brow.

What it gets mistaken for

Mistaken for
square
Square has forehead and jaw at roughly equal width. Triangle has a jaw clearly wider than the forehead. Compare the two numbers directly.
Mistaken for
round
Round has a soft jaw at about 0.88 of cheekbone width and a similar forehead. Triangle carries much more width at the jaw and much less at the brow.

Where the seven shapes actually sit

measured ratios

length ÷ cheekbone width →jaw ÷ cheekbone →

Round and square sit 0.04 apart on length and 0.09 apart on jaw. That is the entire difference between them, and it is why two sites can give you two different answers from the same face. Ours shows you where you landed rather than only what it decided.

The principle behind every suggestion below

The weight sits low and the forehead is narrow, so the useful moves add width and interest above the cheekbones and keep bulk away from the jaw.

Hair

Worth reaching for

Volume through the temples and crown, where the face is narrowest
A textured pixie or a short layered cut that keeps interest high
A side-swept fringe, which broadens the visible forehead

Works against it

Heavy, blunt width finishing at the jaw
A straight bob that ends level with the jaw and repeats its width

See the cuts for this shape, and the wording to give a stylist.

Say this at the salon

My jaw is wider than my forehead, so I want volume and texture up around the temples and crown, and the weight kept off the jawline.

Naming the proportion and what you want done about it gives a stylist something to work with. A photograph of someone else does not, because their hair is not yours.

Glasses

A browline frame puts a strong horizontal at eyebrow level, which is the widest thing on the upper face and directly counterweights a broad jaw. This is the one shape where a heavy top rim is consistently the right answer.

Worth reaching for

Browline frames
Cat-eye frames
Frames with the detail concentrated along the top

Works against it

Bottom-heavy frames that add more visual weight level with the jaw

See the frame shapes for this face, and the width in millimetres.

Where people go wrong

Being given heart advice by mistake
Heart and triangle are opposites, and the labels get swapped often because both involve a taper. Heart advice adds weight at the jaw. On a triangle that makes the widest part wider.
Cutting a blunt jaw-length bob
It finishes exactly at the widest line and repeats it with a hard horizontal edge. Going shorter or noticeably longer both work better.
Choosing frames with heavy lower rims
Thick bottom rims put visual weight at the level the face already has most of. Weight along the top does the opposite and is the more reliable choice here.
Scraping the hair back flat
A tight ponytail or a flat centre part removes every bit of width from the temples, which is the narrowest part of this shape, and leaves the jaw as the only thing carrying width. Even a little lift or texture at the sides of the crown changes the balance noticeably.
Treating the jaw as a problem
A defined lower face is a feature many people spend money trying to get. The proportion is worth knowing because it explains why some cuts sit oddly, not because anything needs correcting. Choosing to emphasise it is as valid as choosing to balance it, and it is easier to do on purpose once you know where the width is.

Common questions

Sources and review record

Google for Developers
Face landmark detection guide for Web
How the browser tool obtains face landmarks from a photograph.
Last checked 2026-07-31
Matrix
How to choose a hairstyle for your face shape
Face-shape descriptions and the visual-balance basis of the hair suggestions.
Last checked 2026-07-31
All Things Hair
How do I determine my face shape?
Comparing relative face length, forehead, cheekbone and jaw widths.
Last checked 2026-07-31
Zenni Optical
Face Shape Guide
The contrast and balance approach used in the glasses suggestions.
Last checked 2026-07-31

Not sure this is you?

The tool measures all seven and shows you how close the runner-up came, which is the useful thing when two shapes score near each other.

Work out my face shape

The seven face shapes

Or see all the guides.