Harmony · Front view · Facial Thirds
Lower Third
The height from the bottom of the nose to the bottom of the chin as a share of face height.
What is measured
The calculation
Nose-bottom-to-chin height ÷ hairline-to-chin height × 100
Front view / Measurement guide
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Why it matters
The lips and chin share this space. Its total height helps explain the balance between the upper face and lower face, while separate lip and chin ratios explain how that space is divided.
- Lower: a shorter lower face relative to the whole.
- Higher: a taller lower face relative to the whole.
Where the idea comes from
Classical proportion
Facial thirds grew out of artistic proportion canons and later anthropometry: the measurement of human form. Farkas and colleagues tested those rules in 1985. FaceIQ uses photographed brow landmarks to divide the face. [1]
A worked example
A 66-unit lower third in a 180-unit face is 36.7%. The three thirds share the same denominator and together account for the full face height.
Example values explain the calculation. They are not a target range and are not measurements of the schematic above.
Research & further reading
The sources below explain the history or related evidence. FaceIQ’s score weights and reference ranges are model settings; these papers do not collectively validate the scoring system.
[1] Farkas et al. · 1985
Vertical and horizontal proportions of the face: revision of neoclassical canonsTested nine traditional proportion rules against measured faces. Useful history for facial thirds and width comparisons; classical rules are not universal targets.