How to Choose a Hairstyle by Face Type
Figuring out what haircuts and styles will be fashionable is difficult to predict these days because fashion and beauty now moves at lightning speed. Moreover, trends don’t last that long anymore, as social media constantly dictates us new info, unlike a few years back when everybody would have to wait months before trends were announced after the new season or a fashion show is over. So, it makes more sense to know what your ideal hairstyle can look like depending on your face shape.
There are the 5 main face shapes that everyone has: oval, square, heart shaped, round, and long. Let’s take a look at them all individually:
Oval Face, or a diamond shaped face, is normally a rounded jawline, and a wider forehead with accentuated cheek bones. That’s the one Kate Moss has. If you have this face shape, then you are super lucky as you can pretty much pull off any hairstyle going. This is considered one of the most versatile face shapes So, our recommendations would be to have whatever you feel suits you, your style, and your outfit.
Oval Face Celebrities: Julianne Moore, Kate Middleton, Jessica Alba, Oprah Winfrey, Carey Mulligan.
Square Face is normally of equal width and height, as well as has a defined square jawline. The most obvious choice of cut here is something longer than jaw length with some kind of side parting. Avoid any kind of sharp bob, resting right on the chin. Short pixie crops are good too, keep them textured but have them more head hugging with some softer edges instead of short cropped sides and back. Don’t create too much height as it will again accentuate the squareness.
If you fancy having a fringe/bangs, it’s best to get something a little longer that is cut to wear over to the side. Cutting them from mid-eyebrow to just below the eyebrow or even a little longer is ideal and you should push them to either side or even part them down the middle. Either way, don’t cut them too short, otherwise they will accentuate the squareness. Creating a shaggy type style is ideal.
Celebrities with Square faces: Rihanna, Lucy Liu, Kristen Wiig, Keira Knightley and Kate Hudson.
Heart-Shaped Face has a wider forehead, a pointed jaw and a small chin. A long-layered fringe/bangs that is sweeping across to the side from a centre parting is ideal for drawing attention to your eyes and the middle of your face with this face shape. Heart shaped faces tend to have strong cheekbones so accentuating those is imperative as it takes away the focus from your more pointed chin.
The Lob (long bob) is great for a heart-shaped face because the length takes the focus away from the jawline, thus elongating the face, helping to create more balance.
A shorter textured bob also works, as long as the length is just below the chin. Longer pixie cuts work too as long as the fringes sweep over to one side and are longer. This accentuates the cheekbones and even though the pointed chin is more exposed, the focus is more on the cheekbones themselves. Also going for a brighter colour is great to draw attention away from the chin.
Celebrities with heart shape faces include Halle Berry, Eva Longoria, Scarlett Johansson and Reese Witherspoon.
Round Face identifies as fuller with wider cheeks. Don’t opt for any kind of cut that draws attention to the roundness. A jaw length bob is an absolute no-no. Styles that look better for a round face are sleek straighter hair with side partings, short fringes, side fringes with feathered waves, and a longer cut with a side fringe. You need to go for a cut that helps give the illusion of reducing the roundness and making your face look a longer.
A shorter, layered fringe is a great way to give the illusion of more length in the face. This is also sometimes known as a micro fringe. Our recommendation would be not to go too wide with the width of the fringe as it can accentuate the roundness, but this type of a fringe is a great way to show off your eyes. The rest of the length of your hair will keep the face looking a little narrower and not so round.
Another option is the heavier side-swept fringe, cut at a strong angle and a little softer around the edges. This cuts into the round face a little, giving the illusions of it being less round and adding some depth to the face.
If you want to go for a shorter haircut, avoid any width at coming in from the sides. It’s better to go super tight short on the sides, maintaining length and some height on top, so as to elongate the roundness.
Round face celebrities: Cameron Diaz, Michelle Williams, Queen Latifah, Drew Barrymore, Miranda Kerr, Penelope Cruz.
With a Long Face — the forehead, cheeks and jawline are all about the same width. The longer your hair is, the longer it makes your face look. It’s generally better to opt for shorter hairstyles with more volume and waves especially from around the cheekbones, so as to detract away from the longer length of the face. You can also try a longer fringe/bangs which gets longer at the sides. If committing to a heavy block fringe seems too much for you, then break the fringe up slightly, by not having so much hair cut into the fringe, while still keeping the length of it longer to achieve a similar look. Ideally a chunkier, fuller, longer fringe helps to give the illusion of a smaller face.
Even with a fringe/bangs, remember to keep the length of the rest of your hair a little shorter. Avoid any exaggerated height on the top with this shaped face, as it will accentuate the longer shape.
Celebrities with long faces: Liv Tyler, Nicole Kidman, Iman, Celine Dion and Meryl Streep.
But at the end, remember that he most important thing is that the hair is a reflection of you and who you are, so you must have what makes YOU feel comfortable and happy!
Neil Moodie