Which Updo Is Right for Your Face Shape?
Laissez le bon temps rouler! It's that time again on the Gulf Coast (and soon it will be prom season), so Changes Hair Studio is here to help demystify formal hairstyles for optimal ballgown glamour and photo ops.
Why does face shape matter?
Face shape is a huge part of how we perceive balance and beauty within the quickest glance. Our mind percieves symmetrical, oval shaped faces to be the most pleasing and that is something that is so easy to fake! While we believe that our clients deserve to have the styles that they want and will love, this guide is for those who want to get the most beauty bang for their buck in a formal style. We hope you love what you learn today!
Oval Face Shapes and How to Flatter Them
Oval face shapes can certainly get away with a lot of different formal styles, but we recommend letting your face be the highlight and putting all of your glamorous detail in the back of the upstyle. Salma Hayek, right, has a very simple and classic looking front to her style but some gorgeous twists pinned into the back for a dramatic, elegant appearance from the back.
Alternately, oval faces can add detail pieces to the sides of their styles like Charlize Theron, left, has done with her feature braid. In both of these styles, the face is left exposed but care is taken to bring a glamorous, on-trend touch to the hair itself.
Elongating a Round Face
Round faces are a little wider at the cheekbone and shorter from forehead-to-chin than the ideal oval, so the goal is to extend length and minimize width. Selena Gomez, right, has done this by teasing some volume into the top of her upstyle and pulling the sides back to keep weight off of the cheekbone area. A sleek, teased low pony is a great way to accomlish everything a round face needs to pull off a glamorous, gorgeous formal style.
Emma Stone, left, has achieved a similar effect while still covering the ears (which is a must for some clients. In this style, the top is still volumized, but the sides are left down and in messy waves for less width around the cheekbone. Wide faces don't have to have a ton of height or their hair off of their ears to look beautiful and timeless, and with just a few minor adjustments they will be the belle of any ball.
Softening a Square Face Shape
Square faces need softness around the brow and jawline for ultimate elegance, so this is a great time for side bangs or sweeping waves off to the side of the face and utilizing a full, low upstyle like Angelina Jolie, right, has done with this look. Her characteristically sharp jaw looks proportionate and feminine here in a way that a sleek pulled-back look might not allow for.
Olivia Wilde, left, is another celebrity with a characteristically wide jawline who is able to soften her look by wearing faux side bangs and a low, full formal hairstyle. Not that Wilde's style is very classic and put fully up, so square faces do not necessarily have to have loose or long pieces around the neck to flatter them.
Flattering the Long Face
We couldn't talk about women with longer faces without mentioning the always-elegant Sarah Jessica Parker. Note her hair brought low and to the side over her forehead to minimize extra length, and her side bun which adds fullness to a long, thin jawline.
A long face that may suprise you is Carrie Underwood, left. Carrie is known for her voluminous, long locks and for good reason! Teasing width into the sides of the hair creates a fullness that is lacking in long faces and long, thick hair gives a further illusion of width and softness that reads as feminine and elegant. This softly swept-back style is glamorous and flattering without being too stuffy.
Best Looks for Triangular Faces
Triangular faces have wider foreheads and narrow, often pointed chins. The formal styles will not add volume to the top or sides of the hair, but will add width to the chin area. Reese Witherspoon, left, has done this by wearing a vintage-looking wavy bob (a faux-bob could easily be substituted for long hair). By having her bright, reflective blond waves widest at her jawline, Reese tricks the eye into seeing a softer and more proportional shape.
If adding width in the jaw area isn't for you, another option for triangular faces is using bangs to diminish the appearance of a wide forehead. Christina Ricci, left, uses her dark fringe to guide the eye into seeing a more proportional (if small) facial shape. Note that neither of these styles emphasizes width or volume at the top of the head, because that will always be counterproductive for this facial shape.
How to Let a Diamond Face Shine
Diamond Faces are one of the rarer facial shapes, and feature high, wide cheekbones with a narrower forehead and jawline. Megan Fox, left, is wearing the ideal hair shape for her face. A half-up style with some height in the crown and some width at the jaw area is the best way to balance the width of her gorgeous high cheekbones without covering them up.
A variation of this style is shown by Cara Delevigne, left. Cara is bringing her hair forward and over her cheekbones while still adding fullness in the crown and at the jaw. Note that in both hairstyles, the width of the hair noticeably reduces toward the face between the eye and end of the nose, which helps balance the width that is naturally present in a diamond face.
There is definitely a formal hairstyle out there for every facial shape, and Changes Hair Studio can help you find yours! Call to schedule your appointment today at 251-626-4626.