Eye spacing ratio: how far apart your eyes sit

What eye spacing is

Eye spacing compares the gap between your eyes with the width of one eye. The classic drawing rule says the space between the eyes should equal one eye width, a ratio of about 1.0. A higher ratio means the eyes sit further apart, a lower one means they sit closer together.

Spacing changes how the face feels more than how it measures. Closer-set eyes are often described as focused and intense, wider-set eyes as open and approachable. Both are ordinary, and the range LookFlex uses simply marks the middle of its reference set.

How LookFlex measures it

LookFlex measures the distance between the two inner eye corners, then divides it by the average width of your two eyes, each taken from inner to outer corner. Using your own eye width as the yardstick means the number does not depend on how close you stood to the camera.

On the face mesh the inner corners sit a little inside the visible corners, so a face that looks 'one eye apart' to the eye measures about 1.26 in LookFlex's reference set. That is why LookFlex's ranges sit above the textbook 1.0, and it is not a sign that anything is off.

The calculation: spacing = distance between inner eye corners ÷ average eye width.

Landmarks used

LookFlex reads these points from the 478-landmark face mesh. The numbers are each point's index in that mesh.

• Inner eye corners: 133, 362
• Outer eye corners: 33, 263

The full pipeline, including how pose and mirror-averaging reduce noise, is on how LookFlex measures your face.

Typical and scoring ranges

LookFlex shows two ranges. The typical range is the middle half of its reference set, from the 25th to the 75th percentile: half of the faces fell inside it. The scoring range is where a reading earns a closeness score of 100; outside it the score falls smoothly, with no cliff at the edge. The scoring range is the same for everyone, while the typical range follows each group's own median. Unit: unitless ratio.

How to read your result

"The range" here means the scoring range. The impressions below are common styling descriptions, not research findings. What research does show is in the next section.

• Below the range: Eyes sit a little closer than average. The look is focused and intense, and a clean gap between the brows keeps it open.
• Inside the range: Balanced spacing: the eyes frame the nose evenly.
• Above the range: Eyes sit wider than average. The look is open and approachable, and slightly darker inner-corner shading can bring them in visually.

What the research says

Limited evidence One good experiment links eye spacing to average-looking faces; there is no wider evidence for an ideal.

• Faces looked best when the gap between the eyes was about 46% of face width, close to an average face (Pallett et al., 2010).
• Real faces vary widely, and classical artistic rules fit only a few people (Farkas et al., 1985).

No study we cite tests LookFlex's own ranges. They come from the calibration described on the methodology page, and every source is listed under References below.

What influences it

Mostly fixed

• The width of the bone between the eye sockets, which is largely inherited.
• In teenagers whose faces are still growing, the ratio may shift.

Things that move the reading

• Brow grooming. The distance between the inner ends of the brows and the start of the brow shape changes how far apart the eyes seem.
• Eye makeup. Light shades at the inner corner make eyes look wider apart, darker shades make them look closer.
• Glasses. The colour and width of the bridge shifts the visual centre of the face.
• Head angle and expression, which move landmarks slightly in a single photo.

How to improve how it reads

These suggestions change how the measurement reads or how well the photo captures it. Styling tips are common practice rather than tested in research, and none of them promises a change in bone structure.

• For closer-set eyes, keep the space between your brows tidy and open, and let the brow tails extend outward.
• For wider-set eyes, start brow shapes a little closer to the nose and use deeper shading toward the inner corners.
• Choose a lighter or clear frame bridge to make eyes look further apart, or a heavier bridge to make them look closer.
• Scan face-on at arm's length or further. A very close selfie exaggerates the centre of the face.

Common myths

Myth: The ideal is exactly one eye width apart.

That is a drawing guide for portrait artists. Real faces vary widely (Farkas et al., 1985), and a landmark mesh does not mark the same points a pencil does. LookFlex's range for both sexes is 1.18–1.36.

Myth: Eyes outside the range are a medical concern.

Real faces vary widely (Farkas et al., 1985). If a doctor has told you something about your eye region, follow their advice. The number here is a proportion, not a diagnosis.

How it feeds your score

This measurement is one input to one sub-score, which then combine into your Glow Score:

• Eyes: 15% of the sub-score. Eyes carries 17% of the Glow Score.

Precision. Every reading of this measurement comes with a 95% margin, estimated by measuring your photo three times. Across the reference set the median margin was ±0.040: a retake in similar conditions usually lands within that much of the first reading. A change between two scans counts as real only when it is bigger than both scans' margins combined.

Confidence. LookFlex starts this measurement at a confidence of 85% and lowers it when your head angle, the lighting or image quality weakens the reading. The weight of each input in a sub-score scales with its confidence. Details are on the methodology page.