Facial Shapes and Hair Styles

Best Hairstyles for Your Face Shape
Also see under categories Model Tips or Makeup Tips for answers on how to contour your makeup to correct facial features.
Oval Face Shape
Oval faces are considered ideal and can wear a wide variety of styles since your features are well balanced.
Best Style for Oval Faces:
Hair pulled back or away from your face looks great but you can pull off most any style. You may want to consider your body frame for choosing a style to compliment. If you are petite, choose less full, sleeker styles that aren’t too long and don’t overwhelm your small size. Larger body frames can wear fuller or heavier styles and in longer lengths.
Updos for Oval faces:
Most anything will work for oval faces-with or without bangs.
If you want to play up areas of your face:
Bangs will accent your eyes.
Layers cut to angle in toward your face will draw attention to and accent the feature where the angle ends. For example, if you have angles cut in your hair ending near your nose, your nose will be more noticeable and accented.

For other face shapes, many people are varying degrees of that shape or fall into categories that can be in between two different shapes and should follow guidelines for both shapes.

Heart Shape Face
The forehead is much wider than the jaw/chin area by comparison, making the upper half of your face appear top heavy. Often, your hairline at the center of the forehead dips down to a point to complete the classic heart shape, but not always. The goal is to diminish your forehead width and create more width to your small jaw line or pointed chin.
Best Styles for Heart Face:
A chin length bob is perfect on your face shape combined with bangs. Bobs tend to be fuller at the bottom, and bring width to your thin jaw bone and hide the width of your forehead. Stay away from styles that add fullness to the upper half of your face. Height at your crown just brings more attention to your diminishing jaw line. Full or wavy bangs will look good, as will a side part with bangs swept softly to the side. A style with curl or fullness to the chin area will also help round out your features. Parting your hair in the center will tend to emphasize your pointy chin so stay with side parts to balance face. You will look good with layers of hair swept forward around your upper face and since most heart faces have great cheek bones, show them off by drawing attention to them with wisps of hair at your ear level.
Updos for a Heart Face:
To make your forehead appear less wide and jaw line less tiny to achieve a balanced face, if your hair is shoulder length or shorter, you might wear your hair 1/2 up / 1/2 down with fullness focused on the down part. Have bangs and wisps on your face. Avoid pulling all your back into a slick style. Be sure to have at least some wisps of hair covering your forehead.
For Accessories: Wear large, wide, dangling earrings such as big hoops that give the illusion of a wider jaw area. Avoid V shape necklines which accentuate your narrow, pointy chin.

Triangle or Pear Face Shape
This shape has a chin or jaw area wider than the forehead, the opposite of the heart shape face. Your goal is to narrow the chin and widen the forehead.
Best Styles for Triangle/Pear Faces:
Chin length or longer cuts are best for you. Styles full at the temples, tapering at the jaw will look good as will shags and wedge cuts. Hair looks best parted off center since a center part will only call attention to an off balance face shape. Avoid too much height at the crown and long, full styles that draw attention to the jaw area. Instead, keep hair fuller in the temples areas and angle layers forward toward the chin to soften and narrow a broad jaw. Layers will help achieve a fuller look on the upper half of your face and thinner layers brought down over jaw line will help soften that area.
Updos for Triangle/Pear Faces:
The main objective is to make your forehead look wider and your jaw smaller, so choose a style that will give you more fullness near the crown area such as full bangs and sweeping curls above the temple area. Leave stray hair out and tuck behind your ears. Or angle wisps of hair toward your lower face to soften the jaw line. Any updo with lots of texture to the top and sides will look very nice.
For Accessories:
Avoid heavy looking earrings that will make your face appear even more bottom heavy. Choose small studs that don’t stand out. Or instead of earrings, wear a hair ornament near your temple area. Soft necklines such as cowl necks will help diminish your strong jaw line.

Oblong or Rectangle Face Shape
Thin and long, often with a chin that can look pointed or rounded. There is very little difference in width between the top, middle or bottom of your face but it is longer than the square face. Your goal is to add width and fullness to the center sides of the face, around the eyes, cheekbones and ears to shorten the length of your face and widen the sides.
Best Styles for Oblong/Rectangle Faces:
Short to medium lengths with fullness at the sides of your face and at your eyes and cheeks. Parting hair on the side will help to balance and keep attention away from how long your face is. Avoid height to your crown or long hair, particularly if it is straight. Shorter or medium lengths look best which shortens the face length. Layers also look good on you to soften the lines of your face as will full styles with an asymmetric flow to one side. To get volume at the sides of your face, add curls or waves there or cut hair in layers. Bangs are a good choice for you to shorten your face especially bangs that fall straight or tapered to blend in with the rest of hair.
Updos for Oblong/Rectangle Face:
Since you want to make your face appear to be shorter, updos work well on you especially slicked back updos. If you add a part to your updo, part it to the side or try a style with ½ up and ½ down. Stay away from tendrils at the sides of face since it will elongate.
For Accessories:
Choose earrings that will give some width to your face such as wide post studs and avoid long, skinny, dangling earrings. Using a hair ornament to hold bangs back will look nice and diminish a square look to your face. Stay away from necklines that mimic your face shape such as low cut, narrow lines and choose wider, open necklines.

Square Face Shape
Will have an angular jaw and square brow, with jaw and brow being nearly the same width. Square faces can also be short and wide. Your goal is to soften the sharp angles of the jaw line and squared-off brow and lengthen your face.
Best Styles for Square Faces:
Hair cuts that emphasize your cheekbones at mid-line of the face are flattering. Avoid bangs cut straight across which widen the face and add even more angles. Wispy bangs that taper on the sides or waves at the temple will soften the square shape of your face. Wear hair coming forward onto the face to reduce the angles and parted on the side. Hair length is best about 1-1/2" below the chin since long, straight hair will accentuate square jaws. Avoid bob cuts that are cut straight at the jaw and instead layer a cut below your jaw line. Layers and wisps of hair framing your face will soften the lines as will rounded type hair cuts. Waves or curls will also help break up the sharp angles of your face. Keep some height at your crown to elongate your face.
Updos for Square Faces:
If you have shoulder to chin length hair, you can dress it up by adding volume with layers. If you want to wear it up, add wisps around the face and bang areas. Curly type of updos look best on you.
For Accessories:
Avoid wide earrings or large dangling ones that widen the look of your face. Choose longer style earrings with slim shapes or earrings with curvy sweeping lines to break up the angles of your jaw. Stay away from squared off necklines and choose round or V necks or necklines that help elongate your look.

Round Face Shape
Tend to be round and full at the cheeks, appearing circular, heavier near the ears and gradually curving upward and downward.
Best styles for Round Faces:
You want to slim your face to make it look longer. Hairstyles with fullness and height at the crown will draw attention upward giving you a longer face shape. Layered cuts look best with the height or fullness at the crown and not at the sides. Off center parts will draw the eye to one side of face offsetting the round effect. A center part only draws attention to the center of your head and places an accent on the roundness. Keeping forehead bare will lengthen the face but if you do decide on bangs make sure they are not cut straight across which shortens your face. Keep bangs tousled and off to the side. Avoid hair cuts that are jaw length or shorter. A short cut will make your face appear heavier. If you do choose a short style, have close sideburn wisps to soften the sides of your face. Never wear chin length styles with rounded lines. Fullness at the sides of your face will accentuate the roundness. The best cut is longer and closer to your face such as a layered cut that has angles toward your face and height at the crown.
Updos for Round Faces:
Avoid slicked back styles without hair touching your face. A style that adds focus and height to your crown is best, for example a French twist with curls piled on top looks very nice. Do not add width around the sides of your face, this will make the face appear wider. As long as you have a focal point such as curls on top or tussled bangs to the side, this will draw attention away from the roundness.
For Accessories:
Stay away from large, round or wide earrings which have a widening effect on your face or mimic your face shape. Instead, try long, thin, dangling earrings to lengthen. Avoid necklines that mimic the round shape and choose V necks or squared off necklines for example.