Hairstyles & Cuts - The Ultimate Hair Guide

Choosing your hairstyle by the shape of your face will ensure you have a look that is irresistible. If you are fortunate to have an oval face, you are able to carry off almost every hairstyle, but for the rest of us, the key to the perfect hairstyle is the one that creates the illusion of a perfect oval face. Depending on our face shape types need an appropriate hairstyle which will highlight our most beautiful features and overcome the drawbacks. This means choosing styles that help the round face look longer, the long face to look wider and the square face to look softer. Here are some suggestions:

Oval Faces

The forehead may be slightly wider than the chin, and the face length is about one and a half times wider. For oval faces, the cheekbones, eyebrows and jaw are in one line. Famous names with oval faces include Julianne Moore, Kate Middleton and Jessica Alba. Even though the oval face shape is the most versatile, the hairstyle has to maintain the oval shape without making it look longer or wider. Cuts that work well are a modern bouffant with lots of volume and flowing waves. A long-textured pixie cut with the side swept bangs draws attention to the eyes and is both feminine and edgy. A long-layered cut adds drama, particularly a messy beachy waves style, though a one-length bob is a classic look.

Heart Shaped Faces

Heart-shaped faces tend to have wide foreheads and cheekbones with a narrow jaw and chin, which is why it is also known as the inverted triangle face. Stars with heart-shaped faces include Holly Berry, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ashley Olsen and Reese Witherspoon. When looking at a heart-shaped face, attention is automatically drawn to the forehead, so the hairstyle should accentuate cheekbones. Bangs are the best way to draw attention away from your forehead. Whether it’s side bangs, swept bangs or just your basic front and centre bangs, this is the best go-to hairstyle for people with heart-shaped faces.

Round Faces

In the round face, the length and width of the face are roughly the same. The features and contours of the face are soft. Usually, it is best to avoid short curly or wavy hair that makes a round face appear even more rounded. Instead, a hairstyle that ends under the chin or longer fits the face shape better. Additional volume on top also elongates and slims the face. Asymmetric haircuts are good, particularly if layered and slightly messy in style. Wavy and straight hairstyles with rounded ends are both good. It is best to avoid heavy straight bangs as they appear to widen the face. One suggestion would be to combine blonde highlights, bouncy curls and a deep side bang help to slim wide cheeks. A pixie with diagonal bangs works well with a chubby face.

Square Faces

A protruding jaw and a square chin, with the forehead and jaw approximately the same defines a square face. Stars with square faces include Katie Holmes, Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Aniston. Similar to round faces, the length and width of the face are roughly the same. The difference is that in square faces the contours are more obvious and it is these features that need to be softened both with makeup and the right haircut. Classic short styles like the stacked bob work well. An A-line bob for straight her can be both classy and sassy with a touch of edge. Free-flowing locks and long bangs also soften the edges of a square face.

Long faces

Often confused with the oval face, the long face shape is not as broad as the oval, so the aim for longer face shapes is to make them appear wider. Minimising volume on top of the head and avoiding too much length and vertical lines by sticking to horizontal lines will give the illusion of more length. However, wavy hair looks good long because the waves add width to the sides of the long face. Other styles to consider are an edgy textured pixie, a textured bob, or a chin-length bob with soft layers. Stars with long faces include Kim Kardashian, Liv Tyler and Victoria Beckham.

It’s not all in the face shape

It’s worth remembering the shape of the face is only one of the considerations when choosing a hairstyle. The texture of the hair, your personality, your way of life and even the shape of your body can also impact on how well you carry a new style. Hair texture can either be fine, straight, wavy, rough, curly and fragile and with each of these are basic rules such as "curly hair does not look good short" or "fine hair does not look healthy when very long ".