Face shapes are the outlines created by the architecture of the facial skeleton, which is determined by genetic codes. The defining features that describe these shapes are the mathematical ratios between forehead width, the prominence of the cheekbones, and the form of the jawline. According to these ratios, the basic face types are classified as follows: the oval face with balanced lines, the round face with soft contours, the square face with strong jaw angles, the heart face with its V-shaped form, the long face with dominant vertical dimensions, and the diamond face where the widest point is the cheekbones. Each face type, thanks to its unique anatomical structure, carries a distinctive character and aesthetic expression.

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Which Structures Define the Unique Shape of Our Face?

Every face has its own silhouette, and this silhouette is formed by two main layers that work in perfect harmony with each other. The overall appearance of our face is determined by the architecture of these layers and their proportions.

Bone Skeleton: This is the main supporting structure of our face, like the strong skeleton of a building. It forms the main contours of the face, its width, length, and the most prominent features. From an aesthetic perspective, the main bone structures that stand out when defining the face shape are:

Cheekbones (Zygomatic complex)
Jawbone (Mandible)
Forehead bone (Frontal bone)

How protruding and wide the cheekbones are determines how much fullness and attractiveness the midface has. The sharpness or roundness of the jaw angles, and whether the chin tip is pointed or blunt, reveal the character of the lower third of the face.

Soft Tissues: This layer, covering the bone skeleton like a veil, gives the face its vitality, fullness, and smoothness. This layer consists of skin, subcutaneous fat pads, mimic muscles, and ligaments that hold the face in place. For example, the structures in the cheek area known as buccal fat pads play a key role in making the face look fuller or slimmer. No matter how defined your bone structure is, the thickness of the soft tissue on top can emphasize or conceal these lines. The aesthetic harmony of the face depends on the balanced relationship between these two layers.

What Are the Face Shapes?

Face shapes vary depending on bone structure and play an important role in aesthetic practices. Here are the most common face shapes:

Oval Face: With balanced proportions, suitable for every hairstyle and makeup style, considered the ideal face type.
Round Face: With soft features, the width and length ratio are close to each other.
Square Face: Characterized by an angular jaw structure and equal widths of forehead, cheeks, and jaw.
Rectangular (Long) Face: The face length is prominent, with parallel forehead and jawline.
Heart-Shaped Face: Recognized by a wide forehead, prominent cheekbones, and a narrow chin structure.
Diamond Face: Cheekbones are the widest point; forehead and chin are narrow, face is angular.
Triangular Face: The jaw is wide, the forehead is narrow; the lower part of the face appears more dominant.

Oval Face Shape

The oval face is generally considered the “ideal” in the aesthetic world because it has extremely balanced and harmonious proportions. In this face shape, the length of the face is slightly longer than the width at the widest point, which is the cheekbones. The forehead is slightly wider than the chin, and the jawline tapers gracefully with a soft curve without sharp corners.

The main defining features of the oval face are:

Soft and curved jawline
Cheekbones as the widest part of the face
Balanced forehead and chin width
Proportional facial features

Thanks to this balanced structure, people with oval faces can usually carry different hairstyles or accessories with ease.

So, How Does the Oval Face Respond to the Effects of Time?

Due to its balance, the oval face usually shows signs of aging more softly. However, this face type also has its own specific aging pattern. The most common issue is volume loss in the midface. Over time, the melting of fat pads in the cheeks and temples creates a hollowed-out appearance in these regions.

The main concerns in the aging process of the oval face are:

Temple hollowing
Volume loss in cheeks (flattening)
Formation of under-eye bags and troughs
Deepening of nasolabial folds (nose-to-mouth lines)
A tired and fatigued facial expression

Although issues like significant sagging of the jawline or squaring of the face are less common, these volume losses can take away the lively and dynamic expression of the face.

What Aesthetic Touches Help Preserve the Natural Beauty of the Oval Face?

The main goal of aesthetic approaches in the oval face is to restore the lost volume gently without disturbing the existing harmony and to maintain a fresh appearance. Rather than major structural changes, protective and refreshing procedures are prioritized.

Non-surgical applications are usually the first choice.

Dermal fillers
Neurotoxin applications (Botox etc.)
Skin-tightening energy-based devices

Strategic touches with hyaluronic acid-based fillers to the temples and cheeks restore lost volume, instantly giving the face a more rested look. This also indirectly softens the under-eye and nasolabial lines.

In cases of more advanced volume loss and tissue laxity, surgical options provide more permanent and effective results.

Fat grafting to the face
Midface lift
Classic facelift (Rhytidectomy)

Fat injections using the patient’s own fat restore global volume to the face, while facelift operations reposition sagging tissues back to where they belong, redefining the natural and elegant contours of the face.

Round Face Shape

The round face, as the name suggests, is known for its circular and soft features. In this shape, the width and length of the face are almost equal. It lacks sharp angles and pronounced corners. The widest part of the face is the cheeks, and these full cheeks usually give a younger, more charming appearance.

The most typical features of the round face include:

Equal face width and length
Full cheeks
Round and cornerless jawline
Non-prominent cheekbones

This “babyish” look can help camouflage early signs of aging, especially fine wrinkles. However, in later years, this trait may also bring certain disadvantages.

How Does the Round Face Respond to Gravity?

Thanks to its abundant soft tissue, the round face looks fresh and lively in youth, but its biggest struggle during aging is with gravity. The weakest point of this face type is often the lack of a strong skeletal structure to support the heavy soft tissue mass. As the ligaments holding the face loosen over time, these heavy tissues sag more easily.

The main problems in the aging process of the round face are:

Pronounced jowl formation
Deep nasolabial folds
Complete loss of jawline definition
Double chin and laxity in the neck
A sagging, downward-piled appearance of the face

Therefore, in people with round face types, heaviness and distortion in the lower face become more noticeable with age.

What Can Be Done to Give the Round Face Sharper Contours?

The main goal of aesthetic interventions in the round face is to break the perception of horizontal width, create more defined contours and angles, and give the face a slimmer and longer look. The target is usually to transform the face into a more oval or V-shaped form.

There are highly effective surgical interventions for this goal.

Bichectomy (Buccal fat removal)
Chin implant
Genioplasty (chin augmentation surgery)
Deep plane facelift
Neck lift

Bichectomy is the most popular way to reduce cheek fullness and reveal the cheekbones. To add more vertical length to the face, methods such as chin implants or surgically advancing the chin bone (genioplasty) are often chosen. In advanced sagging cases, deep plane facelift repositions all sagging tissue layers together, providing the most natural and long-lasting results.

Non-surgical methods also offer powerful alternatives in shaping the face.

Structural filler applications (chin and cheekbone)

Masseter Botox
Thread lift methods
Focused ultrasound or radiofrequency

High-density fillers injected into strategic points like cheekbones and chin tip create light and shadow play on the face, generating a sharper perception. If the width is caused by the chewing muscle, masseter Botox can slim the lower face.

Square Face Shape

The square face is characterized by strong and defined features. The most distinctive feature of this type is its sharp and angular jawline. The widths of the forehead, cheekbones, and jaw are almost equal. This creates the impression of two parallel vertical lines along the sides of the face. The face width is quite close to its length, giving the face a solid and determined expression.

The main visual codes of the square face are:

Wide and strong jawbone
Defined jaw angles
Similar widths of forehead, cheeks, and jaw
Structured and firm facial appearance

This strong skeletal structure provides a significant advantage against some effects of aging.

What Changes Does the Square Face Undergo Over Time?

The robust bone architecture of the square face perfectly supports the skin and underlying soft tissues. Therefore, in people with square faces, issues like gravity-induced sagging and jowl formation appear later and less severely compared to other face types. However, the square face also has its own unique aging scenario. This scenario can be defined as “facial squaring.”

The main conditions encountered as the square face ages are:

Further heaviness of the lower face
The face taking on a rectangular form
The lower face becoming more dominant with midface volume loss
Flattening of the cheeks

As the midface fat pads lose volume and descend with age, they accumulate along the already wide and strong jawline. This makes the lower face appear even broader and heavier.

What Methods Are Used to Soften the Harsh Lines of the Square Face?

The aesthetic goals for the square face are usually to soften its sharp angles and reduce the width of the lower face, thereby achieving a more feminine, oval, or V-shaped contour.

The most common and effective non-surgical methods in this regard are:

Masseter Botox
Cheek and cheekbone fillers

If the square appearance is largely due to strong chewing muscles (masseter hypertrophy), masseter Botox works like magic. Botox injections into this muscle reduce its bulk, significantly slimming and softening the lower face without surgery. Filler applications to the cheeks redirect attention to the midface, balancing the strong jawline.

If the problem stems directly from the bone structure, surgical methods offer more definitive solutions.

Jaw angle reduction (Mandibular angle reduction)
Cortical bone shaving
Facelift

Jaw angle reduction softens the pronounced corners of the jawbone. Facelift surgery repositions sagging tissues in the lower face, helping to maintain jawline definition.

Heart Face Shape Known for Its Attractive V Form

Resembling an inverted triangle, the heart-shaped face has a wide forehead and high cheekbones tapering elegantly into a thin and delicate chin. The widest part of the face is the upper and midface. This V-shaped form is universally associated with youth, femininity, and attractiveness.

The distinctive features of the heart-shaped face are:

Wide forehead
High and prominent cheekbones
Narrow and usually pointed chin tip
Defined “V” line

While this face shape provides an extremely attractive look in youth, it has the potential to undergo one of the most dramatic changes during aging.

How Does the Youth Triangle of the Heart Face Reverse Over Time?

The aging story of the heart face is essentially the inversion of the youthful V form. The fat pads that make the high cheekbones appear full gradually shrink and, due to gravity, descend toward the narrow jawline. This completely alters the facial proportions.

The main changes experienced in the aging process of the heart face are:

Midface volume loss and hollowing of the cheeks
Tissue accumulation and jowl formation along the jawline
Blunting and widening of the V-shaped jawline
Temple hollowing
Brow drooping

As a result, the triangle with its apex upward in youth turns into a pyramid with its apex downward with age.

What Approaches Are Preferred to Maintain the Proportions of the Heart Face?

The goal of aesthetic planning in the heart face is to re-establish the balance between the wide upper face and the age-widened lower face, and to restore the lost V form. Both replacing lost volume and repositioning sagging tissues are necessary.

Non-surgical methods are quite successful in re-establishing this balance.

Chin and jawline fillers
Midface and temple fillers
Thread lift applications
Neurotoxins (for brow lifting)

High-density fillers injected into the chin tip and jawline give renewed structure and definition to the weakened lower face. Fillers applied to the cheekbones and temples restore lost volume, recreating the “Youth Triangle.”

For those seeking more permanent and comprehensive solutions, surgical options are available.

Fat grafting to the face
Chin implant or genioplasty
Facelift

Fat grafting is particularly effective in naturally addressing midface volume loss. Facelift surgery repositions sagging tissues back where they belong, permanently reshaping the V form.

Dr. Erman Ak

Op. Dr. Erman Ak who is one of the best cosmetic and plastic surgeon in Turkey, completed his specialization at Istanbul University Çapa Medical Faculty. He received advanced microsurgery training in Taiwan and, as an ISAPS fellow in Italy, training in facial and breast aesthetics. Dr. Ak holds the European Union Aesthetic Plastic Surgery qualification certificate from EBOPRAS and contributed to the establishment of the Plastic Surgery Department at Başakşehir Çam and Sakura Hospital. He currently accepts patients from Turkey and various other countries at his clinic in Nişantaşı.