Best Hairstyles for Different Face Shapes

The best hairstyle balances your face shape by aligning cut, length and fringe with your widest feature and jawline. A haircut can’t alter the entire face structure. However, it can add height, width or softness. This explains why the same person’s cut flatters some but not others.

Most guides classify faces into six shapes – oval, round, square, heart, diamond, rectangle. This is done using four measurements – forehead, cheekbones, jawline and face length.

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Key Takeaways

• Use four measurements to find your face shape.
• Oval suits most; round needs length; square needs softness.
• Heart needs jaw fullness. Diamond needs forehead/chin width; rectangle needs width and fringe.
• Thick/wavy hair – internal layers in humidity. Fine hair – blunt or light layers.
• Hair grows ~0.5″/month – trim short cuts every 4 to 6 weeks, long layers every 10 to 12.

How to Identify Your Face Shape at Home

You need a soft measuring tape (or string and a ruler), a mirror and five minutes. Pull your hair back, look straight ahead and note these four measurements:

1. Forehead: from the peak of one eyebrow arch to the other.
2. Cheekbones: across the fullest part, starting below the outer corner of each eye.
3. Jawline: across the widest point, about an inch below your ears.
4. Face length: from the centre of your hairline to the tip of your chin.

Match the largest measurement to the table below.

Tip:

Tie thick or curly hair back gently, as pulling it tight can distort your hairline.

Oval Face: The Universal Canvas

An oval face is pretty lucky in that it can just about pull off any style without having to do too much work. The idea is to not mess with the balance that is already in place. You have to steer clear of heavy straight-across bangs – they tend to make an oval face look shorter.

• Blunt chin-length bob:

For straight to slightly wavy hair and you have got a sharp jawline.

• Long beachy waves:

What you want to do here is keep the face feeling open and add a bit of movement to it.

• Textured pixie:

This one is great if you want something easy to maintain. Just keep a bit of length on top to be on the safe side.

Round Face: Create Length and Angles

Round faces work pretty well with vertical lines and a little bit of asymmetry thrown in. This breaks up the circular shape and gives the face a bit of height at the crown and a bit more length below the chin.

• Long bob (lob) at the collarbone:

If your hair is thick, ask for internal layers to help pull it all back.

• Deep side part with long layers:

To draw the eye down, start those layers at the jawline.

• Textured pixie with height:

This one is all about volume on top and sleek sides.

Humid-weather tip:

There is one thing to keep an eye out for in humid weather – layers that end right at cheek level tend to puff up and make a round face look wider.

Square Face: Soften the Strong Jawline

Square faces need soft, rounded textures to diffuse all those sharp corners without hiding the bone structure underneath. A little bit of height at the crown is a nice touch too.

• Side-swept bangs:

These will help soften up a broad forehead.

• Wispy layers curving around the jaw:

Just steer clear of layers that end in a hard line.

• Modern shag:

This one suits wavy and curly hair really well.

Heart Face: Balance a Wide Forehead and Narrow Chin

Heart-shaped faces need to be careful not to add too much width to the top and to try and get more fullness in the lower half of the face. Skip anything with big crown volume, slicked-back styles and very short, heavy bangs – all of these tend to make the forehead look even wider.

• Chin-length bob with soft ends:

This adds a bit of width around the jaw.

• Side-swept fringe with waves from ear level:

This is a great way to narrow down the forehead and fill out the lower face.

• Festive looks:

If you are dressing up, a low bun or half-up style with some loose strands is a lot more flattering than a super-tight high bun – especially if you are wearing a saree.

Diamond Face: Showcase the Cheekbones

If you have got a diamond face, that means your cheekbones are the widest part of your face. So, the best hairstyles for you are the ones that add a bit of width to the forehead and chin – but keep the cheekbones front and centre.

Avoid bangs that are just too full and rounded, and also steer clear of hairstyles with a lot of volume right at the ear level. You don’t want to draw the eye to that area.

• Chin-length bob with soft texture: adds width at the jaw.
• Mid-length face-framing layers: begin around the chin.
• Curtain bangs: widen the forehead slightly and frame the eyes.

Rectangle (Long) Face: Add Width, Reduce Length

If you have got a long, narrow rectangle face, you want to be adding some horizontal lines and side volume. Fringe cuts will help break up the vertical length, while waves and mid length layers will add some width to the cheekbones

• Full, soft fringe with a mid-length cut: shortens the face.
• Waves and curls from mid-lengths: add side volume.
• Wavy blunt bob: breaks the long line.

What about triangle faces?

If your jaw is the widest part, you have a triangle (pear) shape. Side-swept fringe and volume at the forehead and temples balance a stronger jaw.

Best Cuts by Hair Type and Length

In humid weather a leave-in conditioner and anti-frizz serum, lightweight stuff. Do the trick to keep your curls defined without weighing you down.

Which Bangs Suit Which Face Shape?

A full and soft fringe works a treat on a rectangle face. Square and heart faces can get away with either a side swept or curtain bangs – and which one you choose is up to you. If you have got a diamond face, curtain bangs are a great option.

Round faces look better with a side-swept fringe that runs on a bit longer. Avoid blunt bangs if you can. And if you have got a small forehead, a side-swept or deep-set fringe is a good way to keep your face from getting too crowded

Men’s Hairstyles for Different Face Shapes

Men use the same rules. Round faces suit a textured cut with a bit of height. Square faces suit a side swept fringe with some soft layers on the side of your head.

Heart faces suit a bit more volume on the sides if you don’t want a lot of height on top. Long faces suit a fringe or a textured cut that gets in the way a bit. In other words one that covers the top bit of your forehead.

How to Brief Your Stylist

Bring 3 to 5 photos of people who look kind of like you, same face shape and hair texture as you. Tell them about your hair, your daily routine and whether you usually pack your hair up or just keep it loose.

Then just ask: “Which of these would work best on me? I’ve got this face shape and my hair’s kind of like this…”

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How Often to Trim Each Cut

Hair grows about half an inch a month – not loads. That’s why you need to get it trimmed every now and then, not to make it grow faster but just to keep the shape looking neat.

Your face shape is a starting point. Measure your face and shortlist two or three cuts. Then let your hair texture, routine and personal style get settled. Review your look once a year as your hair changes. Make sure you check on it for a regular time schedule to trim or treat accordingly.