Many people wish to have greater understanding of the shape of their face. Knowing the shape of your face can help you to more easily pick out the hairstyles and makeup that best suit you. When determining your face shape, it helps to first determine the width of your face. Once this is known, you can more easily determine whether your face is round, oval, long, heart-shaped or square.

Pull your hair back into a ponytail if it is long, to get it out of your way. Stand in front of your mirror, and line up your face so you look directly into the mirror.

Close one eye, and trace the outline of the reflection of your face onto the mirror, using your eyeliner or eyebrow pencil.

Hold your ruler up to the outline on the mirror. Measure the distance across the widest point of the outline of your forehead, and write the number down.

Measure the distance across the widest point of the outline of your cheekbones, and write the number down. Measure the distance across the widest point of your jawline, and write the result down. Turn your ruler into a vertical position, and measure the length of your face, from the center of your forehead to the center of the point of your chin.

Determine the widest point of your face, based on your measurements. This number equals the width of your face.