Looking for the perfect hairstyle to complement your long face? We’ve got you covered! Having a long face shape gives you a fantastic canvas for many versatile and flattering styles that can beautifully balance your proportions.
In this guide, we’ll share 20 super chic hairstyles specifically designed to break up length and enhance your features. From face-framing layers and side-swept bangs to voluminous waves and strategic highlights, these styles will add width and dimension in all the right places. Whether you prefer short, medium, or long locks, there’s something here that will transform your look and boost your confidence.
Understanding Long Face Shapes and Their Unique Features
Long face shapes are characterized by their vertical length being noticeably greater than their width. Many celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, Liv Tyler, and Gisele Bündchen showcase this elegant facial structure that offers unique styling opportunities. The primary goal when styling long faces is to create the illusion of width and balance the prominent vertical dimensions.
Identifying whether you have a long face shape is straightforward – look for a forehead, cheekbones, and jawline that are similar in width, with the length of your face exceeding the width by approximately 1.5 times. Your chin likely has a rounded or slightly pointed appearance rather than a square edge. Face measurements often show the distance from hairline to chin significantly exceeds the width across your cheekbones.
Styling for long faces requires strategic approaches that visually break up length and add horizontal dimension. Wide bangs create an illusion of width across the forehead area, effectively shortening the visible length of your face. Side-parted styles draw the eye horizontally rather than vertically, counterbalancing the natural elongation. Volume at the sides rather than the crown helps create balance by visually widening narrower features.
Hair color placement also plays a crucial role in framing long faces. Face-framing highlights add dimension and draw attention outward toward the sides rather than emphasizing length. Darker roots with lighter ends create visual interest that distracts from vertical proportions. Strategic coloring techniques can enhance your best features while minimizing the appearance of length.
The right hairstyle works with your natural bone structure instead of fighting against it. Full, layered cuts typically flatter long faces better than sleek, straight styles that can elongate your face further. Waves and curls add width and dimension, creating the appearance of a more balanced face shape. Layering techniques should focus on building volume at cheekbone level rather than adding height at the crown.
20 Super Chic Hairstyles to Flatter a Long Face Shape
Long Layers with Side-Swept Bangs
Long layers with side-swept bangs create a perfect balance for elongated face shapes. This versatile style adds much-needed volume and texture at the sides while the strategic placement of side-swept bangs helps visually shorten the face. The layers break up the vertical lines of your face, creating a more balanced appearance.
Voluminous Shoulder-Length Bob
Shoulder-length bobs with added volume work wonders for long faces by creating width around the jawline. This flattering cut adds dimension exactly where you need it, balancing your proportions beautifully. The volume at the sides counters the length of your face for a more harmonious look.
Textured Lob with Curtain Bangs
Textured lobs (long bobs) paired with curtain bangs offer exceptional face-framing benefits. The textured ends add width while curtain bangs gently frame your features and reduce the perceived length of your face. This trendy combination creates softness around the face while maintaining a chic, modern vibe.
Side-Parted Waves with Face-Framing Layers
Side-parted waves featuring face-framing layers create the illusion of added width. The side part disrupts the symmetry of a long face, while the waves add horizontal volume. Face-framing layers soften your features and break up the vertical lines for a more balanced appearance.
Blunt Bob with Full Fringe
Blunt bobs with full fringes make an excellent choice for creating width and shortening a long face. The straight-across bangs visually cut the length of your face while the blunt ends add width at the sides. This bold, fashion-forward look creates instant balance for elongated face shapes.
Shaggy Mid-Length Cut with Wispy Bangs
Shaggy mid-length cuts featuring wispy bangs add tremendous texture and movement. The layered, textured style creates volume at the sides while wispy bangs help break up the length of your face. This effortlessly cool style offers a perfect balance of structure and softness.
Choppy Pixie with Long Top Layers
Choppy pixies with longer layers on top provide a dramatic yet flattering option for long faces. The textured, choppy nature of this cut adds volume and width where needed. Longer top layers create dimension and balance, resulting in a more proportionate appearance.
Voluminous Curls with Side Part
Voluminous curls styled with a side part dramatically transform a long face shape. The curls add substantial width at the sides while the side part breaks up symmetry. This glamorous style creates a beautiful frame that balances your facial proportions.
Asymmetrical Cuts for Added Width
Asymmetrical cuts strategically add width to one side of your face, creating visual balance. These innovative styles draw the eye horizontally rather than vertically. The deliberate asymmetry works to counteract the length of your face for a more harmonious look.
Long Hair with Curtain Bangs
Long hair styled with curtain bangs offers versatility while addressing long face concerns. The curtain bangs frame your face beautifully and minimize its vertical appearance. Long lengths provide styling flexibility while the bangs do the important work of balancing your proportions.
Short Layered Bob with Texture
Short layered bobs with plenty of texture create width and volume that flatter long faces. The layers add dimension while the shorter length prevents your face from appearing elongated. Texture throughout the style creates movement and fullness at the sides.
Modern Shag with Heavy Fringe
Modern shag cuts complemented by heavy fringe combine retro vibes with face-flattering properties. The shaggy layers add width and texture throughout the style. Heavy fringe shortens the appearance of your face for a perfectly balanced, fashion-forward look.
Wavy Lob with Dimensional Color
Wavy lobs enhanced with dimensional color techniques create both structural and visual balance. The waves add width while the dimensional color adds depth that distracts from facial length. This combination provides a multidimensional approach to flattering a long face.
Collarbone-Length Cut with Side Bangs
Collarbone-length cuts paired with side bangs offer sophisticated face-framing benefits. The length hits at a flattering point while side bangs break up the verticality of your face. This polished yet approachable style creates harmony with your natural features.
Half-Up Styles with Volume at the Crown
Half-up hairstyles with strategic volume at the crown create balanced proportions for long faces. The volume at the top adds height while keeping the sides full creates width. This versatile styling approach works with various hair lengths and textures.
Blunt Mid-Length Cut with Full Bangs
Blunt mid-length cuts featuring full bangs provide structure and balance for elongated faces. The straight-across bangs visually shorten your face while the blunt ends create width. This architectural style offers clean lines that counter the length of your face.
Beachy Waves with Face-Framing Highlights
Beachy waves accented with face-framing highlights combine styling and color for maximum impact. The waves add essential width while strategically placed highlights draw attention outward. This sun-kissed style creates a balanced frame that complements long face shapes.
Textured Pixie with Long Bangs
Textured pixies with longer bangs offer an edgy yet flattering option for long faces. The texture throughout adds volume and width while long bangs soften the forehead area. This bold cut creates substantial side volume that balances facial proportions beautifully.
Short Layered Cut with Wispy Ends
Short layered cuts featuring wispy ends create softness and width that flatter long faces. The layers add volume where needed while wispy ends prevent the style from looking too harsh. This approach adds movement and dimension that counteracts facial length.
Long Layers with Balayage for Dimension
Long layers enhanced with balayage coloring create visual interest that complements long face shapes. The layers break up the length of your face while the dimensional color adds depth and width. This combination offers subtle yet effective balance for elongated proportions.
How to Choose the Right Hairstyle for Your Long Face
Finding the perfect hairstyle for a long face shape requires strategic choices that create balance and enhance your natural features. We’ve compiled essential considerations to help you select a flattering style that minimizes length while maximizing your unique beauty.
Considering Face Length and Proportions
Bangs dramatically transform long face shapes by creating a horizontal line that breaks up vertical length. Heavy fringes cut just below the eyebrows work particularly well as they visually shorten the face while drawing attention to your eyes. Soft layers positioned around the cheekbones add necessary width and dimension, creating the illusion of a fuller, more balanced face shape. Middle partings help hair fall symmetrically on both sides, instantly adding width where long faces need it most. Length-wise, chin to shoulder-length cuts like side-parted lobs provide ideal proportions by effectively bisecting the face and creating a more balanced appearance.
Complementing Your Hair Texture
Straight hair benefits from strategic layers or a fringe to introduce body and texture that straight-haired long faces often need. A blunt fringe paired with long, straight locks creates a particularly striking and flattering contrast. Wavy or curly hair works beautifully with soft layers that add movement and volume without creating excessive bulk or width. Thickness matters significantly when choosing styles—thicker hair supports heavier fringes that stay in place throughout the day, while thinner hair looks best with lighter fringes or softer layers that maintain balance without weighing hair down.
Working with Your Personal Style
Low-maintenance preferences pair perfectly with soft layers or simple fringes that require minimal daily styling while still effectively breaking up facial length. Those who enjoy more ever-changing styling options benefit from versatile cuts featuring layers or fringes that can be styled differently for various occasions and looks. Face-framing techniques, particularly soft layers falling just below the chin, create volume exactly where long faces need it most while highlighting your best features like eyes and lips. These customizable styles adapt easily to your personal aesthetic, ensuring your haircut not only flatters your face shape but also expresses your individual style.
Styling Tips to Maximize Width and Minimize Length
When styling hair for long faces, the right techniques can create the illusion of width while minimizing length. Let’s explore some proven methods to achieve a more balanced facial appearance.
Products That Add Volume
Volumizing shampoos and conditioners serve as the foundation for creating fuller-looking hair that adds width to long faces. Root lifters applied directly to the roots before blow-drying can instantly boost volume where it matters most. Texturizing sprays work wonders for adding grit and dimension, especially when spritzed on layered or choppy styles that already complement long face shapes. Mousse or pomade provides both texture and hold, ensuring your volume-boosting style stays in place throughout the day. These products work best when paired with styles featuring layers, waves, or curls that naturally counterbalance facial length.
Blow-Drying Techniques for Long Faces
Using a round brush during blow-drying lifts hair from the roots, creating substantial volume that widens the appearance of long faces. Drying your hair upside down dramatically increases root lift and overall fullness, which helps counteract vertical length. The cool shot button on your blow dryer sets your style and adds a glossy finish that makes hair appear thicker and more voluminous. Avoid over-drying your locks as this can flatten hair and emphasize facial length—instead, stop when your hair is about 80% dry and let it air-dry the rest of the way. Focus on creating volume at the sides rather than the top when blow-drying to enhance width rather than height for the most flattering effect on long face shapes.
Celebrities with Long Faces and Their Signature Hairstyles
Liv Tyler
Liv Tyler expertly showcases how thick, full bangs paired with long, straight hair can beautifully break up the length of a long face. Her signature style creates a perfect horizontal line across her face, instantly shortening its perceived length while maintaining elegance. The contrast between her heavy fringe and flowing locks adds dimension to her features, making this a go-to look for anyone with a similar face shape.
Jessica Biel
Jessica Biel’s bluntly cut heavy fringe just reaching below her eyebrows demonstrates an incredibly flattering approach for long faces. Her strategic choice not only creates balance but also offers an anti-aging effect that many desire. By drawing attention horizontally across her face rather than vertically, she masterfully minimizes length while highlighting her gorgeous eyes and cheekbones.
Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian frequently opts for a middle parting that adds considerable width to her face shape. This simple yet effective styling technique enhances her jawline and cheekbones while creating symmetry that balances her proportions. The middle part allows her hair to frame her face evenly on both sides, creating the illusion of a wider facial structure.
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker embraces voluminous curls that add width and dimension to her naturally long face. Her trademark tousled waves create horizontal volume that counterbalances vertical length. By focusing volume at the sides rather than the top, she achieves a perfectly proportioned look that’s become part of her iconic style.
Gisele Bündchen
Gisele Bündchen utilizes face-framing layers with a side part to soften her long facial structure. Her signature beachy waves add texture and fullness at the cheekbone level, creating the appearance of width where it matters most. This versatile style works beautifully for casual and formal occasions alike while maintaining ideal facial proportions.
Cher
Cher has experimented with many styles throughout her career, but her most flattering looks incorporate volume at the sides with layers that hit at her cheekbones. Even when wearing her hair long, she typically maintains some element that breaks up the vertical line of her face. Her evolution of styles proves that long-faced individuals can adapt their look while maintaining flattering proportions.
Maintenance and Upkeep for Your New Hairstyle
Finding the perfect hairstyle for your long face is just the beginning—maintaining it properly ensures your look stays fresh and flattering between salon visits. We’ve compiled essential maintenance tips to help you preserve the shape, texture, and volume that makes your chosen style so complementary to your face shape.
Regular Trims Are Non-Negotiable
Regular trims every 6-8 weeks are crucial for maintaining the integrity of your hairstyle. These appointments help preserve the layers that create width and prevent your cut from losing its shape. For styles with bangs that soften long face shapes, more frequent trim appointments may be necessary, sometimes as often as every 3-4 weeks to keep them at the ideal length.
Invest in the Right Styling Products
Using appropriate styling products makes a important difference in how your hairstyle frames your face:
- Texturizing sprays enhance movement and bounce in layered cuts like wavy center-parted bobs
- Volumizing shampoos maintain body in medium shags and layered styles
- Styling wax keeps choppy layers defined in short shaggy mullets
- Curl-defining creams enhance natural curls for all-over curly styles
- Thickening formulas add substance to cropped cuts for thinning hair
Master Your Daily Styling Routine
Consistent styling techniques help maintain the face-flattering effects of your haircut:
- Twist and flip up short layers to add volume at the sides rather than the top
- Use a diffuser when drying curly styles to maintain dimension without creating frizz
- Employ a round brush while blow-drying to create width at the cheekbone level
- Apply styling products to damp hair for optimal distribution and effectiveness
Care for Different Style Elements
Each face-flattering element requires exact attention:
- Bangs maintenance: Brush them daily in their intended direction while still damp, using minimal product to avoid weighing them down.
- Layer preservation: Ask your stylist for exact techniques to maintain your layers at home between appointments.
- Curls and waves: Sleep on a silk pillowcase to reduce friction and preserve texture in styles that add width through curls.
- Color maintenance: Use color-safe products for styles that incorporate face-framing highlights or balayage, as these color techniques are often integral to creating dimension.
Choose the Right Tools
Proper tools help maintain the structure that makes your hairstyle flattering:
- Wide-tooth combs prevent damage to textured cuts
- Boar bristle brushes distribute natural oils without disrupting layers
- Ceramic styling tools minimize heat damage to preserve hair health
- Microfiber towels reduce frizz in styles that rely on smooth texture
By following these maintenance guidelines, we can ensure your chosen hairstyle continues to beautifully balance your long face shape, maintaining the width and dimension that makes it so flattering for your features.
Conclusion: Embracing Your Long Face with Confidence
Finding the perfect hairstyle for your long face doesn’t have to be complicated. We’ve shared 20 stunning options that can beautifully balance your features while showcasing your personal style. Remember that the right cut creates width enhances your natural bone structure and brings out your best features.
Whether you opt for voluminous waves face-framing layers or strategic bangs these hairstyles will transform your look. The key is working with a skilled stylist who understands how to customize these styles for your unique features.
With the right maintenance routine and styling techniques you’ll love how these chic hairstyles complement your long face. Embrace your natural beauty and wear your new look with confidence!
Frequently Asked Questions
What defines a long face shape?
A long face shape is characterized by a vertical length that exceeds the width by approximately 1.5 times. The forehead, cheekbones, and jawline typically have similar widths, with a rounded or slightly pointed chin. This face shape benefits from hairstyles that create the illusion of width and minimize vertical length.
Which bangs work best for long face shapes?
Wide, full, or side-swept bangs work best for long face shapes. They create a horizontal line that breaks up the vertical length of the face. Heavy fringes are particularly effective, while curtain bangs and wispy bangs also provide flattering options that add width and balance facial proportions.
Do layers help with a long face shape?
Yes, layers significantly help balance a long face shape. Soft layers around the cheekbones add width and dimension, creating the illusion of a fuller face. Strategic layering at the sides rather than adding volume on top helps minimize vertical length while enhancing facial features.
Are short hairstyles suitable for long faces?
Absolutely. Short hairstyles like textured pixies with long top layers, choppy bobs, and short layered cuts with wispy ends can be very flattering for long faces. The key is choosing styles that add width at the sides and include some texture or volume to balance facial proportions.
What hair color techniques complement long face shapes?
Face-framing highlights, dimensional color, and balayage techniques work well for long faces. Strategic color placement, such as darker roots with lighter ends or highlights around the face, creates width and draws attention away from vertical proportions, enhancing the overall balance.
How should curly or wavy hair be styled for long faces?
Curly or wavy hair should be styled with soft layers to add width at the sides. Voluminous curls with a side part, beachy waves with face-framing highlights, or wavy lobs create natural dimension that complements long faces. Avoid styles that add too much height at the crown.
Which celebrity hairstyles can I use as inspiration for my long face?
Look to celebrities like Liv Tyler (thick bangs with long hair), Jessica Biel (blunt fringe), Sarah Jessica Parker (voluminous curls), Gisele Bündchen (face-framing layers), and Kim Kardashian (middle parting). Their signature styles effectively balance long face shapes and provide excellent inspiration.
How often should I trim my hair to maintain a style for a long face?
Regular trims every 6-8 weeks are essential to maintain the shape and layers that enhance width for a long face. This schedule helps preserve the structure of your hairstyle, especially for shorter cuts, bangs, and layered styles that are designed to balance facial proportions.
What styling products should I use for my long face hairstyle?
Invest in volumizing shampoos and conditioners, root lifters, and texturizing sprays to create fuller-looking hair at the sides. Products that enhance waves or curls can also help add width. Choose formulations that support the specific texture and style you’re trying to achieve.
Is a middle part or side part better for long faces?
Side parts generally work better for long faces as they create asymmetry and add width. However, middle parts can work if combined with volume-adding elements like waves or layers at the sides. The key is ensuring your parting complements other width-enhancing style features.
