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Facial width-to-height ratio. What it means and which haircut fits.

FWHR compares how wide your face is with the height of its middle part. Here's what's typical and which haircuts suit a wider or longer face.

The short answer

  • What it is. Cheekbone width divided by the height from between your eyebrows to your upper lip.
  • What's typical. Most men land between 1.71 and 1.97, most women between 1.67 and 1.91.
  • Wider face (above 1.90). Height on top and tight sides suit it.
  • Longer face (below 1.75). Fuller sides and a fringe suit it.

How it's measured

Two measurements and one division. Forehead and chin are left out.

Argentinian man, about 24, with his cheekbone width and eyebrow-to-lip height drawn as lines

1.70: narrower than most men

Brazilian woman, about 35, with her cheekbone width and eyebrow-to-lip height drawn as lines

1.75: about average for women

Try your own numbers

Measure in a mirror with a ruler, then set the two sliders in millimetres.

138 mm
75 mm
Your FWHR
1.84
Compared with men
About average

Where you sit

Shaded: the typical range for men

You1.84

Most haircuts suit you

Most cuts work: a classic taper, a textured crop, face-framing layers or a lob. Skip very tall tops or very flat sides.

Tell your barber: natural volume on the sides, a little height on top.

See the haircuts ↓

See your face shape and what suits you

Free from one selfie: your face shape, your strengths and your first tips.

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Haircuts for your face width

Hair changes how wide or long your face looks.

  • Wider face

    FWHR above 1.90

    Height on top, tight sides.

    Haircuts
    Men: a textured quiff or a side-swept fringe.
    Women: long layers with lift, or a deep side part.
    Tell your barber
    2–3 cm of height on top, tapered sides.
    Skip
    Wide, bulky sides with a flat top.

  • In between

    FWHR 1.75 to 1.90

    Most cuts work.

    Haircuts
    Men: a classic taper or textured crop.
    Women: face-framing layers or a shoulder-length lob.
    Tell your barber
    Natural volume on the sides, a little height on top.
    Skip
    Very tall tops or very flat sides.

  • Longer face

    FWHR below 1.75

    Fuller sides and a fringe.

    Haircuts
    Men: a scissor cut with a full fringe, or a French crop.
    Women: a chin-length bob or curtain bangs.
    Tell your barber
    Low top, fuller sides, a fringe over the forehead.
    Skip
    High skin fades and tall hair on top.

Same face, different hair

  • Before
    Vietnamese man, about 31, at home before a styling change
    After
    Vietnamese man, about 31, after a styling change: textured crop, clean-shaven; smiling at home

    Height on top, tight sides

    Tapered sides and a clean shave: the wider-face advice.

  • Before
    Filipina woman, about 42, at home before a styling change
    After
    Filipina woman, about 42, after a styling change: curtain-layer blowout, groomed brows, soft makeup; smiling at home

    Face-framing layers

    The in-between advice, plus groomed brows, soft makeup and a white shirt.

What CEVO gives you. From one selfie.

  • A front photo with the 478 face points CEVO maps drawn as small dotsA side photo of the same woman for the profile analysis

    A 478-point face scan

    Every point of your face mapped from one selfie, plus a side photo for your profile.

  • Close-up of the eye areaClose-up of the nose and cheeksClose-up of the brows and foreheadClose-up of the jaw and chin

    169 tests, region by region

    Twelve regions of your face measured, from brows to jawline, plus the age your face reads as.

  • white British woman, about 22, at home before a styling changewhite British woman, about 22, after a styling change: curtain bangs with long layers; smiling at home

    A natural glow-up on your own face

    Hair, brows and skin changed on your photo. Your bone structure stays as it is.

  • Korean woman, about 29, after a styling change: butterfly cut, warm brown; smiling at homeKorean woman, about 29, after a styling change: glossy dark-brown glass-hair bob; smiling at homeKorean woman, about 29, after a styling change: long layers with curtain bangs, warm brown; smiling at home

    Hairstyles on your own face

    The cuts that suit your face shape, side by side.

  • Moroccan man, about 33, after a styling change: tapered curly cut, groomed beard; smiling at homeColombian woman, about 44, after a styling change: soft layers with caramel balayage, groomed brows, soft makeup, sage knit; smiling at home

    Brows, beard and makeup

    Brow shape, beard length and makeup picked for your features.

  • Nigerian woman, about 41, after a styling change: short tapered natural cut; smiling at home

    A 90-day routine

    Hair, skin and grooming steps to follow for 90 days, made for your face.

  • $29

    Basic Readout

    • Up to 10 front-view tests
    • Your facial balance breakdown, feature by feature

  • $59 Recommended

    Complete Clinical Dossier

    • Front and side: all 169 tests
    • Glow-up and up to 3 hairstyles on your own face
    • 90-day routine and your facial age

  • $119

    Master Suite, the surgery pack

    • Surgical simulation with a millimetre change map
    • Surgeon-ready PDF and up to 10 hairstyles
    • 4 re-scans over a year

One payment, no subscription. Every report is checked by our team and ready within 24 hours.

How the free scan works

  1. Brazilian woman, about 35, looking straight at the camera at home

    1 Take a selfie

    Prop your phone at eye level, about 1.5 m away. Too close, and CEVO asks for another photo.

  2. The same woman's photo with the outline of her face traced in thin lines

    2 See your face shape and what suits you

    Free: your face shape, your strengths and your first tips, in plain words.

  3. Pakistani woman, about 27, after a styling change: sleek low bun with face-framing pieces; smiling at home

    3 Decide if you want more

    See how many more tips are waiting for you. Unlock them only if you want them.

Start with one selfie

Your face shape and what suits you, free.

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Questions

How do you calculate FWHR?

Divide your cheekbone width by the height from between your eyebrows to your upper lip. For example, 138 mm ÷ 75 mm = 1.84.

What is a normal FWHR?

Most men measure 1.71 to 1.97 and most women 1.67 to 1.91. Men average about 1.84, women about 1.79.

What haircut suits a high FWHR?

Height on top and tapered sides: a textured quiff for men, long layers with lift for women.

What haircut suits a low FWHR?

Fuller sides and a fringe: a French crop for men, a chin-length bob for women.

Does losing body fat change FWHR?

Barely. Your cheekbone width is mostly bone, so the number hardly moves. Losing fat slims the cheeks below the cheekbones, which can make them look sharper.

The detail

The detail behind this guide Averages, the full haircut table and our sources.

Averages

What is FWHR? Think of a box drawn across the middle of your face. Measure how wide your face is from outer cheekbone to outer cheekbone, and divide that by the vertical distance from your eyebrows down to your upper lip. (In clinical studies, those are called bizygomatic width and upper facial height.)

What is a "normal" FWHR? Most people fall right around 1.80 to 1.85. Across published facial studies (Carré & McCormick 2008; Kramer 2017), the average man is 1.84 ± 0.13 (typical range: 1.71–1.97) and the average woman is 1.79 ± 0.12 (typical range: 1.67–1.91).

Why does it matter for your haircut? Your FWHR does not include your forehead or your chin, only the middle box of your face. That means your hair and beard act like a picture frame around that box:

  • High FWHR (>1.90 = wider, more compact midface): Add height on top of your head and keep the sides tight so your face looks slightly longer.
  • Low/narrow FWHR (<1.75 = longer, narrower midface): Avoid high skin fades or tall hair on top (which make your face look even longer). Instead, keep fuller volume on the sides and let a fringe cover part of your forehead.

FWHR = cheekbone width ÷ brow-to-lip height

The full haircut table

The 1.75 and 1.90 cut-offs are CEVO's haircut groups, not a medical standard.

Your FWHR Best men's haircut Best women's haircut What to tell your barber / stylist Why it works visually
Wider face > 1.90Option 1 Textured Quiff + Mid-Drop Taper Long Layers Below Collarbone + Crown Lift +26 mm top height · tight sides Height on top stretches your face vertically, while clean sides stop your cheekbones from looking extra wide.
Wider face > 1.90Option 2 Side-Swept Fringe + 1.5-Guard Taper Deep Side Part + Cheekbone Curtain Layers +20 mm top height · side part An angled side part breaks up a square outline and draws the eye diagonally instead of side-to-side.
Wider face > 1.90Option 3 Messy Textured Crop + High Taper Bottleneck Bangs + Collarbone Lob +22 mm top height · soft frame Pieces of hair that lightly graze the outer cheekbones make the widest part of your face look narrower.
Longer / narrow < 1.75Option 1 Scissor Taper + Full Curtain Fringe Chin-Length French Bob + Wavy Side Volume Low top (+10 mm) · full sides Scissor-cut sides add width right next to your temples and cheekbones, filling out a narrow face.
Longer / narrow < 1.75Option 2 Textured French Crop + Forehead Fringe Brow-Grazing Fringe + Shoulder Shag Flat top (+8 mm) · brow fringe Covering the forehead with a fringe immediately shortens a long face and makes your cheekbones look broader.
Longer / narrow < 1.75Option 3 Medium Layered Flow (Tucked Behind Ears) Butterfly Layers with Cheekbone Bounce +12 mm top · wide side flow Adds visual width on each side of your face so a narrow midface looks balanced.
Avoid if wider > 1.90 Wide Bowl/Mushroom Fringe + Bulky Sides Chin-Length Blunt Bob with Wide Sides Flat top · bulky sides Hiding your forehead while leaving bulky hair on the sides makes a wide face look short and round.
Avoid if narrow < 1.75 High Skin Fade + Tall Pompadour Tight Sleek High Ponytail (No Side Pieces) Tall top (+36 mm) · shaved sides Shaving the sides bare and piling height on top stretches a long, narrow face even further.

Sources

  1. Carré JM, McCormick CM (2008). In your face: facial metrics predict aggressive behaviour in the laboratory and in varsity and professional hockey players. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 275(1651), 2651–2656.

    DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2008.0873

  2. Weston EM, Friday AE, Liò P (2007). Biometric evidence that sexual selection has shaped the hominin face. PLoS ONE, 2(8), e710.

    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000710

  3. Kramer RSS (2017). Sexual dimorphism of facial width-to-height ratio in human skulls and faces: A meta-analytical approach. Evolution and Human Behavior, 38(3), 414–420.

    DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.12.002

See what suits your face. Free, from one selfie.

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Chinese woman, about 29, after a styling change: long side-parted layers, soft makeup, white linen shirt; smiling at home