There are some things about your body that are crucial to know: your blood type, whether you’re allergic to dairy, and your face shape, to name a few. That last one may seem like no big deal, but knowing if your face is oval, square, or round can help you get a more flattering haircut, look more natural when you get fillers, find perfectly fitting glasses, and better sculpt your face with your favorite contouring kit. With the help of a plastic surgeon and hairstylist, we’ve made it easy for you to figure it all out on your own, by breaking down the evaluation process into three easy steps.

But before you start, Philippe Barr, creative director at Frederic Fekkai Salon in Palm Beach, suggests pulling or slicking your hair back so that “the outline of your face is fully exposed.” To make the process even easier, you can also trace the outline of your face onto your mirror with lipstick or lip liner, he adds.

How to Determine Your Face Shape

Step 1: What’s the widest part of your face?

• Forehead: A wider forehead can be filed under the oval category, especially if its width “tapers toward the chin,” New York-based board-certified plastic surgeon Norman Rowe tells Allure. He determines the shape of his patients’ faces before using injectables or performing a facelift in order to achieve the ideal and most natural-looking outcome. To do so, he notes “differences in symmetry or distances from one feature to the next.”
• Cheekbones: “Face shapes that are widest at the cheekbones are a typically a round face shape,” Rowe says, but the length of your face also comes into play. With a round face shape, the measurement of width and length are basically equal.
• Jaw: If your jaw is the widest part of your face, you have a square face shape. In this case, the forehead, cheeks, and jawline are almost equal in width,” Rowe adds. But before you jump to this conclusion, consider the possibility that you might have a heart- or triangle-shaped face. Move on to step two to confirm.

Step 2: What’s the shape of your jaw?

• Round: Got a rounder jaw? They are often associated with a round face shape, Rowe notes, so if the length of your face is similar to the width, you can feel confident that you’re working with a round face. If the length is noticeably longer than your face is wide, it may be oval.
• Square: “A strong jawline usually means a square face shape,” Barr says. If yours is angular, but your chin isn’t particularly pointy, this is very likely your shape.
• Pointy: Consider your face heart shaped. “This face shape strongly tapers toward the chin,” Rowe adds about faces that noticeably narrow toward the bottom.

Step 3: What’s the length of your face?

• Short: All signs point toward the round face shape, as long as you’re not particularly angular at the jawline.
• Long: If you haven’t already figured it out from the hints in steps one and two, you probably have an oval face, Barr says.

No matter what your face shape, there are hairstyles, glasses, hats, glasses, and makeup techniques that bring out the best in each. And now that you know yours, it will be that much easier to make those choices.

( Credit: allure )