Individuals can strongly vary in their ability to process face identity. Understanding the mechanisms driving these differences is important for theoretical development, and in clinical and applied contexts. Here we investigate the role of face-space properties in relation to individual face identity processing skills. We consider two fundamental properties of face-space: expansion (how distant from each other similar faces are located in such space) and adaptability (the degree to which these distances change over time). Fifty-two participants performed a face detection task, with faces systematically varying in their location in face-space, and a comprehensive face identity processing test battery. We replicate previous results indicating a detection advantage for typical, as compared to distinctive faces. Critically, we find that our measure of face-space expansion is not related to individual face processing abilities. However, one measure of face-space adaptability revealed that medium performers exhibit larger adaptation than high or low performers. This pattern seems to be especially driven by a test tapping into long-term memory for faces. While future studies might benefit from the use of more sensitive measures of face-space properties, these results suggest that perceptual adaptation, rather than face-space expansion, may be a contributor to individual differences in face memory.