While we often talk about face shapes when it comes to makeup and accentuating our best features, we rarely tend to consider just how important this factor is when selecting the right haircuts and styles. Even though it might not seem like such an important aspect at first, the shape of your face can truly be the difference between that perfectly complementing, glamorous hairstyle, and a haircut that objectively looks good, but simply doesn’t suit your overall look. So, to help you find the best, most flattering cut, here is a guide explaining different face shapes and suggestions for the most suitable hairstyles:
Finding out your face shape
Before you can find your most suitable and flattering haircut, the first thing you need to do is correctly identify the shape of your face. This can easily be done by pulling your hair back and tracing the outline of your face with eyeliner, in order to determine the overall face shape. Alternatively, you could also directly measure your face, taking note of the width of the brows, cheekbones, and jawline, as well as the length from forehead to chin.
Once you’ve managed to find the right measurements, or draw a distinct outline, the shape of your face will fall into one of these categories: oval, square, round, heart, long, or diamond.
Oval faces
Oval faces feature widths that are noticeably shorter than the lengths, as well as gently rounded hairlines that are only slightly wider than the jawlines. As these face shapes often don’t have any evident angles and points, they are usually quite evenly proportioned and well-balanced. For this reason, oval faces are often considered to be the most versatile and flattering shapes when it comes to hairstyles, meaning you can feel free to experiment with any haircut you like. However, if you want to perfectly accentuate your facial features, styles such as blunt bobs, layered shoulder-length cuts, as well as face-framing bangs are all great options for oval faces.
Square faces
Square faces are often wider than average, with the cheekbones, forehead, and jawline being approximately the same width. Strong and prominent jawlines are a common feature of square faces, and can be either something you truly love and wish to accentuate or a feature you dislike and would wish to hide. In case you’d like to enhance your square-shaped face, a short bob or blunt bangs are ideal for accentuating that sharp jawline. If you’d like to soften that feature, however, wispy, side-swept bangs with layers falling in the same direction can help to balance out any harsh lines.
Round faces
Being roughly the same in length and width, round faces often don’t have any prominent angles. Due to their circular nature, elongating a round face in an effort to make it appear more oval is always the best option when choosing a hairstyle. To that end, you might want to opt for long layers combined with a side part, which will help to make your face appear longer. This can easily be achieved with silky and beautiful hair extensions that perfectly match your hair color, and add the necessary length and volume to visually narrow your face.
Heart-shaped faces
Just like any heart you would draw, a heart face is significantly wider at the temples and the hairline, narrowing down into a small, slightly pointed chin. If you have this face shape, your hairline might be a bit pointed in the middle as well, and you will likely have beautiful prominent cheekbones. When deciding on the best haircut for a heart-shaped face, it might be best to balance out your features by accentuating the bottom third of your face and making it appear wider. This can effortlessly be done with a shoulder-length lob that adds volume to the jawline, or subtle, loose waves that break right at the collarbones.
Long faces
While long faces might often be difficult to spot, the simplest way to describe them is by thinking of them as oval faces, but noticeably longer, with the length of the face being significantly longer than the width. For longer faces, it might be beneficial to balance out the length with a hairstyle that would visually widen your features, and curls can be a great solution. Whether it’s soft waves made with a flat iron, tighter coils made with curling irons, natural curls, or even professional salon blow-outs, all types of curls and waves can help to give your face the necessary width and volume.
Diamond-shaped faces
If your jawline and forehead are the same widths, with a narrower chin and the cheekbones being the widest aspect of your face, then you most likely have a diamond-shaped face. Slightly narrowing at both the top and the bottom, your face might actually resemble a true gem. As diamond faces are often quite balanced and symmetrical, all you truly have to do is simply find a haircut that will highlight those elegant, coveted features. From textured bobs to side-swept bangs combined with long layers, or even sleek high ponytails, there are a plethora of hairstyles that will be able to show off that wonderful bone structure.
Choosing universally flattering cuts
If you still can’t determine your face shape, or you simply can’t find a hairstyle you’re satisfied with, there is one certain cut that’s considered to be universally flattering. A slightly tapered bob that finishes right at the base of the neck, combined with a side part, is truly the perfect haircut, as it can suit any face shape and hair texture, whether it’s thin, thick, straight, wavy, or curly. This hairstyle can also be styled however you like, to fit your personal style, so don’t be afraid to try it out.
While the suggestions mentioned above might be great guidelines for selecting the most suitable and flattering hairstyles for your face shape, they’re exactly that – suggestions. If you wish to try out different haircuts that don’t necessarily abide by the face shape rules, then feel free to experiment and express yourself through your hairstyle choices. After all, any haircut that makes you feel beautiful and confident is bound to look absolutely stunning.
