Angularity

Angularity is how defined the face reads: how clearly the bone shows through the soft tissue at the cheekbones, jaw, chin and neck. It is the pillar most affected by body composition, which also makes it the one most people can change.

What is assessed

How it is scored

Each of the five regions is rated on a continuous morph that runs from very soft (0) to very defined (10). When your photos are analysed, a vision model places you on that morph; the rating is the point it lands on, and 10 is the ideal for every region.

The pillar starts at a full score and each region deducts points according to how far below 10 it sits. Regions are not equal: jaw definition and cheek leanness can each deduct up to 35% of the pillar, cheekbone prominence, chin and submental definition up to 30%. The five are grouped into two categories, lower third (jaw, chin, submental) and midface (cheekbones, cheek leanness), each with its own cap, and deductions inside a category saturate rather than simply add, so three soft lower-face regions hurt less than three times one. The male and female morphs look different but the rating criteria and the scoring are identical for both.

What drives it

• Body fat. The single largest factor. Facial fat sits over the cheeks, under the chin and along the jaw; as it drops, definition rises across all five regions at once.
• Water and sodium. Day-to-day puffiness moves the score by a point or more. Photograph in the morning after a normal day, not after a salty meal or a poor night's sleep.
• Bone structure. Zygomatic (cheekbone) size, gonial angle and chin projection set the ceiling. A lean face on small bones still reads softer than an average face on large ones.
• Masseter size. Chewing muscles widen the jaw angle and can add definition, though very large masseters read as bulk rather than angularity.
• Skin and age. Loss of skin elasticity softens the jawline and submental region regardless of fat.

Photographing for an honest rating

Angularity is the pillar most easily faked by lighting. Overhead or side light carves shadows under the cheekbones and jaw and inflates the score; flat front light does the reverse. The model is trained to see through some of this, but the fairest result comes from soft, even, front-facing light, a neutral expression and a relaxed jaw. Do not clench.

See also Dimorphism (how masculine or feminine the same regions read) and Understanding your scores.