Triangle Face Shape: Tips for Hairstyles, Glasses, Makeup & More

Do you have a triangle face shape and want to know how to make it look great? Or maybe you’re wondering how to determine if your face is a triangle shape. Either way, you’ve come to the right place! A triangle face shape is narrower at the forehead and wider at the jawline. We spoke with beauty experts to give you their best advice for styling a triangle face shape, including flattering hairstyles, glasses, and makeup looks. Plus, we’ll tell you how to determine your face shape in case you’re not totally sure.

Overview of the Triangle Face Shape

Triangle Face Shape Summary Diagram with proportions

A triangle face shape is longer than it is wide with a narrow forehead area. Cheekbones are less prominent than the jaw, which is wide and strong. It has a strong, pointed chin. Overall, the features are sharp and defined.

Section 1 of 6:

What is a triangle face shape?

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A triangle face shape has a narrow forehead and wide jaw. This face shape (sometimes called a pear face shape) is relatively rare, with a narrow forehead, wide jawline, and cheekbones falling somewhere in the middle.^{[1]
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- Female celebrities with triangle face shapes: Jennifer Lawrence, Rihanna, Minnie Driver, Meghan Markle, Ellie Kemper, Billie Piper, Geena Davis
- Male celebrities with triangle face shapes: Édgar Ramírez, Keith Urban, Jason Derulo, Matt Bomer, Jonah Hill, Zach Galifianakis
- There’s also the inverted triangle face shape, which is basically the opposite and features a wider forehead, narrow jawline, and pointed chin.
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Measure your jaw, cheeks, and forehead to find your face shape. Makeup artist Cordelia Frost says that determining your face shape is all about looking at the balance between the widest and narrowest parts of your face.^{[2]
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Cordelia Frost
Makeup Artist

Expert Interview} Here’s how to take your face measurements to see if you have a triangle face shape:
- Forehead: Touch your middle fingers to your eyebrows’ tails. Move your fingers halfway between your brows and your hairline and measure the width between them.^{[3]
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- Cheekbones: Place your fingers on the corners of your eyes. Trace them down until you feel the bone at the top of your cheek and measure between them.^{[4]
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- Jaw: Measure the distance between the base of your jaw right below your ear and the tip of your chin. Multiply the measurement by 2 to get your full jawline measurement.^{[5]
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- You have a triangle face shape if:
  - Your jawline is the widest measurement.
  - Your cheekbones are slightly less wide than your jaw.
  - Your forehead is the narrowest measurement.

Section 2 of 6:

Women’s Hairstyles for a Triangle Face Shape

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Straight hair with chin-grazing layers Straight hair that’s longer than jaw length can help balance your wider jawline with your narrower forehead. For shorter styles, opt for volume at the root and crown and soft layers at the jawline to soften your sharp angles.^{[6]
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- Styles that taper along your jawline can make your forehead and cheekbone areas seem fuller to balance out your features.
- If you want to wear your hair longer than your collarbones, ask for layers from below the jawline to the ends to avoid fullness at the bottom of your style.
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Heavy fringe parted at the side A heavy fringe is a great way to draw the eye up to your eyes to help de-emphasize and balance your wider jaw. Make sure your fringe is on the heavier side and ends at your cheekbones. Part it on the side to bring fullness to your narrower forehead.^{[7]
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- Straight-across bangs can work for you as long as they aren’t too short or and have lighter, wispy ends.
- Blunt-cut bangs may emphasize the sharpness and width of your jawline.
- Master cosmetologist Shun Pittman adds that a bang with a horizontal line makes your forehead appear narrower.^{[8]
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  Shun Pittman
  Master Cosmetologist, Global Salon Educator & Author
  
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Loose waves with a deep side part An asymmetrical style can help to bring more fullness to your forehead. It also helps soften your jawline, making your face seem more balanced. Loose waves or curls can also help soften the sharpness of your features.^{[9]
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- Loose waves and an asymmetrical part work with any hair length. Just make sure to avoid lengths that hit right at your jawline.
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Updos with soft tendrils & height at the crown Adding height at the crown with teasing or backcombing helps to draw the eye upward and balance your wide jawline. Wear heavy, side-swept bangs to bring weight to your cheekbones.^{[10]
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- Long tendrils can soften the severity of swept-back hair. Pittman says that creating vertical lines running parallel across the jaws will create a narrower jawline.^{[11]
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  Shun Pittman
  Master Cosmetologist, Global Salon Educator & Author
  
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Styles to avoid Avoid cuts that are overly sleek and flat to your head, which can emphasize your wide jawline. Stay away from blunt bobs that hit right at your jawline or any cuts that draw attention to your chin.
- However, if you like those styles, go ahead and rock them. Frost says, “It's completely up to how you prefer to style your hair…It's just a matter of personal preference.”^{[12]
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  Cordelia Frost
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Section 3 of 6:

Men’s Hair & Facial Hair Styles for a Triangle Face Shape

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Choose short hairstyles with volume on top. Makeup artist and stylist Frankie Sanderson recommends understanding your facial proportions and how they relate to your hair to balance your facial structure so you can look your very best.^{[13]
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Frankie Sanderson
Makeup Artist & Stylist

Expert Interview} In general, men with triangle face shapes look good in shorter hairstyles with more volume at the top and on the sides that balance their wider jawlines. Here are a few hairstyles to consider if you have a triangle face shape:^{[14]
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- Textured quiff: A quiff is longer on the top and shorter on the sides with a stiff wall of hair above your forehead. Style it by applying a dime-sized amount of gel or hair wax, then blow dry it over and over your head.
- Pompadour: The classic pompadour is a type of quiff that is larger and wavier on the top. Style it by blowdrying the top up and back from your forehead.
- Side-swept undercut: The back and sides are buzz cut with the top left long. Apply a dime-sized amount of hair gel to your hair to style it. Use a wide-toothed comb to part your hair then slick it over to the side.
- Textured French crop: It has short, tapered sides with a longer top. Style it by raking a dime-sized amount of gel from the back to the front then comb your hair forward.
EXPERT TIP

Frankie Sanderson
Makeup Artist & Stylist
Franklin (Frankie) Sanderson is a Makeup Artist and Stylist and the Founder of TheStudeo, a styling business based in Washington DC that specializes in hairstyling, makeup, and personal image consulting services. He specializes in hair extensions, chemical services such as highlighting, Balayage, Japanese straightening, keratin treatments, and designer cuts. He has a BFA in Fashion Design from Virginia Commonwealth University and has trained at the L'Oreal Soho Academy, TIGI, Vidal Sassoon, Redken, and Wella. His clients include Nicole Kidman, Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey, Jane Lynch, and Alicia Keys.

Frankie Sanderson
Makeup Artist & Stylist

Hairstylists use your facial structure to balance your features. We think about the oval as the ideal face shape. Then, we transfer that knowledge to our haircuts. We look at facial structure that isn’t oval and figure out how we can create that same balance on someone with a square, triangle, or diamond-shaped face.
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Go with facial hair styles that elongate and soften your jawline. Choose a short beard style that doesn’t add bulk to your jawline or go with a longer beard that narrows at the bottom. Avoid thick full beards that add weight to your jaw.
- Beardstache: This features short stubble on the chin and jaw with a longer mustache to soften your prominent jawline and draw the eye up.
- Ducktail: This style is trimmed into a V or U shape on the chin to help elongate and soften hard, prominent jawlines.^{[15]
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- Bandholz: This is a mustache that’s connected to a full beard.^{[16]
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  Research source} It helps camouflage and soften your sharp, wide jawline.
- Handlebar: This mustache style has long ends that are curled up and held with wax. It helps draw attention upward away from a wider jawline.
- Walrus: These mustaches are thick and long on the sides and trimmed over the lip in the middle. Because they’re so large, they balance out a wide jawline.
- Pencil: This mustache style is very thin, which can help a jawline appear narrower. It’s also an eye-catching style that draws attention away from the jaw.
- Pyramid: These moustaches are narrow on top and wide on the bottom. The width on the bottom helps to minimize a wide jawline.

Section 4 of 6:

Glasses for a Triangle Face Shape

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Choose round, cat-eye, or square frames that balance your face. Whether you wear glasses for better vision or need some new sunnies, choose glasses with oval frames to help soften your face’s angles. Or, add more fullness to your forehead with large aviator sunglasses or square and rectangular frames. ^{[17]
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- Cat-eye or browline style glasses add width to your brow and forehead area to offset the width of your jawline.
- Try to avoid chunky, butterfly, angular, oversized, or geometric styles that can overemphasize the angles of your face.

Section 5 of 6:

Makeup for a Triangle Face Shape

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Make your eyes the focal point of your look. Bring all of the attention away from your jaw and toward your eyes with smoky looks. Or try bold colors like scarlet, periwinkle, or lavender. Finish the look by adding false lashes or applying one or two coats of mascara.
- Create a long, arched brow to balance your face shape. Extend the tail of each brow to balance your wider jaw.
- Alternately, try a rounded brow with a subtle arch to soften your jawline and elongate your forehead.
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Use contour on the lower part of your face and highlighter on the upper part. Brush a contour shade that’s 1-2 shades darker than your skin tone under your cheekbones from your hairline to the corner of your mouth. This accentuates and defines your cheekbones. Apply a line of contour along the outer corners of your jawline to make it appear narrower.^{[18]
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- Make your cheekbones pop by adding a shimmery highlighter along the tops.
- Add a little highlighter to the top corners and center of your forehead to make it look wider.
- Avoid contouring your forehead, which can make it look smaller than it really is.^{[19]
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- Keep highlighter away from your jawline as this will draw attention and make your jaw appear larger.
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Put blush on the apples of your cheeks and extend to the temples. Applying blush to the apples of your cheeks and angling it up toward your temples gives your face definition. It also helps to make the upper part of your face wider to balance with your jawline. Add more definition by applying a light dusting of blush over the outsides of your eyebrows.
- Another technique that adds symmetry to your face is to apply blush in a sideways v-shape from the outer corner of your eye to your hairline.^{[20]
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- Avoid adding blush to your nose or the lower half of your face, which can emphasize your wide jawline.

Section 6 of 6:

Other Face Shapes

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There are 6 other possible face shapes. If you’re not sure if you have a triangle face shape, there are several other options that might be a better fit. Just remember, all face shapes are beautiful, and it’s more important to like how you look than get a hairstyle or glasses frames you don’t really like. Check out these short overviews of 6 other face shapes to see if any work for you.
- Oval: An oval face is longer than it is wide, with the forehead narrower than the cheekbone. The jawline and chin are more rounded, rather than angular.
- Round: A round face has a length and width of roughly equal measurements. The hairline and jawline are both rounded.
- Square: The forehead, cheekbones, and jawline are all equal widths. Square faces have proportions similar to round faces, but the features are more angular.
- Diamond: Diamond face shapes have proportions similar to oval faces, but the features are more angular and include strong, high cheekbones and a pointed chin.
- Heart: Heart-shaped faces have high cheekbones, broad foreheads, and pointed, defined chins. They may also have a widow’s peak hairline.
- Oblong/Rectangular: These faces are longer than they are wide, with the forehead, cheekbones, and jaw about the same width.