Face Shapes Causing Styling Woes: A Gripe Thread

[Mega Moose]

Hey, everyone! So, I'm guessing lots of you have noticed the middle part is *really* making a comeback lately. I recently decided to try jumping on that bandwagon, but no matter what I do to my hair, the middle part looks awkward on my face.... I think it's diamond shape (although it's really hard for me to actually tell), but I do know that I have a small forehead, large cheekbones and a strong looking jaw. It makes my forehead look like it's two inches big and my head becomes a weird triangle. Does anyone else have problems like this with a style they wanted to try? I'm interested to read what hair problems people of different facial types run into. :)

[Corvana]

Hey, everyone! So, I'm guessing lots of you have noticed the middle part is *really* making a comeback lately. I recently decided to try jumping on that bandwagon, but no matter what I do to my hair, the middle part looks awkward on my face.... I think it's diamond shape (although it's really hard for me to actually tell), but I do know that I have a small forehead, large cheekbones and a strong looking jaw. It makes my forehead look like it's two inches big and my head becomes a weird triangle. Does anyone else have problems like this with a style they wanted to try? I'm interested to read what hair problems people of different facial types run into. :)

I used to wear a middle part exclusively. But I rarely liked how it made my face look! It'd be alright for double half-ups or double braids/buns, but just down? Bleh. Then I gave myself bangs, and it was adorable and totally fixed whatever it was about the middle part I hated. And then I got tired of bangs upkeep and started taking them and rolling them to the side and pinning them there, giving off a bit of a retro vibe. I loved that the most, and started doing a side part and haven't dropped it (unless I'm doing double whatevers as a style). And if I'm pulling all my hair back and not feeling the face, I'll pull a little out at the front to roll to the side. Idk what it is, but that's been a style that I love how I look with!

So, sort of? And I fix it by half doing what I like :laugh:

[Stray_mind]

My hair Absolutely doesn't listen when it comes to parts, Any of them, it just falls to whatever directions it suits it, hahaha, so i guess i won't be following that trends.

[Seija]

Middle parts always look so neat on the people who can pull it off, I end up feeling like the kid from The Little Rascals, so you're not alone

[torosaurus]

I have an asymmetrical square shaped face with chubby cheeks. My face isn’t really that great looking in the first place, and a middle part with no bangs is probably the worst thing I can do for myself. I realize that bangs aren’t in right now, but they are the only way my face looks remotely okay.

I wish I didn’t have to have bangs though, they really keep me from stretching washes.

[Seija]

I have an asymmetrical square shaped face with chubby cheeks. My face isn’t really that great looking in the first place, and a middle part with no bangs is probably the worst thing I can do for myself. I realize that bangs aren’t in right now, but they are the only way my face looks remotely okay.

I wish I didn’t have to have bangs though, they really keep me from stretching washes.

When I had straight across bangs I used to spot wash, just tie the rest up and wash your bangs in the sink! It was a great time saver.

[Jo Ann]

My face shape is a cross between a diamond and an oval...with a strict center part, I always resembled Kenny from "South Park":

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6f/KennyMcCormick.png

For years now, I've just gone with a "natural" part--whichever way The Beast chooses to lay is fine with me :face:

[Mega Moose]

My face shape is a cross between a diamond and an oval...with a strict center part, I always resembled Kenny from "South Park":

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6f/KennyMcCormick.png



Ahahaha, yes! That perfectly describes it! It just wants to fall in my eyes and keep me from seeing since I don't have a forehead to stop it. XD

[Jo Ann]

Wearing glasses REALLY brings out the Kenny resemblance--and I do wear glasses...just saying...

[MidnightMoon]

I really have no idea what part suits my face shape, but I've worn a middle part my whole life and don't intend to stop now. My face looks more round and childish with a side part.
I also haven't seen anyone whose parting I would say makes them looks absolutely awful. I think the only ones paying so much attention to our face are ourselves.

[Mega Moose]

A few people have made mention of bangs here and now I'm having a pretty serious "bangs or nah" conversation in my head. When they're looking good things are fantastic, but if they get cut too thick it's not a good look for me. Also, Corvana mentioned pulling everything back and not liking the way that makes the face look, I totally feel that. I tried a crown braid on myself a couple weeks back and wasn't sure how I felt about the look. It could just be that it was out of the ordinary for me though, and not that it actually looked odd. I'm very much a creature of habit!

[lapushka]

I've got an oval/round shape and a middle part never ever worked for me. I have natural cowlicks at my right side and that's were my hair just naturally wants to part, so I've always parted it right there. Just let it fall into place. And TBH, that is just what works for my face shape and hair the best!

Also consider your hair type when wanting bangs; is it oily? Then you better start getting used to washing them over the sink every day and styling them *every* *single* *time* again, and again!

[Corvana]

How I managed my too-lazy-to-trim or too-lazy-to-wash and then eventually growing-these-out bangs:

https://i.imgur.com/ZoQdeLX.jpg

And I do a similar thing now for when I want to "soften" an updo.

I'm also planning to cut in face framing layers if I end up missing the shorter bits in front I get when I put my hair on one side or the other. I just cut it all straight (although it's a U, I guess), but I use a middle part to trim so the bits I flip over for a side part seem to shorten. At the length my hair is now, everything makes it into an updo, but the "short" bits are currently about jaw length (it's all almost APL with a middle part).

It's on the table, just in case :laugh: I may be fine with it much longer, idk, but to calm my "BUT WHAT IF IT'S HORRIBLE" voice, it's definitely an option.

[Beeboo123]

I can’t do middle parts, my hair insists on falling over my face. I’m forced to clip it up, or to have it short. No amount of styling product or time spent training my hair has worked. Sigh. Fortunately, my hair, face and scalp are all dry, so i don’t get greasy bangs

[torosaurus]

When I had straight across bangs I used to spot wash, just tie the rest up and wash your bangs in the sink! It was a great time saver.

That's a great idea! I'll have to try that out more. I've been using dry shampoo a lot otherwise because my hair tends to be oily, haha.

I also have to cut my own bangs because I've never found a hairstylist that can actually cut the bangs I want.

[AZDesertRose]

I have a broad round face, so bangs shorten my face too much. They look cute on other folks, but not on my face!

A center part, if not for some specific 'do, tends to enhance the roundness and width, so if I part it for anything other than pigtail braids/buns, I usually part to the right of my face, but I probably actually ought to go to the left, because the hair is a bit thicker on the left side of my head than on the right. (It's a pretty minor difference in thickness; I'm probably the only person who notices.)

Also, if I pull my hair back too tightly/severely, not only does it hurt (and I have chronic migraines, so I don't need to borrow that type of trouble!), but it also makes the roundness/width of my face more noticeable. A slightly looser/softer updo looks better.

[Anje]

I've got a kinda-round kinda-square face, and I really can't do bangs. Even sideswept bangs just will not work on me -- this was a real pain when I got talked into trying it and had to deal with the subsequent grow-out with hair that naturally hangs forward into my face.

Having my hair back snugly (or cropped short, currently) does work pretty well, because it emphasizes that the widest points on my face are my cheekbones followed by my jaw. All the styles that are supposed to flatter round faces just look like curtains hiding a face that's even wider than mine is.

[diddiedaisy]

I also have a low forehead, and man I do not look nice with a middle part. Side part and side swept bangs are the way for me to go.

[Crystawni]

I've got a heart-shaped face: think plectrum or inverted triangle where the forehead and (high) cheeks are the widest part, tapering to the chin. Your avatar pic face shape actually looks similar to me, Mega Moose, but it could be the angle (and the little size of the pic). Anyway, I find middle parts are a no-go for the shape reason--I have a small widow's peak, so middle parts make my hair sit lower and in the way, and because I have cowlicks that need their way. :lol: I find the most flattering is a side part (natural area for me), with sweeping face framers that have partial cheek-height bangs blended in to accentuate the flow of my face/cheeks.

[AZDesertRose]

I've got a kinda-round kinda-square face, and I really can't do bangs. Even sideswept bangs just will not work on me -- this was a real pain when I got talked into trying it and had to deal with the subsequent grow-out with hair that naturally hangs forward into my face.

Having my hair back snugly (or cropped short, currently) does work pretty well, because it emphasizes that the widest points on my face are my cheekbones followed by my jaw. All the styles that are supposed to flatter round faces just look like curtains hiding a face that's even wider than mine is.

I can't do sideswept bangs either, but I'm not sure if it's the shape of my face or the texture of my hair or both that cause the problem. My hair has just enough wave/curl to it that even longish side bangs want to turn into a big mess of frizzy wurls that a: is seriously not a good look and b: utterly refuses to be tamed by any styling tool or product for more than an hour or so.

[Anje]

I can't do sideswept bangs either, but I'm not sure if it's the shape of my face or the texture of my hair or both that cause the problem. My hair has just enough wave/curl to it that even longish side bangs want to turn into a big mess of frizzy wurls that a: is seriously not a good look and b: utterly refuses to be tamed by any styling tool or product for more than an hour or so.

For me, the combo of a not-very-high hairline and glasses are a lot of it. But wave and hair that tends to clump definitely don't help me either. I resorted to flat-ironing the things for a while before giving up.

[Jo Ann]

...Also consider your hair type when wanting bangs; is it oily? Then you better start getting used to washing them over the sink every day and styling them *every* *single* *time* again, and again!
I always found wavy/wurly/curly hair never made for much peace with bangs--they might look great immediately after they're cut, but let the least bit of moisture get to them and they start flipping out all over the place! First one side, tame that one then the OTHER side flips out! After that, if you're REAL good, they don't lie right at ALL... *sniff*

[Crystawni]

I always found wavy/wurly/curly hair never made for much peace with bangs--they might look great immediately after they're cut, but let the least bit of moisture get to them and they start flipping out all over the place! First one side, tame that one then the OTHER side flips out! After that, if you're REAL good, they don't lie right at ALL... *sniff*

Wings! :pegasus:

Length matters, mayhaps. Well, in my case. The shorter they are with textured hair, the more flipmmfling the result, especially as the curls drop. This is how I wear mine in the way of face-framers, left alone (but brought over my face to obscure my mug), and combed into wurly submission:

https://i.imgur.com/ypDfY1c.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/pQ0Ttn5.jpg

[Jo Ann]

That's the reason why I haven't worn bangs/fringe in over 30 years (the last time I gave in to temptation, only to remember the first time I washed them to remember why I didn't wear them) :p

See my post here: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=144228&page=11

[Chiquita Banana]

I have a long face and a big forehead. Bangs would hide my forehead, but I refuse to deal with bangs. I would have to wash and style them daily and I'm not willing to take the time to do that at this point in my life. So... my hair is all one length and I part it down the side when I braid it. That's how it naturally falls anyway.

[spidermom]

When I was around 12 years old, I read an article in Seventeen magazine about the importance of avoiding parting the hair in the same place all the time because the part will get wider over time. Ever since then, I've parted my hair all over the place, and whatever I want to do, my hair is pretty much up for it. As for what looks best for my face shape, "they" say side swept. Yup, that works, too.

What really looks hideous on me is a bob at around chin length.

[Gem]

With my square face, a side part looks better. A middle part looks eh, but not terrible.
I do not like how I look with my hair pulled straight back, but many years and many variations on sideswept bangs have proven that I'm not going to keep up with the trimming and styling. A pixie is also adorable, but I hate having my hair cut. This time around growing, I promised myself I'd learn some cute hair styles and make them a habit.
Several years later, my daily style is still a LWB with nary an accent braid in sight. I will get around to being cute eventually.

[leayellena]

round face = short haircut.
why in God's name would they "enhance" a balloon-shaped face is beyond me.
but I must say that I like my face better when my hair is in a sleek updo. I look mature, like a woman, not like a kid. it's not funny to be confused with a boy because of scissor-happy hairdressers...

[Kiiruna]

I'm not sure about my face shape (it's like longish diamondish roundish everythingish) but middle parting gives me war flashbacks to elementary school. Too bad that now that my bangs are longer, my hair wants to do the middle parting thing.

[OhSuzi]

Well I wouldn’t worry about what is fashionable – it changes all the time.
So how you wear your hair, will be nothing, then it’ll be fashionable, then it’ll be passé and then it’ll be retro & then it’ll be a non thing again – and you’ll just be like eh – I always wear my hair like this.

I was gonna recommend bangs I think they suit diamond faces, or any one with a tallish forhead – I love a big heavy fringe – but I have a cowlick, so pulp fiction or betty page type fringes are just not gonna work on me – but I find a heavy side swept fringe keeps the cowlick under control.

If your worried bout heavy fringe you could start off very light with a small amount of hair & then if that’s not enough, build up more of a fringe, or if you do cut it to thick / heavy, generally you can cut in to them a bit and thin them out again.

You can get clip on fringes that seem pretty realistic if you don’t want the commitment
Or if you are very skilled you can create certain hair styles with a sort of faux fringe

I have also heard that your supposed to change up your part –- & yep theres definitely more frizz n tangle and less curl on the outer layer of my hair & at the parting.
But I hardly ever remember to change it up cause Im too lazy & usually in a rush to be somewhere & my hair naturally side parts fighting with it to change direction is nigh on impossible especially without heat & by the end of the day its just flopped back to the usual place!

[Aredhel]

I have a round face and nope, middle parts and bangs are not made for me. It just enhances the roundness in a most unattractive fashion. There's nothing wrong with round faces, in fact I find that they are quite feminine and cute, it's just that too much of anything is never nice. ;)

I look much better with my side part. :) It does suck though because I love the look of bangs on other people.

My sister on the other hand has a very narrow and thin face, so she can pull off basically every hairstyle that I can't, while I can pull off any that she can't. :p

[Jo Ann]

round face = short haircut.
why in God's name would they "enhance" a balloon-shaped face is beyond me.
but I must say that I like my face better when my hair is in a sleek updo. I look mature, like a woman, not like a kid. it's not funny to be confused with a boy because of scissor-happy hairdressers...
Tell me about it! Even with long hair, if I'm not wearing something decidedly feminine when I wear it down, there's always someone that will tell a store clerk, "Some hippie dude is at the check-out" :shocked:

And people wonder why I sometimes raise my voice an octave--it's to remove doubt about my gender. Freedom in androgyny and all that...phooey!

Signed,

Olive Oyl's Cousin

http://www.hauteintexas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/olive-oyl.jpg

[Mega Moose]

Oh goodness, I did get mistaken for a boy once when I had a pixie cut and it's really funny to look back on now, but super embarrassing at the time! Several years ago, I was working at Mc Donald's and there was this cute guy that worked at the hobby lobby across the street who came in all the time that I had a big ol' crush on. One day I'm cleaning the dining area and he sits near where I'm cleaning, I'm about to say hi when an old lady approaches me and right in front of him says "Young man, can you tell me where the trash can is?" I just put on a smile and took her trash, and hobby lobby guy was looking at me with pity and I had to have been so red in the face at that moment. The pixie actually was very flattering on me, but pixie + Mc D's uniform + French fry grease everywhere was not. :P

[Mega Moose]

Wings! :pegasus:

Length matters, mayhaps. Well, in my case. The shorter they are with textured hair, the more flipmmfling the result, especially as the curls drop. This is how I wear mine in the way of face-framers, left alone (but brought over my face to obscure my mug), and combed into wurly submission:

https://i.imgur.com/ypDfY1c.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/pQ0Ttn5.jpg

I like your face framers! Maybe I should do something like that. Lapushka is correct, styling bangs so they'll look nice every day is quite a pain... But I feel I looked a bit better with a little something happening around my face.

Also, LWB's are so awesome, Gem. I think they're stylin' and pretty convenient. I wear my hair up in some sort of LWB variation about 57% of the time.

[Estrid]

I'm not sure what face shape I got, but I used to think that I looked horrible with a middle part, really really horrible. I had my hair side parted since middle school after getting rid of my bangs.
A few years ago I changed to an off-center middle part just because it was more practical (I could actually see with my hair parted that way, no hair that was always covering my eyes). Nowadays I think it looks good, but knowing I really disliked it on me before I wonder if this liking for it is because I've gotten used to it. I know I had a stage where my hair looked a lot like John Smith's hair (that guy in Pocahontas, the Disney movie), I'm so happy my bangs aren't visible anymore, they made it all a lot worse.


...and now I think I look terrible in a side part, so I guess I'm staying where I am, in the off-center parting territory.

[Kikyou]

I looove the middle part! I've got a significant M-shaped, giant forehead. With a part on the side, I expose the tallest part of my forehead which looks ridiculously large then. The part in the middle makes it look much smaller, almost average and the hair pulled behind my ears conceal the endless space on the sides of the forehead. I definitely look best with a fringe, but my hair being oily, and my face even oilier, the maintenance was a nightmare. It looked poor even 3h after being washed and styled.

[Mega Moose]

I looove the middle part! I've got a significant M-shaped, giant forehead. With a part on the side, I expose the tallest part of my forehead which looks ridiculously large then. The part in the middle makes it look much smaller, almost average and the hair pulled behind my ears conceal the endless space on the sides of the forehead. I definitely look best with a fringe, but my hair being oily, and my face even oilier, the maintenance was a nightmare. It looked poor even 3h after being washed and styled.

Ooooh man, the halfway-through-the-day betrayal... And it always happens that you don't have dry shampoo with you when it strikes, doesn't it? :P

[Corvana]

Wings! :pegasus:

Length matters, mayhaps. Well, in my case. The shorter they are with textured hair, the more flipmmfling the result, especially as the curls drop. This is how I wear mine in the way of face-framers, left alone (but brought over my face to obscure my mug), and combed into wurly submission:

https://i.imgur.com/ypDfY1c.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/pQ0Ttn5.jpg

*Sees the small smidge of your face through your fringe* Ah yes, Meryl Streep! That's a logical conclusion to make! :laugh:

On a normal human person note, I love how your FF layers curl up, and I love them as they're waving about. They're both amazing.

[Jo Ann]

Ooooh man, the halfway-through-the-day betrayal... And it always happens that you don't have dry shampoo with you when it strikes, doesn't it? :P
I heard a long time ago that cheesecloth over the brush bristles would help absorb some of that.

The things you find out after the fact... :confused:

[melikai]

I have an oval/longish face, and probably shouldn't do a middle part. However, that's how my hair has always naturally parted, and everything else I've tried always looks even more strange, so :shrug:

[Crystawni]

I like your face framers! Maybe I should do something like that. Lapushka is correct, styling bangs so they'll look nice every day is quite a pain... But I feel I looked a bit better with a little something happening around my face.

Also, LWB's are so awesome, Gem. I think they're stylin' and pretty convenient. I wear my hair up in some sort of LWB variation about 57% of the time.

Thank you! :grin: Face framers are easy enough as they're really a no-style kinda thing as they blend in, luckily. Good luck with whichever way you go!


*Sees the small smidge of your face through your fringe* Ah yes, Meryl Streep! That's a logical conclusion to make! :laugh:

On a normal human person note, I love how your FF layers curl up, and I love them as they're waving about. They're both amazing.

Thank you, but maaaaaaaaaaaaan, stop peeking! :p :p :p Meryl Streep indeed! Well, we have a similar face shape... :o But if you're more curious, I have a pic of me noodling on my bass in my Artsy Stuff (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=11848) album, and just posted some pics in my latest blog. Hidden in plain sight, I be.

[Corvana]

Thank you! :grin: Face framers are easy enough as they're really a no-style kinda thing as they blend in, luckily. Good luck with whichever way you go!



Thank you, but maaaaaaaaaaaaan, stop peeking! :p :p :p Meryl Streep indeed! Well, we have a similar face shape... :o But if you're more curious, I have a pic of me noodling on my bass in my Artsy Stuff (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=11848) album, and just posted some pics in my latest blog. Hidden in plain sight, I be.

Ehehehe it was more that I was immediately reminded of her in The Devil Wears Prada, because you looked as though you were thinking "mhmm I'm busy hurry it up". :laugh:

[Crystawni]

Oh, gaaaaaaaaaawd. Now I'm hearing her voice when I look at that pic. :hatchet: :rollin:

[Corvana]

Oh, gaaaaaaaaaawd. Now I'm hearing her voice when I look at that pic. :hatchet: :rollin:

:rollin: I'm sorry! :laugh:

[emilyogini]

Meryl Streep ROCKS! =D