For Your Face Shape

The Shape: Oval

The Look: Considered the ideal or “perfect” face shape, the oval face is 1.5 times longer than it is wide. The forehead is slightly wider than the jaw.

Famous Faces: Jennifer Lopez

Hair Do's:
Anlauf: “It’s like the O blood type. It’s kind of universal.”

Hopkins: If your facial features are balanced and you have healthy, cowlick-free hair, you can wear almost anything. “As you age your oval can become more pear shaped,” he adds, “so added lift will help flatter.”

Hair Don'ts:
Hopkins: “The traditional goal of hairdressing for face shapes is to make it look as close to the oval as possible. The only thing you want to avoid is hair that covers up or alters the oval.”

Illustration by Randall Nelson

The Shape: Round

The Look: Face is as wide as it is long with a curved forehead and round jawline.

Famous Faces: Christina Ricci

Hair Do's: 
Hopkins: A graduated, angled bob slightly below the jawline can slenderize by creating two vertical lines on either side of the face and a diagonal line in the profile. (Diagonal and vertical lines slenderize. Horizontal lines add heft.)

Schmidt-Schwab: To “slim” the face, reduce the layers between the jawline and the fringe  area.

Hair Don'ts:
Schmidt-Schwab: “Don’t build a lot of highlights around the face because it’s going to bring attention ‘out’ instead of ‘up.’ A blonde highlight at the front of the face will bring attention away from the roundness.”

Hopkins: Round and curly styles.

Illustration by Randall Nelson

The Shape: Oblong

The Look: An elongated oval.

Famous Faces: Sarah Jessica Parker; Liv Tyler

Hair Do's:
Hopkins: Cheek-length styles, wedge shapes, and wider, curly styles flatter. Narrow faces need fuller looks. Insider Tip: To create body and wave, Schmidt-Schwab and Anlauf recommend Marilyn ($14–$27) and Farouk Chi (around $15) round hairbrushes.

Hair Don'ts:
Hopkins: Center parts and long, one-length hair.

Schmidt-Schwab: Same. Try to avoid the long and straight look.

Illustration by Randall Nelson

The Shape: Square

The Look: Has a square jawline, square forehead. Looks as wide as it is long.

Famous Faces:  Minnie Driver, Demi Moore

Hair Do’s:
Hopkins: To counterbalance the strength of this face shape and add femininity, add curls and waves. Also, layered haircuts with center and slightly off-center parts frame the face well. For another option, women with long hair could style it straight and parted in the center.

Hair Don’ts:
Hopkins: Blunt-cut bangs, wide parts, or horizontal, chin-length bobs.

Schmidt-Schwab: “You don’t want a short bob that comes to your jawline, unless you want to emphasize your face shape.”

Illustration by Randall Nelson

The Shape: Rectangular

The Look: Long and narrow with a square chin and hairline.

Famous Faces:  Gwyneth Paltrow

Hair Do’s:
Hopkins: Oval or diagonally cut bangs soften the corners of the forehead. Blunt cuts work best falling from mid-cheek to mid-neck, avoiding directly at the jawline.

Evening looks: Wavy or pulled back softly and low.

Hair Don’ts:
Hopkins: Tightly pulled back hair; very short hair; long, straight hair without face-framing.

Illustration by Randall Nelson

The Shape: Heart

The Look: Wide at the temples and narrow at the jawline with a small, delicate, and sometimes pointed chin. Often a widow’s peak.

Famous Faces: Reese Witherspoon

Hair Do’s:
Hopkins: Minimize the width of the forehead with soft, diagonally angled bangs. Add strength to the chin with blunt lines, waves, and fullness. Waves or curls that cascade at the temples flatter. Insider Tip: A great hair product to create curls is Davines No. 9 Spray (apply before curling hair for “Gisele” waves).

Schmidt-Schwab: Light or dark highlights on jawline to “build out” the face.

Hair Don’ts:
Hopkins: Wide, blunt bangs cut back to the temples, extremely tapered shags that might accentuate the heart shape.

Schmidt-Schwab: To avoid emphasizing a short forehead, do not wear short bangs.

Illustration by Randall Nelson

The Shape: Pear

The Look: A narrow forehead and wide jawline.

Famous Faces:  Bette Midler

Hair Do’s:
Schmidt-Schwab: Layer higher up to build weight in the parietal area, evenly rounding out the top. Blonde highlights on top will create fullness.

Hopkins: Create more width on top with wide, blunt bangs. A wedge shape is flattering.

Evening looks: Pulled back and up with sideswept bangs.

Hair Don’ts:
Hopkins: Center parts, a blunt bob, curly hair that falls flatter in the crown—anything that draws the eye down to the wide jawline.

Illustration by Randall Nelson

The Shape: Diamond

The Look: Widest at the cheekbones, narrowing at the forehead and chin.

Famous Faces:  Jennifer Aniston

Hair Do’s:
Hopkins: Wide, blunt bangs and a low side part with side-swept bangs add width to the forehead and soften the cheekbones—giving an illusion of the oval face. Asymmetrical cuts distract width at cheekbones.

Schmidt-Schwab: Build highlights in the nape or neck area and by the forehead to “widen” diamond.

Evening looks: French twist with some volume on top. 

Hair Don’ts:
Hopkins: Center parts will make the forehead even more narrow. Wedge cuts repeat the diamond shape.

Schmidt-Schwab: To avoid “sharpening” the points, keep highlights and color away from the head’s mid-area. “Anytime you put an extreme color or layer at a certain point, that’s where your eyes will go.”

Illustration by Randall Nelson