Determining your face shape and knowing which haircuts work for your features is one of the best ways to feel confident when stepping into a salon. Generally, there are 5 different face shapes— oval, heart, square, round and long— and plenty of hairstyles to highlight your best assets. We checked in with hairstylist, hair expert and cosmetologist Ghanima Abdullah, who helped give a no-fail tip to find your face shape, as well as other ideas to bring with you to your stylist for a new look.
So, How Do You Pinpoint Your Face Shape?
The main tip or hack when it comes to determining your shape is emphasizing or creating symmetry. When looking at someone's face, Abdullah says she "tries to choose a haircut that gives the illusion" that they have a perfectly symmetrical oval-shaped face. "That means playing with bangs, lengths and parts to give just the right effect that can minimize a tall forehead or wide cheekbones." Alternately, she adds, if there are parts of the face that the person wishes to emphasize, "that can be done too, so it's not just minimizing." With that said, let's take a look at a celeb example for each shape.
Oval — Alexa Chung
If you have an oval-faced shape, lucky you! This shape oozes symmetry and can pull off countless hairstyles. "You want to be very moderate with the look and neither elongate the face or make it look broader," Abdullah explains about finding a hairstyle. "Having a center part with long tresses elongates, so if the person prefers long hair, we'd try a side part insead," she continues. A very short haircut, like a bob "can also make the face look too angular," Abdullah warns, "so everything should be kept in balance with this face shape."
Heart — Reese Witherspoon
A heart-shaped face is usually determined by high cheekbones and a pointed chin, Abdullah says. "Heart faces typically have a pointed chin. It can seem like the whole face is centered right on the chin, so we want to even out that pointy look and make the bottom of the face seem wider," she says. "Try a bob, or lob, that comes to the shoulders. You don't want a bob that ends at chin level, because it will only emphasize the chin." Abdullah adds that "all shoulder-length cuts" look good on a heart-shaped face because you're drawing the attention away from the chin with length. "Adding curls makes the style even better," she says.
Round — Selena Gomez
Round face shapes can be determined by an equal length and width in the face as well as having rounder features like jawline and cheekbones. Here, the emphasis is to make the face slightly longer and to reduce some of its width, Abdullah says. "This is where long tresses with a center part can come in to lengthen the face. When you're trying to reduce width, try a bob that's neck length, that way, the bottom curve of the cut helps conceal some of the width of your cheeks." This, she adds, looks natural when gathered around the neck.
Square — Olivia Wilde
Finding a cut for a square shape [determined by an even forehead and jawline] is similar to a haircut for a heart-shaped face, Abdullah says. This is because you're "drawing attention away from the lower half, so shoulder-length haircuts work here too." It's also nice to create a more "dainty look" at the top of the hair, she adds, which gives the whole face "a more feminine look." This can be done with fringe curtain bangs or with side-swept bangs that are feathery.
Long — Liv Tyler
If you feel like your face shape is longer than an oval, it might simply be the 'long' shape, which is still symmetrical, seen here with Liv Tyler. "For this face shape, the goal is to make the face a little less tall," Abdullah says. Side-swept bangs from a deep side part are a "sure way" to reduce some of the forehead length. "Layers that create volume around the cheek area are also a good way to add some width to the face," she concludes.
