Are you looking to switch up your look? Just not in love with your current haircut and want to try something new? The elusive perfect hairstyle is a great way to up your confidence, and it starts with knowing your face shape. 

The ability to try on different hairstyles regularly is a major advantage that men have; short hair grows back pretty quickly! However, especially with shorter cuts, you can be stuck with a new haircut that you don’t like for weeks after you leave the barbershop.

You can follow a few guidelines to make sure that you're picking the right hairstyle for your face shape based on your facial features... Your hairstyle's various elements can highlight or downplay your features– for better or for worse.

If you’re contemplating changing up your look you might be wondering the usual suspects: What hairstyle suits me? Can I pull off this look? What if this one makes me look strange?

Here are a few things to keep in mind that can help you choose the perfect hairstyle for different face shapes and face lengths. 

What Is My Face Shape?

If you usually trust your barber to pick your hairstyle for you, you may not have ever given much thought to what face shape you have.

To get an idea of your face shape, you’ll want to pay attention to these features:

• Forehead - How wide is your forehead? How great is the distance from your eyebrows to your hairline?
  
  
• Cheekbones - Do you have high cheekbones? Are they well-defined?
  
  
• Jawline - Do you have a round chin? Square jaw? Sharp angles?
  
  
• Overall length - Measured from your hairline to your chin, how long is your face?

The largest of these features will give you some insight into what kind of face shape you have. The major face shapes are:

• If your forehead is the widest part of your face, and your chin is narrow and pointed, then you have a heart-shaped face or triangle face shape.
  
  
• If your face is longer than it is wide, and your forehead, cheekbones, and jaw are about the same width, then you have an oblong face or rectangular-shaped face.
  
  
• If your face is evenly proportioned, and you have a strong jawline, then you have a square-shaped face that leans on the pointy side.
  
  
• If your face is longer than it is wide, and you have a rounded jawline, then you have a rounder oval face shape that can also be considered to be a round face shape. 

There are more than four types of face shapes, there is diamond face shape or long face, etc. If none of these sounds like you then you can always ask your barber how they would describe your face.

Best Men’s Hairstyle For Heart-Shaped Faces

Since heart-shaped faces are narrower at the chin than at the forehead, you’ll benefit from a hairstyle that helps to balance those proportions. 

The best haircuts for heart faces are those that leave some hair to sweep across the forehead. This will minimize your strong forehead and balance out its proportion to your jawline. If you can grow a beard, this can also “build-out” the appearance of your jawline to more closely match your forehead. 

Conversely, you should steer clear of cuts that are cropped close at the forehead. Just as the added volume of a side-swept cut will downplay your forehead compared to your jaw, a tight cut will emphasize that difference.  

Best Men’s Hairstyle For Rectangular-Shaped Faces

Rectangular faces are typically very long, so the optimal hairstyles for this face look are those that don’t accentuate the length of the face. 

The best hairstyles for rectangular faces tend to be medium-length to long hair and leave some hair at the sides of the face and the forehead. A textured cut that maintains some length at the top and sides of your head will suit your face best. This can be something like a crew cut or faux hawk. You can also run with the always-classic side part for a super polished look that’s easy to style. A little scruff can go well with these cuts, but try to resist the urge to grow out a bushy beard, which will just add to the overall length of your face. 

As with heart-shaped faces, you should avoid cuts that are cropped too short at the sides of your face, such as buzz cuts, as these cuts can make your head look longer and skinnier than it actually is. You’ll also want to pass up cuts that are too long on the top for the same reason. Just as the added volume of a side-swept cut will downplay your forehead compared to your jaw, a tight cut will emphasize that difference. 

Best Men’s Hairstyle For Square-Shaped Faces

Square faces have similar angles and jawlines as rectangular faces, but don’t have to take the same length considerations into account.  

The right haircut for square faces is close-cropped on the sides, but you have the flexibility to play with the volume on top. You’ll want to keep the sides of your cut short to avoid making your face appear wider than it is tall. However, you can add as much volume to the top as you like. Your face shape is already very proportional, so if you don’t want the maintenance of a longer cut then you could stick to a style that’s close-cropped all around. However, added oomph up top will elongate your face, so you could go for something like a pompadour or a mid-length textured cut with a side part. 

The biggest no-no for square face shapes is adding volume on the sides of your cut. This will make your face seem wider, which will throw off your balanced proportions. Pretty much any facial hair is fair game though, so you can play up your beard game.

Best Men’s Hairstyle For Oval-Shaped Faces

Oval faces are the easiest for styling, they are evenly proportioned, so you don’t have to worry about playing up or playing down specific dimensions of your face.  

This means that oval faces can easily experiment with different hairstyles and facial hair. Want to rock a pompadour with a tight fade? Go for it. Want to grow out that ZZ Top beard? The world is your oyster. Are you curious about trying an undercut? Be our guest. The most important consideration for guys with oval faces is to make sure that your facial hair and haircut are compatible.  

The key hairstyle feature that doesn’t work well with oval-shaped faces is heavy bangs or fringe, so go for a slicked look with your hair slick back. This will accentuate the roundness of your face. If you want to keep your hair long, you might want to try a side part or comb over instead. 

Final Thoughts

Trying to pick out the hairstyle that will suit your face shape can seem daunting, but there are simple guidelines that you can reference that can help you to feel confident that you’re picking the right hairstyle for your face shape. 

When in doubt, consult your salon professional– most are trained to help. However, these pointers should help you to get an idea of what features you can leverage to put your most handsome face forward.