Going short can be a big hairstyling decision and there are lots of factors involved in taking the plunge, the most important being that you choose a short hairstyle that will suit you. And the best way to do that is to choose a style that will fit with and flatter your face shape.
Choosing a short hairstyle can be difficult and a tough decision to make. There are a few things you want to consider before you choose the perfect short hairstyle for you. You want to consider your hair color, which will play a big role in what hairstyle is going to suit you.
Secondly, you want to consider your personality. If you have an outgoing personality, you want a hairstyle that is going to match that. You also want to take into consideration if you wear glasses or not. You do not want your new hairstyle to get in the way of your glasses. There is nothing worse than having someone play with their hair all the time to get their glasses in the right position.
And lastly, you need to take into consideration your face shape. There are lots of hairstyles out there for you to choose from but you need to make sure that your hairstyle suits your face shape. It is important because you need to ensure that your hairstyle frames your face nicely and at the same time, shows off your gorgeous facial features.
How To Determine Your Face Shape
Before you are able to choose a hairstyle that is going to suit your face shape, you need to determine your face shape. We are going to give you the rule of thumb to determine your face shape but keep in mind; some of us might have a mix between two face shapes. Once you get a better idea of your face shape, your hair stylist can help you choose the best hairstyle that is going to suit your face.
Steps
- Get yourself a flexible tape measure and have a pen and paper close by to write down your measurements.
- Measure your forehead. You want to measure across the widest part of your forehead. This is usually around halfway between your eyebrows and your hairline.
- Measure your cheekbones. This is an important step because it can help you a lot with choosing your hairstyle. Place the tape across the pointiest part, just below the outer corner of each eye.
- Now it is time for you to measure your jawline. Measure from the tip of your chin to below your ear at the point at which your jaw angles upwards. Keep in mind you have two sides to your jaw so whatever your number is, you want to double it.
- Finally, you want to measure your face length. Run the tape measure from the centre of your hairline to the tip of your chin and now you have the measurements for your face.
Now to find out what your face shape is.
Oval: Your face length is greater than the width of the cheekbones and your forehead is greater than the jawline. Your jaw is more rounded than it is sharp.
Square: All measurements are fairly similar. The angle of your jaw is sharp and not rounded.
Rectangle/Oblong: Your face length is the greatest measurement out of all your measurements.
Round: Your cheekbones and face length have a similar measurement. They are larger than your forehead and jawline measurements. The angle of your jaw is soft and much less defined.
Diamond: Your face length measurement is your largest number. Then in descending order: cheekbones, forehead and your smallest is your jawline. Your chin is pointed.
Heart: Forehead measures greater than the cheekbones and jawline. Your chin is also pointed.
Triangular: Jawline measures greater than your cheekbones, which measures larger than your forehead.
Now that you know what your face shape is, It is time to have a look at some of the hairstyles that are going to suit your gorgeous face shape.
Oval Face Shape
Having an oval face shape means that you can pull off any short hairstyle that you like, and a great option for oval faces is a pixie haircut, which also really suits those with petite facial features. This pixie cut has wispy edges to keep the style soft and can be dressed up with hair accessories for more formal occasions.
An oval face shape is an ideal face shape and one that most of us style our hair as well as apply makeup, so that we can create the illusion of an oval face shape.
Round Face Shape
A round face shape requires a short hairstyle with height and hair volume at the crown to offset the round nature of the shape. Layers styled around the face that fall on the cheekbones can also minimize roundness and give your face a much more oval appearance.
You want to make sure that you dry your hair from the roots up. This is going to help you create the volume that you need for your face shape. Once your hair is dry and styled, remember to apply hairspray so that your volume does not die down throughout the day.
Heart Face Shape
A heart face shape is very wide through the forehead area and narrow through the lower half of the face so a short hairstyle that is flat through the sides with a small amount of height at the crown will reduce the width at the top of your head and give you a style that is very flattering. Team your short look with long wispy bangs or a side hair part to flatter your shape further, and to add a touch of funk!
Square Face Shape
A square face shape has very strong lines and a solid jaw area so a short haircut that is asymmetrical is an ideal option to replace that strongness with soft flowing lines. Curved fringes, soft layers, graduation cuts, or a layered bob with plenty of texture and movement are also great haircut options to consider for a square face shape.
When it comes to doing your makeup for your square face shape, you want to make sure that you contour the harsher edges of your face. This means that you make the edges a bit darker so that your face can look rounder and softer.
Oblong Face Shape
An oblong face shape has plenty of length and is very long and narrow, particularly through the cheek area. So a short hairstyle with very full blunt cut bangs as the main feature is ideal. It will scale back the length of your face shape and give you a hairstyle that will draw attention to your eyes.
The idea with choosing a hairstyle for this face shape is that you want to make your face not look as long and want to make your eyes as the centre of your face, your focal point of your makeup application. A lovely eye application as well as a bold lip will look gorgeous with this face shape.
Diamond Face Shape
A diamond face shape is another long and narrow shape so any short hairstyle that is going to open up your face and add width is the ideal option. The cheekbones are the widest point of a diamond shape so something with soft hair layers that fall or direct your attention to your cheekbones (such the hairstyle pictured) should be tried.
A diamond face shape is ideal for highlighting! Find yourself a striking highlighter, and your makeup as well as your hair is going to be on a different level.
Triangular Face Shape
A triangular face shape is very heavy through the lower half of the face so a nice light, messy crop hairstyle that draws attention to the top half of your face is the perfect short haircut for you. Use shaping hair styling products, such as molding cream, paste and gum to add texture and definition or to create any number of versatile looks.
How To Maintain Your Short Haircut
- You want to make sure that you cut your hair once every 4 weeks or so to ensure that your cut stays in shape. This is also going to help keep your hair healthy and looking as gorgeous as ever.
- To keep your hair soft and healthy, you can use a hair masque once a month. This helps to keep your hair strong and also gives you a salon finish. Your hair will be soft and luscious!
- Comb your hair less frequently. Short hair is less likely to tangle. Use your fingers to comb through your hair for styling. Professionals say that your fingers are often a better tool than a brush. Your fingers will help you shape your hair as well as lift your roots to give you more volume.
- Reduce the use of heated products. Heated tools can damage your hair shafts and make your hair look like straw. You want to avoid this as much as possible.
- Tame your frizzy hair with products. The more your hair frizzes, the shorter your hair looks. Use products on your hair to help calm down the frizz so that you can see the truth length of your hair.
- Look after your scalp. You can use a scalp treatment to keep the skin on your scalp healthy so that you do not develop dandruff.
- Short hair often needs to be washed more often than longer hair. This is because your hair is touching your face as well as your neck more often. The nice thing about short hair is that it will not take you a long time to wash and dry it.
- Have dry shampoo nearby to ensure that your hair looks clean and fresh on the days that you do not have time to wash your hair.
- Make sure that you use salon professional grade shampoo and conditioner.
- If the hairstyle that you have chosen has bangs, you are going to need to wash your bangs more often than you wash your hair. Reason being is that your bangs sit on the surface of your face that produces a lot of oil and sweat. This means that your bangs are going to look oilier more quickly than the rest of your hair. Either wash your bangs more often or you can use a dry shampoo to ensure that your bangs look fresh and clean all day long.
As you can see, there are astonishing hairstyles for you to choose from. You want to make sure that you love the new hairstyle that you have chosen. It may take you a few days to get used to the shorter hairstyle, but once you do, you are going to love how easy it is to maintain.
To help you decide on what hairstyle you should go for, we have an awesome addition to our website. All you need to do is upload a picture of yourself on our site, and click on one of the images in this article. Our virtual hairstyler will then show you what you are going to look like with the hairstyle that you have chosen. How amazing is that?
We have only shown you a few images of short hairstyles that are out there. We have thousands of hairstyles for you to choose from on your website. If you do not like one of the images in this article, you can search on the site to see some of the others we have.
Now you can get a better idea of what you want and what you do not want. Once you have a better idea, you can take the images to your hairstylist and show them what you want. Together, the two of you can pick and choose from the images to create a hairstyle that is going to suit you and all your needs.
