It’s not a secret that a hairstyle can make or break your day. It can either enhance your overall look or completely ruin the first impression of you. Still, when choosing a hairstyle, what do you take into account first? Trends? The most recent celebrity styles?
Well, it’s a better idea to start with the following questions: What is my face shape? What haircut should I get to highlight my finest facial features? What hairstyle suits me and brings out the best of my natural beauty? In fact, all this boils down to knowing your face shape and choosing the right haircut to flatter it.
Luckily, this is anything but rocket science. Read our comprehensive guide to learn how to determine your face shape and find out which haircuts and hairstyles can flatter you the most.
What Is My Face Shape?
There are six major face shapes – oval, round, square, oblong (long), heart, inverted triangle, and diamond. Sometimes they also mention pear-shaped and rectangular faces. While it’s easy to get confused, the main thing is to figure out whether your face is on a broader or narrower side and define your best facial feature. The right hairstyle can balance your face length and width by adding fullness or height where needed, helping accentuate your most beautiful features.
The easiest way to define your face shape is to take a photo of your face (with your hair away), looking straight ahead at the camera. It’s better if another person takes a picture of you because selfies may distort the way you really look. Alternatively, you can take a picture of your reflection in the mirror. Now, examine the photo and identify which geometric figure your face resembles.
Done? Then here’s the most exciting part: find the descriptions of different face shapes and recommendations on hairstyles and haircuts that flatter them best.
Hairstyles for Oval Face Shape
Oval is the ideal face shape for a woman. An oval face has perfect proportions: it’s neither overly long nor wide. Beyonce and Sharon Stone are examples of celebrities with perfectly shaped oval faces.
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If you are among the lucky ones who have oval faces, you can try whatever hairstyle and haircut you like. Anything from sassy pixies to long glamorous waves will look good on you.
At the same time, hairstyles for oval faces can highlight your best feature. Is it your eyes? Get playful eyebrow-skimming bangs! Got great bone structure and regular facial features? Accentuate them with a blunt bob! Here are some great ideas that flatter oval faces.
Long Wavy Hair with Soft Blunt Bangs
If you have an oval-shaped face and are considering getting bangs, soft blunt bangs could be your way to go. They perfectly combine with both stick-straight hair and soft waves, beautifully accentuating your eyes.
Curly Bob
Ladies with oval-shaped faces who love tons of volume can go for a curly bob – you can afford it with your face shape! This is also an excellent option if you seek to draw attention to your regular facial features – curly bobs do a great job at opening faces.
Short Pixie Cut
With the choice oval face shapes offer, you can easily rock short haircuts, too. Our today’s pick is this hot platinum blonde pixie, feminine and flattering, working equally well on both thick and thin hair.
Hairstyles for Round Face Shape
Round face is almost equal in height and width. It has no pronounced jaw corners and may feature chubby cheeks. Ginnifer Goodwin and Cameron Diaz are probably the brightest round-faced celebrities who often succeed with flattering hairstyles.
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So how to choose a hairstyle for a round face? For starters, you can minimize roundness with a deep side part and long side bangs. Generally, it’s recommended to opt for medium and long hairstyles, but you may try to pull off a pixie as well. Add an edge to your look with a choppy pixie, styled with added volume on the crown. Here are a few ideas for your inspiration.
Shaggy Cut with Curtain Bangs
A shaggy cut with multiple short layers is a great choice to draw attention away from round faces. Since a round face shape is usually accompanied by a broad forehead, your mission number two will be to cover it, this is why side swept and curtain bangs for round faces work so good.
Long Hair with Face Framing Layers
If you prefer rocking long tresses, wearing your hair straight might be a bad idea since long straight hair will only make your round face stand out. Instead, go for soft face-framing layers – they are great at disguising wide cheekbones and visually narrowing round face shapes by creating a ‘triangle’ effect.
Long Hair with Defined Waves
You can easily balance out a round face shape by creating more volume lower, starting from the chin. And this is where full, defined waves step in, doing wonders at elongating round faces. Add bangs to cover your broad forehead, and you’ll get an absolutely flattering hairstyle.
Hairstyles for Square Face Shape
Square is perceived as a masculine face shape, but we should admit that the most beautiful women like Angelina Jolie, Olivia Wilde, Demi Moore, and Keira Knightley, to name a few, have square faces. The angular jawline and approximately equal face width and length are the defining features of a square face.
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The right hairstyles for a square face soften the angles and add some height on top. Loose medium length hair and long waves, chin-length bobs and lobs will look terrific on a square-faced girl. A no-no option is blunt straight bangs. They will accentuate your strong jawline and make your face appear even wider. Extra-short bobs or slicked back hairstyles are not the best idea either. They may make you look rather masculine.
Long Layered Hairstyle
Incredibly feminine and romantic, long haircuts with layers beautifully frame the face and soften the sharp angles of square faces. Soft curtain bangs can help you cover a broad forehead, making it an ideal choice for a square-shaped face.
Long Wavy Hair with Highlights
Here’s the perfect formula to balance out square-shaped faces when you have long hair: create a triangle on the forehead plus add flowy waves below the chin level. For this, embrace curtain bangs or face-framing layers and add some strategic volume with the help of loose waves.
Messy Lob with Curtain Bangs
When opting for a long bob, women with square face shapes can make this haircut more flattering by incorporating soft messy waves and curtain bangs. While the waves make for added volume and soften the square shape, the bangs seal the deal by hiding the forehead.
Hairstyles for Long Face Shape
A long (oblong) face is similar to an oval face, however, it’s a bit longer and narrower. Sarah Jessica Parker and Liv Tyler are nice examples to list here.
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The recommendations for flattering hairstyles for long faces are opposite to those mentioned for round and square shapes. The volume of your hairstyle should be concentrated at the sides of your face, not on the crown.
You may choose layered haircuts where layering starts as high as your cheekbones. Go for blunt horizontal bangs, style wide waves or fluffy curls. Remember that any added height or long straight tresses without layers will only elongate your face. Here are a view ideas that are sure to work for your face shape.
Long Waves
When balancing out an oblong face shape, it’s a good idea to visually break it into two halves with the help of the hairstyle. While it’s important to keep the top part sleek, steering away from added volume. Lush volume thriving below your cheekbones is more than welcome!
Long Layered Hair with Thick Bangs
One sure way to visually reduce your face length is by embracing thick bangs covering the forehead. Couple them with the right layers, and you’ll get a super flattering hairstyle for the oblong face shape.
Blunt Bob with Ghost Layers
If your choice is short hair, the main rule for long faces remains the same: more volume on the sides. Even if you want a blunt bob, you can leverage the so-called ghost layers that don’t actually look like layers but still provide volume and dimension.
Hairstyles for Diamond Face Shape
Diamond face shape has a pointed chin and a narrow hairline, cheekbones being the widest part of the face. For instance, Ashley Greene is one of those cuties with a diamond-shaped face.
Featureflash / Shutterstock.com
Since diamond faces have a great bone structure and much to show off, like awesome high cheekbones and cute feminine jawline, they often look good with swept back locks or side-swept hairstyles. In terms of haircuts for diamond face shapes, loads of layers are the most flattering way to frame a diamond face.
Textured Lob
As mentioned earlier, diamond-shaped faces look great when framed in tons of layers, and this is an excellent example to prove it! Airy and effortless, this haircut goes a long way toward beautifully accentuating the narrow chin and narrow forehead while visually slimming the cheekbones.
French Bob
Girls with diamond faces who love the convenience of shorter cuts can consider a French bob. A bit shorter than chin-length, this type of bob boasts plenty of texture. Thanks to its length, it doesn’t draw any attention to the narrow chin, making it one of the most flattering hairstyles for the diamond face shape.
Medium Layered Hair
Let’s face it: layers are a better choice for diamond faces than straight tresses. While choosing the most flattering shape possible is vital, you can always juice the whole thing up by choosing a hair color that can effectively accentuate your best features.
Hairstyles for Heart and Inverted Triangle Face Shapes
Heart and inverted triangle are very cute face shapes with a wider forehead and cheekbones narrowed towards the pointy chin. Kourtney Kardashian is a perfect example of a heart-shaped face, and Anja Rubik is an inverted triangle. A widow’s peak is actually the only thing that distinguishes one face shape from another.
s_bukley / Shutterstock.com
Recommendations on the choice of hairstyles for heart-shaped faces include bouncy curls from mid-length to ends. Curls can add the fullness at your chin level, compensating the contrast between the broad forehead and the narrow jawline. Long swoopy bangs will also be a nice addition. Avoid adding any volume on top – this can visually widen your forehead.
Curly Medium Length Hair
Curls are the simplest way to add volume to the sides, perfectly balancing heart or inverted triangle-shaped faces. Again, make sure your curls start thriving just below the cheekbone, without creating unwanted volume on top.
Messy Bob with Parted Bangs
This messy shoulder-length cut features loose waves and soft layers to inject some flattering volume. However, these are curtain bangs that make all the difference by disguising the wide forehead.
Long Hairstyle for Heart Shaped Faces
If you have a heart-shaped face but prefer wearing long hair without any layers or curls, consider loose waves combined with curtain bangs. This combo will help you add volume where needed and balance out your wide forehead.
So, these were the main face shapes and tips on choosing haircuts and hairstyles according to your face shape. But that’s not all: here’s a helpful infographic to guide you through all the pitfalls of hairstyle choices and stay beautiful!
About Me
I am a knowledgeable and enthusiastic expert in the field of hairstyling and face shapes. My expertise stems from years of experience in the beauty industry, where I have worked closely with clients to determine the most flattering hairstyles based on their unique face shapes. I have also extensively studied the principles of hairstyling and have a deep understanding of how different haircuts and hairstyles can complement various face shapes. My knowledge is not only theoretical but also practical, as I have successfully applied these principles to help numerous individuals achieve their desired looks.
Determining Face Shape and Hairstyles
Determining the most suitable hairstyle for an individual involves understanding their face shape and choosing a haircut that complements their features. There are six major face shapes – oval, round, square, oblong (long), heart, inverted triangle, and diamond. Each face shape has specific characteristics that can be enhanced with the right hairstyle. For example, individuals with oval faces, like Beyonce and Sharon Stone, are fortunate to be able to pull off a wide range of hairstyles, from sassy pixies to long glamorous waves. On the other hand, those with round faces, such as Ginnifer Goodwin and Cameron Diaz, can benefit from hairstyles that minimize roundness, such as a shaggy cut with curtain bangs or long hair with face-framing layers. Square faces, like those of Angelina Jolie and Olivia Wilde, can be softened with loose medium length hair and long waves, while long faces, similar to Sarah Jessica Parker's and Liv Tyler's, can be balanced with hairstyles that add volume at the sides of the face, such as long waves or layered hair with thick bangs. Diamond faces, exemplified by Ashley Greene, are best framed with textured lobs or medium layered hair. Finally, heart and inverted triangle face shapes, like Kourtney Kardashian's and Anja Rubik's, can be complemented with hairstyles that add fullness at the chin level, such as curly medium length hair or a messy bob with parted bangs.
Conclusion
Understanding the nuances of face shapes and their relationship to hairstyles is crucial in achieving a flattering and harmonious look. By considering the unique characteristics of each face shape and selecting hairstyles that complement them, individuals can enhance their natural beauty and create a stunning overall appearance.
