Hairstyles for long faces: add width, not height (women and men)

What counts as a long (oblong) face?

A long or oblong face is clearly longer than it is wide, with fairly straight sides. Our detector calls it oblong when the length is 1.28× the cheek width or more, whatever the jaw does. Faces just under that line read as oval with oblong close by.

Long faces often come with a high forehead or a longer chin. A haircut can't change either, but it can decide whether the eye travels up and down the face or across it.

The idea: break up the length and add width

Three effects shorten a long outline: a fringe, which hides part of the forehead; volume at cheek level; and fullness at chin level. Two make it look longer: height at the crown and long, straight length that falls in a vertical line.

You don't need all three. A fringe alone often does most of the work; waves or a bob add width lower down if you'd rather keep your forehead clear.

Women's hairstyles for a long face

The curtain fringe and soft waves are the strongest matches. The fringe divides the forehead and its pieces sweep out to the cheekbones; soft waves add width from the cheeks to the chin, a good choice without a fringe. The side-part bob is a good match, with its ends adding width at chin level.

The textured pixie (crown height), the long bob and long soft layers (straight vertical length) are marked use with care. To wear them anyway: keep the pixie flat on top with a fringe, add a fringe or an outward flick to the lob, and start the layers at cheek level.

Men's haircuts for a long face

Relaxed curtains are the strongest men's match: front pieces falling to the cheekbones divide the forehead and add width. The textured crop, with its short forward fringe, is a good match. The short crew cut and soft side part are your call. The low quiff and brushed-back hair add height, so they make a long face look longer.

Keep a little weight at the sides rather than a skin fade, and if you push hair up, keep the lift low. A beard that is fuller at the sides than at the chin adds width.

What to ask your stylist

Ask for width at the sides and less height on top:

• Curtain fringe: “Long hair with a split fringe that opens at the centre and sweeps past the cheekbones.”
• Soft waves: “Shoulder length or longer with loose waves through the mid-lengths.”
• Relaxed curtains: “A centre or slightly off-centre part with front pieces falling to the cheekbones.”
• Keep crown volume low and avoid a high, sleek ponytail as an everyday style.
• Start face-framing layers at cheek level rather than below the chin.

Glasses, brows and checking your shape

Deep lenses, like panto or wayfarer-style frames, shorten a long face; narrow, shallow rectangles make length stand out. A straight, slightly longer brow draws a horizontal line too.

Before you book a cut, check the shape on a clear front photo. Many faces sit between two shapes, and the face shape detector says when yours is close to another one. If it is, take ideas from both.