Facial analysis: what your face measurements reveal
Every measurement in a full facial analysis, front and side, and how to read your results.
A full facial analysis turns two photos into 70+ measurements, front and side, each compared with an ideal range. Here is everything that gets measured, what it means, and how to read the results.
What is facial analysis?
Facial analysis is the practice of measuring a face (its proportions, angles and the quality of its features) and comparing those measurements with reference ranges. Surgeons, orthodontists and aesthetic practitioners have used it for decades to plan treatment. FaceIQ Labs applies the same measurements automatically from your photos, so you get a clinician-style breakdown in minutes instead of a single score with no explanation.
Every measurement is calculated from anatomical landmarks: named points such as the pupils, the corners of the eyes (canthi), the jaw angles (gonion), the chin (menton) and the hairline (trichion). Because everything depends on where those points sit, you can review and correct each one before your analysis is created.
Front facial analysis: 37 measurements
The front photo shows width, vertical balance and the relationship between features. Its measurements fall into eight groups:
| Area | What is measured |
|---|---|
| Facial thirds | Top, middle and lower third: whether forehead, midface and lower face are evenly proportioned |
| Face shape | Face width-to-height ratio (FWHR), total facial width-to-height, midface ratio, bitemporal width, cheekbone height |
| Eyes and brows | Eye separation, eye aspect ratio, the one-eye-apart test, lateral canthal tilt, eyebrow tilt, brow height, thickness and length |
| Nose | Nose width against eye spacing, bridge-to-width balance, tip position, alar angle |
| Mouth | Lip fullness, lower-to-upper lip ratio, cupid's bow, mouth width against nose width, chin-to-philtrum ratio |
| Jaw | Jaw frontal angle, jaw slope, bigonial (jaw) width, lower-third proportion |
| Ears | Ear protrusion ratio and angle |
| Neck | Neck width relative to the jaw |
A few of these matter more than others. The facial thirds set the overall vertical balance. The midface ratio and FWHR describe whether a face reads as compact or long. Eye separation and canthal tilt shape the eye area, which people look at first. You can see each measurement on a real face in the celebrity examples, for instance Zendaya's canthal tilt or Taylor Swift's midface ratio.
Side profile analysis: 33 measurements
The side profile shows depth, which a front photo cannot: how far the chin, nose and lips project and how the jaw is angled. That is why a front-only analysis misses so much, and why the side carries about 40% of the harmony score.
| Area | What is measured |
|---|---|
| Upper third | Brow ridge inclination, nasofrontal angle, upper forehead slope |
| Facial profile | Facial convexity, total convexity, facial depth-to-height, orbital vector, midface projection, Z angle, anterior facial depth |
| Nose | Nasal projection, tip angle and rotation, nasolabial, nasofacial and nasomental angles, nasal width-to-height |
| Lips | Lip position against the E-line, S-line, Burstone line and Holdaway H-line, mentolabial angle |
| Jaw | Gonial angle, mandibular plane angle, ramus-to-mandible ratio, gonion-to-mouth line, chin position relative to the Frankfort plane |
| Neck | Submental–cervical (under-chin) angle |
The profile measurements are where a recessed chin, a weak jawline or a steep mandibular plane show up: features that are easy to miss in a mirror but obvious in photos taken from the side. To keep them consistent, the side photo is levelled to the Frankfort horizontal plane (from the top of the ear canal to the lowest point of the eye socket) before anything is measured. Compare, for example, the Z angle or the gonial angle across celebrities.
Every measurement has its own guide with illustrations and the research behind it in Facial harmony & facial ratios.
Beyond ratios: definition, dimorphism and features
Geometry is only part of how a face reads. Two faces with identical proportions can look very different if one is lean and defined and the other is soft, or if one has clear skin and the other does not. A complete analysis adds three more assessments, each scored 0–10:
- Angularity: cheekbone prominence, jaw definition, cheek leanness, chin definition and under-chin definition. Mostly driven by body fat and soft tissue.
- Dimorphism: how masculine or feminine ten regions read, from the jaw and brow ridge to hairline, lips and nose, scored against the ideal for your gender.
- Features: around thirty quality checks covering acne, scarring, pigmentation, under-eyes, creasing, sclera, eyelids, nose shape, hair, brows, lashes and symmetry. The most changeable part of the face.
How to read your facial analysis
Each measurement earns a score out of 10 for how close it sits to its ideal range, and measurements are weighted by how much they influence perceived attractiveness. Your results then list:
- Strengths: groups of measurements in or near their ideal ranges, such as an ideal jaw width or balanced facial thirds.
- Flaws: the measurements pulling your score down, ranked by how many points each one costs. Weak items count for more than their raw weight, so the biggest issues rise to the top.
If a result surprises you, check the photo and the landmarks first; a few millimetres on the jaw angle or hairline changes several ratios at once. Then use the flaws list to decide what to work on. How to improve your face explains what each kind of flaw means in practice.
Common questions
What is facial analysis?
Do I need a side profile photo?
Are the ideal ranges the same for everyone?
What is canthal tilt?
What is the gonial angle?
Get your own face rating
Two photos, front and side. Your side profile score, ten ratios and top strengths and flaws are free.