Midface ratio: how compact your midface is

What midface ratio is

Midface ratio compares your pupil distance with the height from your pupils down to your upper lip. It tells you how compact or long the middle of your face is. A value near or above 1.0 means the pupils are about as far apart as they are above the lip, which is a compact midface, often described as youthful and balanced.

A longer midface is not a flaw. It reads elegant and elongated, and it is common. The ratio is useful mostly because it links to practical choices, from hairstyle volume to glasses height.

How LookFlex measures it

LookFlex measures the distance between your pupils, then the vertical distance from the line of the pupils to the top of the upper lip, and divides the first by the second. Using pupil distance as the yardstick means the result is unaffected by how large the face appears in the photo.

Because one of the two distances is vertical, head nod matters: looking up shortens or looking down lengthens the apparent midface. LookFlex corrects for nod when the 3D fit is reliable and reduces its confidence otherwise.

The calculation: ratio = distance between pupils ÷ vertical distance from pupils to upper lip.

Landmarks used

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

• Pupil centres: 468, 473
• 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. 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: A longer midface. Hairstyles with volume at the sides and frames that sit lower on the nose balance it.
• Inside the range: A midface ratio inside the scoring range.
• Above the range: A very compact midface. It reads youthful and can look broad across the eyes.

What the research says

Limited evidence One experiment supports a typical eye-to-mouth distance; nothing more specific.

• Faces looked best when the eye-to-mouth distance was about 36% of face length, close to an average face (Pallett et al., 2010).
• Real faces vary widely in their proportions (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 vertical length of the upper jaw and the position of the eye sockets, which are largely inherited.
• Age, which can change midface volume and lip length.

Things that move the reading

• Expression. A broad smile raises the upper lip, shrinks the vertical distance and increases the ratio.
• Head pitch. A raised or lowered chin changes the apparent vertical distances.
• Camera height. A lens held low looks up the face and compresses the midface.

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, a level head and the camera at eye height.
• For a longer midface, choose styles with volume at the sides and avoid very long, straight lengths that pull the eye down.
• Glasses with a deeper lens and a bridge that sits mid-nose can visually balance the proportion.
• Keep your head level for every scan, so changes you see come from your face rather than from the angle of the photo.

Common myths

Myth: A short midface is always better.

One experiment found faces looked best when the eye-to-mouth distance was about 36% of face length, close to an average face (Pallett et al., 2010). LookFlex's range of 0.98–1.09 is calibrated on its own reference set, so treat it as a guide. Far outside it in either direction, the look changes character rather than getting worse.

Myth: Exercises or chewing can shorten your midface.

The midface length is skeletal, and we found no evidence that exercises or chewing change it.

How it feeds your score

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

• Cheekbones: 20% of the sub-score. Cheekbones carries 12% of the Glow Score.
• Harmony: 15% 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 ±0.017: 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.