Finding the most flattering haircut for you depends on the texture and density of your hair, sure. But it also hinges on your face shape. That's why guys are so often disappointed when they bring a photo of their favorite celebrity's hairstyle along to the barber—those celebs likely have a completely different facial structure to their own.
If your forehead and jaw are narrow but your cheeks are wide (a diamond face shape), what works for you hair-wise is going to be vastly dissimilar to someone with a wide forehead that narrows through the chin (a triangle shape). And that's to say nothing of all the other common shapes out there: oval, rectangular, round, square, heart, oblong, and pear.
For GQ's new Grooming Guide video series, barber Matty Conrad outlined the “ideal” hairstyles for all nine basic face shapes. Watch above or read on for Conrad’s insights, which includes on the dos and don’ts for each shape, as well as how facial hair should factor in to your styling.
How do I determine my face shape?
To determine your face shape, Conrad suggests taking a selfie straight-on with your phone, then using the mark-up function to draw an outline. Look at the overall contrast in width between the forehead, cheeks, jaw, and chin, as well as where the facial features settle compared to the height of the forehead. Your hairline, bone structure, and weight all also impact your face shape.
What face shape do I have?
Now that you've taken your photo and traced the shape, it's time to figure out exactly which category you fall into.
- Oval: Widest at the brow, soft angles until the defined and angular jaw
- Rectangular: Similar to oval, but with a higher forehead and a broader chin
- Round: Almost as wide as it is tall, with wide cheekbones, a soft jawline, and lower-set facial features
- Square: Similar angles to a rectangular, but with lower facial features and a prominent forehead
- Triangle: Wider at forehead and brow, slightly narrower at the cheeks, and very narrow at the chin
- Diamond: Widest at the cheekbones, and slightly more narrow at the forehead and chin
- Heart: Wider forehead and cheekbones, but with a narrow chin
- Oblong: Strong jawline, uniformly broader-set face
- Pear-shaped: Slightly narrow forehead, wide cheekbones, very wide jaw
Remember: Rules Are (Sometimes) Meant to Be Broken
While a lot of the framing around flattering face shapes suggests that you need to “soften” or “de-emphasize” certain features, this isn’t to suggest that any specific face shape has flaws. Rather, it’s all in regards to the fact that our eyes “deem” things as symmetrically optimal; again, this is why some things are flattering on you and others aren’t. So, please just consider the below guidelines as mere suggestions for optimizing haircuts based on visual symmetry.
These aren’t the holy commandments by any means. But do your homework, because the best way to break a rule is to first understand the rule. That’s where confidence is earned, and as Conrad reminds us, confidence is sexy. “It’s good to follow guidelines, but ultimately the choice is yours,” Conrad says. And somebody armed with this information—or with incredible confidence as they go against the grain—will always have a good hair day.
The Best Haircuts for Different Face Shapes
As seen on: Justin Bieber, A$AP Rocky, Ryan Gosling, Henry Golding
If you’ve got an oval face, then you won the genetic lottery—at least when it comes to having the widest range of flattering haircut options. “The oval face shape is the perfect balance between width and height,” says Conrad. Many of the other facial shapes are trying to use their hair and facial hair to create a more oval effect, so count yourself lucky that you’ve already got that as a baseline. Still, certain styles will flatter you more than others.
Do: Keep the sides closely cropped, and wear hair swept up and back, or parted to the sides. You can even slick back hair for an edgy effect.
Don’t: Avoid fringe or anything that might cover the forehead and shorten the length of the face. Don’t detract from your already-optimal oval-ness.
Facial Hair Advice: Consider just a simple mustache, to fully express those angles of the jaw. Going barefaced or perma-stubbled should work great, too.
As seen on: Joe Alwyn, Chad Michael Murray
Rectangular faces are one degree away from a few different shapes. Like oval shapes, they have a defined jaw and wide brow; so many things will flatter them. Like square faces, they’ve also got sharp angles and a prominent forehead, so softness and roundness up top is terrific; and like oblong faces, rectangular guys need to pull focus from anything that adds too much height and emphasizes facial length.
Do: Try a textured or volumized look, emphasizing mass on the sides. Cropping the sides too close on an otherwise textured top will elongate the face too much, so aim for more fullness and definition all around. Sweeping hair parts and business haircuts are a terrific option for these guys. That said, you can also consider close-crop buzzcut hairstyles if you like. “The rounder, more natural shape that gives the head will soften the look of the extreme angles [on the jaw],” Conrad explains.
Don’t: You want to stay away from harsh, lean, angular haircuts, Conrad says. Again, these will overemphasize that length.
Facial Hair Advice: Avoid anything that overemphasizes the jaw’s angles, like chin straps and low-rider beards.
As seen on: Michael Cera, Kodak Black, Jeremy Renner
With softer structure and low-set facial features, guys with round face shapes need to work their angles. Choose styles that add length and sharpness, as well as textural movement to de-emphasize the roundness.
Do: Keep a leaner cut on the sides with a textured top, like a high and tight. Go for texture and movement up top, and perhaps even sharp corners rather than a soft scissor-cut blend that will only further accentuate the roundness.
Don’t: It’s important to avoid anything wide on the sides, which will only pull focus to the face’s width. Avoid fringe as well, which will shorten the face. Again, you want to emphasize height to soften the overall effect.
Facial Hair Advice: Avoid a mustache, since it will widen the face at its already widest point. Try a close-cropped beard on the sides that elongates the face instead of accentuating extremities. Don’t underestimate the power of a long beard, either, which will shift the center of focus down, and away from the width itself.
As seen on: Pedro Pascal, Michael B. Jordan, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Pattinson
It might sound like a LEGO head, but having a square face doesn't make you a square. With width throughout the face and a high forehead, the aim is to add slightly more length and precipitate roundness—which means you don’t want to just add to the top or bottom.
Do: Always emphasize height, but with nearly-matched length on the sides, too. Think of how Robert Pattinson often wears his hair tousled and almost poofed out—this is creating roundness up top to contrast the squareness of his face. The most classic swept styles will work really well here.
Don’t: Conrad says not to shorten the appearance of the forehead with fringe; the height of your forehead is actually working in your favor in terms of adding length to the face.
Facial Hair Advice: Try “anchored” facial hair, which is a mustache paired with chin fuzz and/or soul patch—à la Michael B. Jordan. It elongates your face.
As seen on: Timothée Chalamet, Tom Holland, Danny Ramirez
The key feature of triangular face shapes is that carved-out chin, which graduates upwards and outwards towards the brow. It’s one of the more elusive face shapes, and an eye-catching one at that. Some celebs, like Tom Holland, are categorized here because their chin is so defined and pulled forward away from the jaw.
Do: Try to narrow the forehead—perhaps with a sweeping or parted style in long hair or medium-long hair. (Mr. Chalamet does this often, and Conrad gives you his full endorsement if you want to grow the shag out over a triangle face.) Some fringe styles will also work well, since they will help de-emphasize that width and pull focus to the angular jaw.
Don’t: When it comes to shorter hairstyles on triangle face shapes, Conrad advises against anything wide on the sides. This will only widen the top of that triangular shape.
Facial Hair Advice: You have a perfectly chiseled jaw, which most men would kill for. Why not wear it clean shaven?
As seen on: James Harden, Jason Derulo, Tye Sheridan, Jamie Kennedy
Conrad contrasts two pictures of Jason Derulo in the video. In the first the singer wears his hair high and his facial hair grown out and long. That’s a no-no, since it turns his diamond shape into a very thin, long diamond. Remember: The aim is to make things more oval, which is why the second photo flatters Derulo better. In that one, he’s got a closer cropped high-and-tight with stubbled scruff. Slight roundness up top, nothing drastic on the bottom—et voila, more oval.
Do: Aim for a little bit of height—but only a little. You don’t want to elongate the diamond shape too much. Clean, cropped sides are pair really well with that volume. Rounder styles work nicely, too, with a balance of scissor-cut sides and texturized or swept top (with width on the top and corners). This will deemphasize the narrowness of the forehead, says Conrad.
Don’t: You want to avoid anything angular and overly high, which will negatively contrast your face’s natural angles and cheek width.
Facial Hair Advice: Try one of two polar-opposite options: Stick with stubbled, natural outlines to avoid elongation; or, if you want a fuller, longer beard like James Harden, keep the top nice and cropped since the bottom now has more width.
As seen on: Harry Styles, Nick Jonas, Shawn Mendes
Is it a coincidence that so many pop-music heartthrobs have heart-shaped faces? Perhaps. Also, if you have a natural widow's peak hairline or recessed temples, then you could be heart-shaped by default, says Conrad—even if that wouldn’t be your natural face shape otherwise. All of the elements work together.
Do: Embrace texture, softness, movement, and natural curls. Harry Styles is a good case study in that he often wears hair swept up and to the sides—and loosely—but never straight back. If you choose to wear something high and tight, then make sure to emphasize texture and prioritize soft movement, which will soften the sharp jawline.
Don’t: It’s best not to slick anything back that might emphasize the widow’s peak or recession, though that’s not necessarily a note on symmetry. Given the width of the cheeks, try not to sport anything overly round and wide at the sides. So, movement and texture up top is good, but always let it overpower what’s happening at the sides.
Facial Hair Advice: Avoid anything that emphasizes the chin’s narrowness; Conrad says that most guys with a heart-shaped face will look best with stubble. (A big, bushy beard might suit them just as well, since it can basically strip the jaw of any shape.)
As seen on: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
“Oblong” is a funny word for someone’s face, since it’s a word we might use to describe a curiously large sweet potato, or maybe a football. But in reality it’s not as odd as it looks on paper; these guys actually have pretty symmetrical faces, it’s just that their jaws are characteristically stronger than most, and their faces stay defined from top to bottom.
Do: Go for an ultra-close buzzcut, or even embrace a bald shave. A high fade haircut with a not-too-high top works well too, with soft sides to promote roundness and pull focus away from the face length. Also, you can get away with wide, flowy sides in medium-length haircuts because they balance the length with added width; try to match the length on the sides with the height in this case, for that softer, rounder finish.
Don’t: With oblong faces, it’s wise to avoid low fades of all kinds, unless everything is getting an ultra-close crop. Things like quiffs and high-and-tights will only flatter if there is some length on the sides, too.
Facial Hair Advice: Goatees can be extremely complimentary here, says Conrad, since they create a visual anchor for the chin shape, whereas a beard will only further stretch out your wide jaw and chin.
As seen on: Anthony Anderson, Jonah Hill, Zach Galifianakis
Here’s a face shape that hasn’t been given its rightful attention in most of these types of haircut tutorials. While this isn’t the case for all guys with pear faces, Conrads explains that weight gain around the jawline will often transform one face shape into that of a pear-like shape. This is because the pear-shaped face is characterized by a wide jaw and chin.
Do: Aim for softer, rounder, and (especially) wider hairstyles that de-emphasize the width of the jaw and add roundness and width to the brow and top. Secondly, any hair style that has texture, movement, and flow is going to work really well since it creates more width at the top.
Don’t: You want to avoid anything high and tight, since they will make the top look more narrow and the bottom look more wide, says Conrad.
Facial Hair Advice: Go for a structured, angular beard, meaning that any outlines have corners and angles as opposed to softness and roundness.