Hairstyle for a Long Face

Q: I have a long face. What hairstyle will make my face look shorter?

A: Choose a hairstyle that is well structured and defined. Like a bob or stacked bob. The perfect solution would be the following:

Cut your hair into an inverted bob, with the tips of the hair curving slightly inward to frame your face and your cheekbones. The bob should be cut up quite high at the back to shorten the appearance of the profile of your face from the side as well. Have the hairdresser cut your bangs so that it is thick and the base-line is straight across your forehead, with the tips of the hair grazing your eyebrows.

He/she should use a razor or thinning-out scissors to texturize the bangs to keep them from looking too heavy or bulk, though. You should also wear the style blow-dried into a slight curve around your face, so that it creates a rounder illusion, which neutralizes a long face.

You can also color your hair in a rich, solid color such as a deep brown or dark chocolatey brown, or even a platinum or grey-tinged blonde. Rich, darker/very light and solid colors tend to define and structure a cut to the maximum, this is why you'll often see Schwarzkopf or L'Oréal stage or runway stylists use these colors to showcase their hairstyles.

If you decide to go with a dark brown or rich red, have the stylist put a few very thin highlights in your bangs to lighten up the picture and keep the style from being too harsh. The highlights should be really thin and almost look as if it's just flecks of sunlight glinting in your hair.

The bangs shorten the face from the top, as it creates a solid line along the eyebrows. The bangs also contribute towards the structured hairstyle which draws the eye to focus on the defined silhouette and constructed proportions of the hairstyle, instead of the length of the face.

Inverted bob haircut with a shorter back — Photo: Stepstock/Shutterstock

The slight curve along the sides of the face and the jawline frame the face to soften the style, while the points of the inverted bob that curve inward shortens the face from the bottom, as it creates a definite border-line. An inverted bob that is cut up high at the back will shorten your facial profile from the side, as it creates a visual impression of a very defined hairstyle, focusing on curved angles and proportions, which again draw the eye away from the length of the face and concentrating on the construction of the hairstyle.

Try to stay away from long hair as this tends to make your face look even longer. The long lines of long hair around the face create the illusion of an even longer face. You should choose a hairstyle that incorporates definite angles, curves and color so that the actual construction of the style makes the face appear shorter. Definite borders along the face such as bangs, a short hairline or intensely texturized hair around the face should do the trick well.

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See also:

Virtual makeover

Face shapes and hairstyles

Why do face shapes need to be considered when cutting hair?