What is the most attractive face shape?
Modern attractiveness research finds no single face shape that wins across cultures. Oval is the most often cited because it sits closest to the population average and tolerates the widest range of hairstyles and makeup choices. Heart-shaped faces score highly in some Western surveys; round and square faces score equally well when styled to their strengths.
The 2025 Scientific Reports averageness study by Stephen et al. tested 5,000 faces against averaged composites and found that proximity to the population average predicted attractiveness ratings more reliably than any single feature. Oval faces tend to sit closer to that average because they avoid the extremes of width and length found in round, square, and oblong shapes.
Heart-shaped faces (wider forehead, narrower jaw) frequently rank highly in Western beauty surveys because the proportions echo a youthful childlike skull shape. Diamond and inverted-triangle shapes can read striking rather than conventionally attractive, often photographing well in editorial contexts.
The more useful finding from modern research is that the same face can be rated up to 1.5 standard deviations more or less attractive depending on hairstyle, framing, lighting, and grooming. Face shape sets the room; styling decides what happens in it.
Try Hairstyle Analysis
Don't worry which shape ranks highest. Upload one selfie and Hairstyle Analysis works out your face shape, then renders the eight cuts that flatter it most.
Try Hairstyle Analysis