While anyone can wear any haircut they choose, certain styles look better on certain face shapes. To give an example, you often hear about face shapes when it comes to conversations about contouring and highlighting. However, this principle also applies to hairstyles.

Understandably, lingo by professional hair stylists can seem quite daunting to navigate. Especially since a single term can make or break the difference between a haircut suiting someone's face shape or not. 

Determine Your Face Shape

For the most part, each person's face shape is distinctive. The general categories break down into the following six shapes:

• Diamond

• Heart-shaped

• Long

• Oval

• Round

• Square

It's easy for some to determine their face shape just by looking in the mirror. Others, however, may need a little more help. If you fall under the category of the latter, don't worry. There's a way to go about measuring the face that will determine things easily.

If you have an oval or diamond-shaped face, you may want to focus more on texturing your hair to fill out the shape. This is also a good rule of thumb for people whose face shapes are not really obvious. 

Sometimes, length and/or personality in hair plays a key role for many people. If that's you, great! Take note that distinct hair textures (very curly or super fine, for example) will need cuts that are specifically flattering for them.

It should be noted, however, that people are different. There are no hard rules stating that every beauty "rule" out there must be followed to the letter.

Use Your Best Features to Style Hair According To Face Shape

There are plenty of hairstyles that can suit a person's face shape. However, having a wealth of choices may be overwhelming. Thankfully, there's a good rule of thumb to start with: highlight your best features! Here are some tips based on the usual face shapes:

• For Heart-Shaped Faces - Bring attention to the cheekbones and eyes through volume on the sides or bangs.

• For Long Faces - Shorter is always better, since long hair will just elongate long faces. Another key factor that's helpful is bangs.

• For Oval Faces - This shape goes with a whole lot of hairstyles. People whose oval faces are longer will likely benefit from the "rules" on styles for long faces.

• For Round Faces - Haircuts under the chin will do wonders here, like a nice bob. Wavy or curly hair will not do well with styles that are too short, so it's key to keep a close eye on the length.

• For Square Faces - When jaws are angular and strong, subduing them is critical here. A great way to do this is with choppy ends, curls, or some other kind of texture.

Conclusion

Determining the ideal hairstyle for a certain face shape doesn't have a lot of hard rules. In this first part, we discussed how to figure out face shapes, outlining the six main ones out there. A good rule of thumb is to use the best features for hair to be styled according to one's face shape. Watch this space for more!

Wondering where to get great hair cuts in Denver? Set an appointment at The Glam House today! We’ve got professional hair salon services like balayage, haircuts and hair coloring, among others.