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Facial Shapes

There are seven basic facial shapes: oval, round, square, oblong, triangle (pear), inverted triangle (heart), and the diamond face shapes. Once you've read our guide on face shapes, surely you've got to be ready to find the right hairstyle for you using our virtual hairstyler makeover interactive tool.

Now Lets Begin:

(1) To recognize each face shape and to be able to style the hair in the most flattering design with that shape in mind, you should be acquainted with the characteristics of each.

(2) Remember, when designing a hairstyle for you, you'll generally want to create the illusion of an oval shaped face.

Oval Face Shape

(1) facial contour – the oval face is about one and half times longer than it’s width across the brow.- the forehead is slightly wider than the chin - a person with an oval face can wear any hairstyle unless there are other considerations such as eyeglasses, length, shape of noise or profile

Round Face Shape

(1) facial contour – round hairline and round chin line; wide face(2) the goal is to create the illusion of length to the face, appear slimmer(3) Style choice… create a hairstyle that has height or volume on top and closeness or no volume at it’s sides

Square Face Shape

(1) facial contour – wide at temples, narrow at the middle third of the face and squared off at the jaw. (2) the goal is to offset or round out the square features(3) Style choice… soften the hair around the temples and jaw bringing the shape or silhouette close to the head form. Create volume around the areas between the temples and jaw by adding width around the ear area

Triangle (pear) Face Shape

(1) facial contour – narrow forehead, wide jaw and chin line(2) the goal is to create the illusion of width in the forehead (3) Style choice… build a hairstyle that has volume at the temples and some height at the top

NOTE: you can disguise the forehead narrowness with a soft fringe (side bang)

Oblong Face Shape

(1) facial contour – long, narrow face with hollow cheeks (2) the goal is to make the face appear shorter and wider (3) Style choice… keep the hair fairly close to the top of the head. Add volume on the sides to create the illusion of width. The hair should not be too long as this would elongate the oblong shape of the face. Chin length is most effective.

Diamond Face Shape

(1) facial contour – narrow forehead, extreme width through the cheekbones and narrow chin(2) the goal is to reduce width across the cheekbone line (3) Style choice… increasing the fullness across the jaw-line and forehead while keeping the hair close to the head at the cheekbone line helps create an oval appearance. Avoid hairstyles that lift away from the cheeks or move back from the hair line on the sides of near the ear area

Inverted triangle (heart) Face Shape

(1) facial contour – wide forehead and narrow chin line (2) the goal is to decrease the width of the forehead by styling the hair close to the head without volume. A fringe (side bang) is recommended. Gradually increase the width of the silhouette as you style the middle of the shape in the cheekbone and keep the silhouette to it’s widest at the jaw and neck area

Special Considerations

*an understanding of facial features and proportions will make it easier for you to analyze your face *

The top third of the face

() Wide forehead – direct hair forward over the sides of the forhead

() Narrow forehead – direct hair away from the face at the forehead.. lighter highlights can be used at the temples to create the illusion of width

The middle third of the face

() Close set eyes - usually found on long narrow faces, direct hair back and away fro the face at the temples. A side movement from a diagonal back part is advised. A slight lightening of the hair at the corner of the eyes will give the illusion of width

() Wide set eyes – usually found on round or a square face, use a higher half bang to create length in the face. This will give the face the illusion of being larger and will make the eyes appear more proportional. The hair should be slightly darker at the sides than the top

() Crooked nose – asymmetrical, off-center styles are best as they attract the eyes away from the nose. Any well balanced style will accentuate the fact that the face is not even

() Wide flat nose – draw the hair away from the face and use a center part to help elongate and narrow the nose

() Long narrow nose – stay away from styles that are tapered close to the head on the sides and have height on top. Middle parts or too much hair directed toward the face are also poor choices. This will only accentuate any long, narrow features on the face. Instead select a style where the hair moves away from the face, creating the illusion of wider facial features

The lower third of the face

() Round jaw – use straight lines at the jaw-line() Square jaw – use curved lines at the jaw-line() Long jaw – hair should be full and fall below the jaw to direct attention away from it

Profiles

* the outline of the face, head of figure seen at the side view * There are 3 basic types

(1) Straight – considered ideal, although even a straight profile has a slight curvature.. all hairstyles are flattering to the straight or normal profile

(2) Convex – receding forehead and chin.. it calls for an arrangement of curls or bangs over the forehead. Keep the style close to the head at the nape and move hair forward in the chin area

(3) Concave – prominent forehead and chin.. soft styling at the nape with an upward movement. Do not build hair onto the forehead

* Various hair designs can help balance other disproportionate areas of the profile*

(1) Receding forehead – direct the bangs over the forehead with an outwardly directed volume

(2) Large forehead – use bangs with little or no volume to cover the forehead

(3) Small nose – a small nose is considered a child-like quality, therefore it’s best to design a hairstyle that is not associate with children. Hair should be swept off the face creating a line from nose to ear. The top hair should be moved off the forehead to give the illusion of length to the nose

(4) Prominent nose – to draw attention away from the nose, bring hair forward at the forehead with softness around the face

(5) Receding chin – hair should be directed forward in the chin area

(6) Small chin – move the hair up and away from the face along the chin line

(7) Large chin – the hair should be either longer or shorter than the chin line so as to not draw attention to the chin