Hairstyles for your face shape: what suits each shape

The haircut that suits your face shape adds height where the face is short, adds width where it is narrow, and keeps volume away from its widest line. That one sentence covers most hairstyle advice for every face shape, for men and women. This guide shows why it works, then takes each shape in turn, with beards at the end. If you don’t know your shape, the face shape detector measures it from a 30-second scan.

How hair changes the shape people see

Nobody sees your face outline on its own. They see the outline of your face and hair together, and the hair can change that silhouette far more than any feature of the face can. Volume at cheek level widens it; height at the crown and length below the chin stretch it. A fringe hides part of the forehead and shortens it.

Hair also changes how the face itself is judged. In experiments by Saegusa, Intoy and Shimojo, the hair around a face shifted how attractive people rated the face, even when they were asked to judge only the face. That is the case for taking the cut seriously: it is the biggest change to your outline that you can make in an afternoon, and it is fully reversible.

The five levers a haircut can pull

1. Height. Volume at the crown adds length to the silhouette. It suits round, square and heart faces and works against oblong ones.
2. Width. Volume at the sides, and where it sits. Width at cheek level widens the widest part of most faces; width at the jaw balances a narrow chin; width at the temples balances a narrow forehead.
3. Length. Where the ends fall draws a horizontal line. A blunt line at the chin adds width there; ends below the chin lengthen the face.
4. Fringe. A fringe covers part of the upper third. It shortens a long face and can soften a wide forehead; a heavy one shortens a round face too much.
5. Parting. A centre parting emphasises symmetry and vertical lines; a side parting adds an angle, which helps soft, round faces and softens a strong square one.

Hair type decides how far each lever goes. Curly and coily hair builds width on its own, which helps oblong, heart and diamond faces and needs shaping at the sides for round ones. Fine, straight hair holds height poorly, so a round face with fine hair often does better with length and a side parting than with a tall top.

Hairstyles for each face shape

Oval

An oval face is a little longer than wide and tapers gently, so it suits most cuts and you can choose on hair type and taste. The two things that tend to work against it are a heavy fringe that hides most of the forehead, which shortens the face, and a very tall style, which makes it read long.

• Longer hair: long layers, a mid-length shag, a blunt bob at or below the jaw, a centre or side parting.
• Short hair: a classic taper, a crew cut, a textured crop, a short side parting or a slicked-back cut; on longer short hair, a pixie works too.

Round

A round face is about as long as it is wide, with soft corners. The cut should add height and keep the sides close at cheek level, so the silhouette gets longer and the cheeks stop being the widest line.

• Longer hair: long layers that fall past the chin, volume at the crown, a side parting, side-swept or curtain bangs rather than a straight fringe. An asymmetric lob that ends below the chin works too.
• Short hair: a quiff, pompadour or textured top with short or faded sides; an angular fringe swept to one side.
• Go easy on: chin-length rounded bobs, blunt fringes and fullness at the cheeks.

Square

A square face has a strong jaw and straight sides. Most advice softens the corners: texture, layers and movement around the jaw, and a side parting. A strong square jaw can also be a feature to show off, in which case a clean, short cut keeps attention on it.

• Longer hair: soft layers starting at the jaw, waves, a side parting, a long bob that ends below the jaw rather than at it.
• Short hair: a textured crop, a side-parted cut with some length on top, or a classic short back and sides if you want the jaw to lead.
• Go easy on: blunt cuts that end exactly at the jaw and flat, severe centre partings.

Oblong

An oblong face is clearly longer than wide, so the cut should add width and hold back length: volume at the sides, a fringe to shorten the forehead, and ends around the jaw or shoulders rather than far below.

• Longer hair: a fringe (straight or curtain), a bob or lob with volume at the sides, waves and curls, layers around the cheekbones.
• Short hair: a fringe-forward crop or a side-parted cut with some fullness at the sides; keep the top moderate.
• Go easy on: tall quiffs and very long, straight, flat hair, both of which add length.

Heart

A heart face is wide at the forehead and narrow at the chin. The cut should add width low down and avoid more width at the top: volume from the cheekbones to the jaw, and a fringe to soften a wide forehead.

• Longer hair: a chin-length or jaw-length bob, layers that flick out at the jaw, side-swept or curtain bangs, a side parting.
• Short hair: medium length on top worn forward or to the side, with sides that aren’t cut too short; a fringe softens the forehead.
• Go easy on: big volume at the crown and temples with tight sides at the jaw.

Diamond

A diamond face is widest at the cheekbones with a narrow forehead and chin. The cut should fill out the forehead and jaw and keep the cheekbones from carrying all the width.

• Longer hair: a fringe or side-swept bangs, chin-length bobs, layers that add fullness at the jaw, hair tucked behind the ears to show the cheekbones without adding to them.
• Short hair: a textured fringe or a cut with some fullness at the temples; avoid very short sides that leave the cheekbones as the only width.
• Go easy on: slicked-back styles with tight sides, and volume at cheek level.

Triangle

A triangle face has a jaw wider than the forehead, so the cut does the opposite of heart: width and volume at the top, close at the jaw. Volume at the crown and temples, layers that start above the jaw, and ends that fall below it. The detector reports these faces as square or round; if your jaw is clearly your widest line, follow this.

Beards and face shape

A beard is a second haircut on the lower face, and it follows the same logic: add length where the face is short, width where the jaw is narrow, nothing where the face is already widest.

• Round: longer at the chin and shorter at the sides, which adds length and an angle at the jaw.
• Square: a rounded beard, or short stubble that keeps the jaw clean; avoid boxy sides.
• Oblong: fuller at the sides and short at the chin; a long beard makes a long face longer.
• Heart and diamond: a fuller beard at the chin and jaw adds width where the face narrows.
• Oval: most styles; keep the cheek line neat.

On preference, one well-known study by Dixson and Brooks found women rated heavy stubble as the most attractive of four lengths, while full beards scored highest for perceived health, masculinity and parenting ability. Later studies have found preferences vary with how common beards are at the time, so treat any single result as a snapshot rather than a rule.

When the face itself changes

Two things shift which cut suits a face over time. A receding hairline lengthens the upper face, which pushes toward shorter, textured cuts with some fringe rather than height on top. And as soft tissue changes with weight and age, a face can drift from oval toward round or oblong, so the cut that suited you at 20 may not be the one that suits you at 40. Re-measure every few years and adjust the brief.

How to brief your hairdresser

Hairdressers learn face shapes as part of hair design training, but they draw the borders differently, and a name alone can start an argument. Give them the shape and what you want the cut to do:

1. Your shape, and the runner-up if your result was close.
2. What to add: height, width at the jaw, width at the temples.
3. What to avoid: volume at the cheeks, a blunt line at the chin, extra length.
4. Your hair type and how much styling time you will actually spend.

For the numbers behind the shape, the facial ratios calculator shows your thirds and widths on your own face; a long upper third, for example, is a good argument for a fringe. Before you commit to a new parting, check it in the true mirror, which shows your face un-flipped, the way other people see it. The face shapes chart shows where your face sits between shapes, and the glasses guide applies the same logic to frames.

The Full Face Report ($14.99, once, built on your device) adds hairstyle, glasses and beard advice for your measured shape, next to the ratios it comes from.