Do You Know How To Choose The Right Hairstyle For Your Face?

By Toni Moretti

We often choose our clothing to accentuate our body shape and size, but have you considered matching the shape of your face to your hairstyle? Just as darker clothing can make you look smaller, the right hairstyle can do wonders for your looks. Most facial shapes fall into five basic categories: oval, square, triangle, inverted triangle, or round.

So how do you find out what face shape you have?

If your face is slightly wider at the cheekbones than at the forehead or jaw, your face shape is considered to be oval. The oval face appears slightly wider at the cheek-line, tapers slightly to the chin, and is generally considered the ideal facial structure because it is flattered by virtually every hairstyle.

If you have both a wide forehead and a wide jaw line, your face is considered to be square. It may appear more rectangular if the face is narrow or more square if the face is wide. When the square face is wide, a style that adds height to the top and length with low volume on the sides is more flattering, and tends to make the best impression. You also want to consider adding bangs at the forehead and a gentle curl inward at the jaw to soften the "corners" of the square. When the square face is narrow you can "widen" the look by adding curls on the side.

The triangular face is characterized by a narrow forehead and a wide jaw-line. Triangular faces do well with shorter, more volumizing hairstyles. Short, layered cuts with lots of curl and lift on top will add the needed balance to triangular shaped faces. If the face is just the opposite, a wide forehead tapering out to a more narrow jawline, it is considered the inverted triangle. A hairstyle with bangs on the forehead and a blunt cut at or just below chin level, as well as some wave to widen the style, will add balance to the inverted triangular shaped face.

The round face is generally easy to spot because it is just as it is described - a face without sharp angles. The round face tends to be wider at the cheeks and have softer features along the jaw-line and forehead. With a round face you want to add height to make the face appear longer, so layered styles with maximum lift on top and minimum volume on the side are a good choice to lengthen a round face.

If you are going to take the time choosing the best for you in color choices, makeup, and wardrobe, don't ruin it all with a hairdo unbecoming to your facial shape. A good hairstylist can be invaluable when it comes to strengthening one of your most visible assets - your face! Whether your face shape is oval, square, triangular, an inverted triangle, or round, you can only make one first impression, so make sure you do so with a hairstyle that is becoming to your face shape. - 30305

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