“Oblong” is a funny word for someone’s face, since it’s a word we might use to describe a curiously large sweet potato, or maybe a football. Again, these will overemphasize that length.įacial Hair Advice: Avoid anything that overemphasizes the jaw’s angles, like chin straps and low-rider beards. “The rounder, more natural shape that gives the head will soften the look of the extreme angles ,” Conrad explains.ĭon’t: You want to stay away from harsh, lean, angular haircuts, Conrad says. That said, you can also consider close-crop buzzcut hairstyles if you like. Sweeping hair parts and business haircuts are a terrific option for these guys. Cropping the sides too close on an otherwise textured top will elongate the face too much, so aim for more fullness and definition all around. Like square faces, they’ve also got sharp angles and a prominent forehead, so softness and roundness up top is terrific and like oblong faces, rectangular guys need to pull focus from anything that adds too much height and emphasizes facial length.ĭo: Try a textured or volumized look, emphasizing mass on the sides. Like oval shapes, they have a defined jaw and wide brow so many things will flatter them. Rectangular faces are one degree away from a few different shapes. So, please just consider the below guidelines as mere suggestions for optimizing haircuts based on visual symmetry. Rather, it’s all in regards to the fact that our eyes “deem” things as symmetrically optimal again, this is why some things are flattering on you and others aren’t. While a lot of the framing around flattering face shapes suggests that you need to “soften” or “de-emphasize” certain features, this isn’t to suggest that any specific face shape has flaws. Remember: Rules Are (Sometimes) Meant to Be Broken Pear-shaped: Slightly narrow forehead, wide cheekbones, very wide jaw.Oblong: Strong jawline, uniformly broader-set face.Heart: Wider forehead and cheekbones, but with a narrow chin.Diamond: Widest at the cheekbones, and slightly more narrow at the forehead and chin.Triangle: Wider at forehead and brow, slightly narrower at the cheeks, and very narrow at the chin.Square: Similar angles to a rectangular, but with lower facial features and a prominent forehead.Round: Almost as wide as it is tall, with wide cheekbones, a soft jawline, and lower-set facial features.

Rectangular: Similar to oval, but with a higher forehead and a broader chin.Oval: Widest at the brow, soft angles until the defined and angular jaw.

Now that you've taken your photo and traced the shape, it's time to figure out exactly which category you fall into. Your hairline, bone structure, and weight all also impact your face shape. Look at the overall contrast in width between the forehead, cheeks, jaw, and chin, as well as where the facial features settle compared to the height of the forehead. To determine your face shape, Conrad suggests taking a selfie straight-on with your phone, then using the mark-up function to draw an outline. Watch above or read on for Conrad’s insights, which includes on the dos and don’ts for each shape, as well as how facial hair should factor in to your styling. And that's to say nothing of all the other common shapes out there: oval, rectangular, round, square, heart, oblong, and pear.įor GQ's new Grooming Guide video series, barber Matty Conrad outlined the “ideal” hairstyles for all nine basic face shapes. If your forehead and jaw are narrow but your cheeks are wide (a diamond face shape), what works for you hair-wise is going to be vastly dissimilar to someone with a wide forehead that narrows through the chin (a triangle shape). That's why guys are so often disappointed when they bring a photo of their favorite celebrity's hairstyle along to the barber-those celebs likely have a completely different facial structure to their own. Finding the most flattering haircut for you depends on the texture and density of your hair, sure.

Female face shapes side view