Hairstyles And Face Shapes

You've tried so many hairstyles, but they never look as good on your face as on the models in the photo. There is a very simple explanation to this - you just don't have the face for it. Woops!!! I didn't just say that did I. But that's what we need to focus on. So what do you have the face for? To answer that you need to find out what face shape you have. They are classified into heart, oval, long (or oblong), round, diamond and square shaped faces and almost anyone can figure out which one is theirs with a ruler and of course, A FACE! So next time you're headed out to the salon, you know what to ask for.

Your hair is essentially the frame for your face. A good stylist will know the purpose of styling your hair is to minimize the appearance of non-gratifying features and to encourage constructive ones. To find your face shape you need to measure across your forehead, jaw and cheekbones at the widest points while carefully writing these measurements down as you progress. Finally, measure the ratio between the length (from top of the forehead to your chin, at the hairline) and the width (just under the eyes from and to the beginnings of both your ears).

Hairstyles & Face Shapes

As per the measurements you took, these are the face shapes that your face could resemble overall and the hairstyles that will suit you the most:

You know you have the heart shaped face when your jawline is narrow, forehead is wider, and almost always the chin is pointed (though not necessary). The styles that will suit you the most are bangs that drift to the side (Reese Witherspoon), brow-grazing bangs (Jennifer Garner), short pixie hair (Halle Berry), and The long/short bob (Jennifer Aniston/Zoe Saldana).

It's easy to confuse Oval face shapes with Oblong. The key here to find out which one belongs to you is your cross-shape (length to width) ratio. If the length is roughly 1 ½ times of your face, it is an oval face. Similarly, if it is more than 1 ½ times you probably have a long face. Having bangs is a better idea for both the face shapes because they successfully hide the long forehead (Liv Tyler). Chin length bobs can also create a good illusion of a wide face. However, clients with perfectly oval faces are a stylists dream, because they can pull off almost any look, but you might want to avoid anything that adds height on top.

A diamond face shape means your face is widest at the cheekbones and narrow at the forehead and jawbone, think Scarlett Johansson. Short hair is not that flattering with diamond faces. Something that shows off the fabulous bone structure will look mesmerizing on your face; e.g. anything from a full bob (Jessica Alba) or flipped out layers (once Rihanna, however she has an oval face) to wavy hair (Julia Roberts) and curls (Scarlett's latest).

A round face will have similar width overall and almost the length too. A perfect example for a Round face shape is Emma Stone and she always tries a variation of lengths with sideward drifting hair. To let out a secret, it actually makes her look slimmer. If you like longer hair you should avoid one-length cuts and keep them curvy, like the original Selena Gomez. Alternatively, you can go for the fastened look with sleek ponytails (Like Beyoncé, maybe Fergie is a better illustration).

The only difference between a round face a square shaped face is that the latter has more angular features opposed to the smoother jaw and cheek bones structure in the former. Styles that work great on a square face are textured looks with curls and straight ends (Keira Knightley), really straight hair (Demi Moore) and long bobs.