Facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) explained

What facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) is

The facial width-to-height ratio, usually shortened to fWHR, compares how wide your face is with how tall the middle of it is. Width is measured across the cheekbones and height from the brows down to the upper lip. A higher value means a broader, more robust-looking face, and a lower value a longer, more refined mid-face.

fWHR is popular in research and online, and often over-interpreted. A meta-analysis found wider faces were linked with slightly more aggression in men and were seen as more threatening, but the effects were small (Geniole et al., 2015), and in a very large sample the ratio did not meaningfully predict self-reported personality or behaviour (Kosinski, 2017). LookFlex treats it purely as a description of face shape and proportion.

In the LookFlex app this measurement appears as Face width-to-height.

How LookFlex measures it

LookFlex measures the width between the outermost points of the cheek contour at eye level, and the vertical distance from the lower edge of the brows to the top of the upper lip. It then divides width by height. As with every vertical measure, the face is first levelled and corrected for head nod when the 3D fit is reliable.

The width points sit slightly wider than true bone width on the face mesh, so LookFlex's numbers are not directly comparable with published fWHR values that use other landmarks. Compare your own scans with each other, not with a paper.

The calculation: fWHR = face width at eye level ÷ (upper-lip top − lower-brow edge).

Landmarks used

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

• Widest points of the face at eye level: 234, 454
• Lower brow edge: 52, 65, 282, 295
• Top of the upper lip: 0

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. Both differ for men and women, and LookFlex blends the two if you choose Other or prefer not to say. 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: The mid-face is long relative to its width: a refined, elegant structure.
• Inside the range: A width-to-height ratio inside the scoring range for your sex.
• Above the range: The face is wide relative to mid-face height: a bold, sturdy structure.

What the research says

Limited evidence Research on this ratio is extensive, but it mostly concerns perceived threat and aggression; the effects are small and it sets no ideal.

• A meta-analysis found wider faces were linked with slightly more aggression in men and were reliably seen as more threatening, but the effects were small (Geniole et al., 2015).
• In a very large online sample, the ratio did not meaningfully predict self-reported personality or behaviour (Kosinski, 2017).
• Earlier findings were small: men with a higher ratio behaved somewhat more aggressively in two samples (Carré & McCormick, 2008), and a link with testosterone has not been consistently found since (Lefevre et al., 2013).

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 cheekbone arch and the vertical length of the mid-face, both skeletal.
• Age and development, since faces keep developing through the teens.

Things that move the reading

• Expression. Smiling or tensing the upper lip lifts it toward the brows, shrinks the height and raises the ratio.
• Brow position and brow grooming, since the height starts at the lower brow edge.
• Cheek fullness and body composition, which change the contour width at the edges.
• Head tilt. Chin up or down distorts vertical distances.

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.

• Scan with a relaxed mouth and a neutral brow. A smile can noticeably lift the number.
• Keep your head level and the lens at eye level.
• Body composition changes the soft tissue at the edges of the face (Coetzee et al., 2010). We found no evidence that any habit changes the width of the cheekbone arch, so don't try.
• If you want to adjust how the proportion reads, hairstyles and facial hair that add or take away width at the sides do it without changing your structure.

Common myths

Myth: fWHR predicts aggression, dominance or success.

A meta-analysis found only small effects (Geniole et al., 2015), and a very large sample found no meaningful link to personality (Kosinski, 2017). A face ratio is not a personality test, and LookFlex does not use it as one.

Myth: A wide face means a heavy face.

Width is mostly the cheekbone arch. Weight can add soft tissue to the contour, but a lean person can have a high fWHR and a heavier person a low one.

Myth: Higher is always better.

Higher values lean masculine and lower values lean feminine in styling convention, which is why the ranges differ: 1.82–2.00 for men and 1.74–1.88 for women.

How it feeds your score

This measurement is one input to 2 sub-scores, which then combine into your Glow Score:

• Cheekbones: 15% of the sub-score. Cheekbones carries 12% of the Glow Score.
• Harmony: 10% of the sub-score. Harmony carries 22% 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 ±0.027: 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.