Hairstyles to balance face shape?

[ouseljay]

I am making an effort to wear my hair up more often to protect it from damage, since it's so very prone to splits. (Seriously, if I look at a hair crossways it'll split. Okay, a little bit of hyperbole there, but you get the idea.) The problem is that I hate wearing it up! My go-to style is a ponytail, or I'll just leave it down, both of which leave it open to all sorts of damage.

It has just occurred to me that part of the reason I don't like it up is that I don't like the way it looks with my face. I have a largish, straight nose, and something of a weak chin (curse you, overbite!). The effect is worse from the side. I feel that having it down or ponytailed lets the length balance those things out. Now, I'm not very good at figuring this kind of thing out, it took me months of mental conflict to get that far, so I'm looking for suggestions for what kind of easy styles I could do that would protect my ends but not look funny on me. My hair looks pretty much the same as in my avatar picture, and the thickness and u-shape are conspiring against me so I'm still having trouble getting it too submit to a bun; but I can do it if I don't mind looking like the bun is caught mid-escape.

Suggestions, advice, commiseration, cheese?

[FluffSpider]

A low bun, I'm thinking? Something to look bigger, like a messy bun or sock bun.

[Seharia]

May be play around with your hair part. For example if you have a longish face then you might want to part in the middle and if you have a more round face (or you want your nose to be less conspicuous) then put your part on the side of your face on top of your eyebrow. May be if you want to look like your hair is down but still protect the ends you can make a ponytail but then pull it down your neck a little so it is very loose than either make a bun out of the rest of the ponytail or braid it. Sorry I guess that didn't make sense the idea is that you make a very very low loose ponytail so that from the front it looks like your hair is down but you can still put the rest of your hair in a protective (and fun) style.
Good luck finding something that works :)

[kanzer]

For starters I'm sure it's not as bad as you say, but I do know what you mean! I never wear my hair up (except half up or a pony tail) cos I have a very big face. If I pull it tightly off my face it just looks bigger and I have a bit of a weird profile I think. I never wear buns cos they're so tiny in comparison and it makes the back of my head look flat. From the front it looks like I have no hair at all and I get a big double chin! My lack of eyebrows means that my face has very little definition without lots of hair framing it. Stupid invisible blonde hair...

One thing I really liked was the sock bun quite high up cos it gives my head a bit more dimension, if that makes any sense! Have you tried that? Otherwise maybe a sideways braid, over one shoulder, with some face framing wisps/fringey bits hanging down. Or two braids over your shoulder!

[CrisDee]

I don't have the same problem, but I do have a problem with certain hairstyles being quite unflattering. My head is very long and narrow, and I have a very pronounced chin - so when my hair gets much longer than APL, wearing my hair down can make me look "horse faced," as my daughter so graciously put it. I find that I pretty much have to have bangs/fringe, to break up the long-ness. Would a sideswept fringe work for you?

[Rocket22]

I'm the same way, before LHC I never wore my hair up and I'm learning to like it up. Plus it's easier. I would try a low messy bun with a flexi8 or something like that. They are super cute and easy to work with.

[owlathena]

I used to feel the same way. I felt like it looked harsh or unflattering when I wore some updos. It still might look that way, I just got use to wearing them and stopped caring about it. Not that I'm recommending giving up on your appearance! Thats just my experience.

[torrilin]

I've got a similar weak chin. My face is rather round too... but I have a nice strong widow's peak. Some hairstyles work well with the widow's peak, and it gives my face a rather heart shaped appearance. Heidi braids, the "Stardust bun" in the articles section, and French braids all work with the peak rather than against it.

It also helps to embrace my wispies. I've got fine, floaty and flyaway hair, so if I let the baby hairs float as they wish, most styles look a bit softer. Going for maximum sleekness is often a bad idea with my hair. And of course everyone looks at fine and straight and thinks "MOD!" which is not something my hair will do at all.

Chances are there are nice things about your face too. Maybe try a very high bun? You might also have a face that really suits a French twist.

[estelwen]

What they said! Great advice all! I hear you; I have a rather round/oval face and feel quite self-conscious if my hair is pulled back from it. I feel like an onion. So I tend to try to create a little volume or softness around the face with accent braids, twists, or even a barrette. Or a headband.

From your description of yourself, I think a side braid would look fabulous on you. I think that one of those adds some great dimension to your overall appearance.

Keep experimenting and good luck.

[ouseljay]

Thanks folks!

Lessee, a low bun kind of thing is kind of what I was originally thinking. I just tried one and though that result wasn't anything I would go out in public with (:o) I think the idea's not half bad. I used a slide barrette yesterday and threw my hair up, I wasn't paying attention and what happened was that everything got shoved up toward the top (sounds weird), but it didn't look all that bad that way, which surprised me. So maybe as long as I try to put updos either high or low and not smack in the middle of the back I'm good.

Odd as it sounds, I don't actually part my hair. I just kind of shove it backwards from my forehead, I wonder if parting would make that much difference. I'll give it a shot. (In highschool I parted my hair to one side, I remember now that I thought it looked great, but my mother thought it looked messy or something so I got nagged out of it.) I wonder if I could get a side part to balance out my forehead with a bit of fringe, I'm willing to try pretty much anything as long as it doesn't involve scissors. ;)

I really like the idea of a side braid, actually! My hair doesn't do braids well (or is that me? ;) ) because of the uneven hem, but I think that's not such a bad thing for a casual side braid. It would end up with a long tassel, but if it's over my shoulder it won't be rubbing against chair backs and such.

The other problem I have with updos is the severity they give my face, I think I look like an old fashioned schoolmarm from the neck up! So some of these ideas would definitely help with that.

Thanks again. I think I've got enough here to get me started and keep me going for a few days, but I'm definitely open to more suggestions if you have them. :flower:

[racrane]

I, too, have a round oval ish face. My hair straight up doesn't look good. I also discovered that a side part looks really pretty with a low bun and some pretty hair clips in there. And my hair does escape but if it's a messy bun it looks pretty pretty. (My bangs are growing out so all of my buns are "messy") I really recommend the side part though. It did wonders for my face.

[jojo]

I totally can relate I have a large nose, long face and big chin but I side part to break the longness down and use updos which are not pulled tight back. My hair is very curly near my fringe and if I leave it alone when wet it spirals from bsl to just under chin, so leaving strands of hair helps. Focus on your better bits, like I have large eyes which I like so I wear make up to enhance them if I want to look good. On a average day I don't wear make up but its there if I want it.

I actually look like this guy and I am sure your proportions look much better than you think!
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l283/joanna_eglin/gonzo.jpg

[Lexy]

The key for me was:

1. DO NOT "shove it back from your forehead!" Instead, part it either on the side or in the middle and use small clips to give height around your face. I take a bit of my front hair (what would be bangs if I had any) and twist it back and then clip. Then I put the rest into whatever sort of updo I'm wearing that day.

2. Get used to seeing your face "unadorned." It took me several months of looking in the mirror and thinking I looked terrible, but now I'm used to seeing my whole face and nothing but my face, and I've actually come to like it.

[CurlyCreature]

i *heart* side pony tails/side parts/side buns/side braids for EXACTLY this reason!

[LeMimi13]

Im looki g for the same tricks for my overbite? It looks great on front, but horrible on tje side!

[Avis]

I have a round, chubby face so having all my hair back was not doing my face any favors. I discovered I had some either broken hairs or new growth that I could wear as little curlies near my face, but they were really thin and hard to separate from the longer strands. The day before Valentine's Day, I decided on a whim that I should cut some hair in the front to have more framing for my face. I'd been thinking about doing this for a while but I just went and did it. I really like how it came out. The hairs are about chin length unstretched and nearly collarbone stretched.

I wouldn't recommend cutting on a whim (I know I broke the LHC "2-week wait" idea), but it might be something you could try. That or getting clip in bangs so you don't have to cut.