As much as you love that Pinterest photo, the sad reality is that not all haircuts and styles will suit you. Whether a cut looks good on you will depend largely on your face shape and hair texture. Then there's that small matter of maintenance and your ability to style your hair at home.
Experts advise that you first determine your face shape before choosing a new style. The six common face shapes are diamond, heart, oval, rectangle, round, and square. Keep scrolling to find out which one you have and what styles might suit you...
Oval faces are often regarded as the ideal, and boast balanced features. That's according to the experts at L Factor Cosmetics. They describe oval faces as those where the forehead is subtly broader than the chin, and complemented by high cheekbones.
Here's how to know if you have one: "Measure your forehead, cheekbones, and jawline. If your forehead is about 1.5 times wider than your jawline and the length of your face is about one and a half times its width, you likely have an oval face," reads the site.
If your face has equal width and length with full cheeks and a rounded chin, you probably have what's known as a round face. The overall appearance is soft and youthful, say the L Cosmetics team. To confirm this, measure your face and if your measurements are similar in width and length and you have a rounded jawline with fuller cheeks, you likely fall into this group.
The square face features strong angles with a prominent jawline. "A square face is defined by its near-equal width across the forehead, cheekbones, and jawline. If your forehead, cheekbones, and jawline are nearly equal in width with an angular jawline, you likely have a square face," reads the site.
Heart-shaped faces often resemble an inverted triangle. They have wider foreheads and cheekbones with narrow chins. "If your forehead is noticeably wider than your jawline and you have high cheekbones that taper down to a narrow chin, you likely have a heart-shaped face," say the cosmetics team.
An oblong, or rectangular, face is longer than it is wide. It has straight sides and a strong jawline. And the width is often similar at the forehead and jaw. Lastly, a "diamond face is narrow at both the forehead and jawline but wider at the cheekbones," notes the site. "This shape often features high cheekbones."
Those with oval faces should try a center part on hair that's shoulder-length or longer and all one length, suggests hairstylist Ted Gibson. The expert adds that you should add some soft waves to help you hair to avoid looking too blunt.
"If your face tends to look long, cutting straight bangs across the brow line can break up the length by creating the illusion of width," says hairstylist and salon owner Chris McMillan. "A bob with side-swept bangs helps break up a long face and add softness," adds McMillan.
A shaggy pixie cut also works for this face shape, adds hairsylist Jimmy Paul. "It's definitely a 'notice me' look," says Paul. "There's something very sexy and feminine about showing off your neck and ears with such hard lines."
"If you want to wear a center part, the way to make it work for a round face is to have hair a few inches past your shoulders with layers that hit at the jaw," says advises McMillan. "Ask your stylist to cut in a bit on the sides to create subtle angles."
The expert adds that a round face looks really good with an uneven cut, or a mix of lengths. "If you add a deep side part and long, side-swept bangs, you'll look slimmer," reveals McMillan.
According to Paul, the key to wearing hair above the shoulders is styling it imprecisely. "It's a soft, layered cut worn intentionally mussed," explains the stylist. Paul also says angled bobs work well on round faces.
"Try long, dramatic layers that sweep along the chin, and a shortening of the hair as you go back to the nape of the neck," he says. "This cut gives you structure and angles. The hard lines of it balance out the soft lines of a round face."
The experts say, like with oval faces, pixie cuts can look great on round faces. But Paul suggests keeping the ends choppy. "All those little pieces help emphasize the cheekbones and eyes," he says. "It's almost as if you build in cheekbones with this cut."
Those with square face may want to try wearing their hair long and straight. "The way Demi Moore wears her hair — really straight and long — softens square angles," says McMillan, adding that a center part "opens up the middle of her face, drawing attention away from the jawline."
Another option is to style it wavy. "Try waves from the ears down, which helps obscure any severity in the jawline," says McMillan. A soft, tapered bob that hits right around the chin works is also an option, as is a tousled lob.
For a heart-shaped face, "hair that hits right below the jaw helps fill in the area around the chin, and de-emphasizes the triangle," hairstylist Ted Gibson told Allure. You could also try a mid-length cut with a deep side parting. Think heavily layered around the face and strong side-swept bangs.
It's all about balance, says celebrity hairstylist Matt Fugate. "The cut sort of closes off her forehead, giving her more balance and drawing more attention to her eyes and cute little chin," he explains, referring to Reece Witherspoon's cut and heart-shaped face.
