The face is the central area of the senses, which is also very important in the emotional expression between humans and many other species. Although not all animals have faces, they are usually found on the front (frontal lobe, nasal wing) surface of the animal or human head. The face is vital to human identity, and damage such as scar formation or developmental deformities can have an impact beyond physical inconvenience.

Face is the most distinguishing feature. Special areas of the human brain, such as the fusiform facial area (FFA), can be used for facial recognition; when these are damaged, even close family members may not recognize them. Patterns of specific organs (such as the eyes) or parts of them are used for biometrics to uniquely identify individuals.

The shape of the face is affected by the bone structure of the skull. Each face is unique because of the changes of the anatomical structure in the bones of the visceral skull (and nerve skull). The bones that shape the face are mainly maxilla, mandible, nasal bone and bone. Equally important are various soft tissues, such as fat, hair and skin (which may vary in color).

The face changes over time and is common in children or infants, such as prominent buccal fat pads that disappear over time, and their role in infants is to stabilize the cheeks during breastfeeding. Although the buccal fat pad usually decreases in size, the protrusion of the bone increases with age as the bone grows and develops.

Facial shape is an important determinant of beauty, especially facial symmetry.