Our face shape plays a significant role in determining the most flattering hairstyle. For individuals with a round or fuller face, the goal is often to create the illusion of a slimmer, more elongated face. With the right haircut, styling techniques, and texture, it’s easy to balance the proportions of your face and highlight your best features. This article will explore how you can hide a fat face with hair by focusing on the most effective styles and methods.
The Importance of Face Shape in Hair Styling
Before diving into specific hairstyles, it’s essential to understand the significance of face shape in hair styling. Different face shapes—oval, square, heart-shaped, and round—require different styling approaches. For individuals with round or fuller faces, the aim is to create balance by elongating the face and reducing the appearance of fullness.
Hairstyles that Help Slim the Face
1. Long Layers Add Length
Long layers are an excellent choice for those who want to elongate their face. Layers work to add movement and texture, drawing attention away from the width of the face. They help break up the roundness, giving the illusion of length.
Why long layers work: The layering softens the face’s edges and prevents a bulky, boxy appearance. This is ideal for creating a leaner, more elongated look.
How to style long layers: For added volume, blow-dry with a round brush, ensuring the ends flip slightly outwards for a soft finish.
Framing the Face with Layers
Framing the face with layers around the cheekbones and jawline works wonders. It draws attention to your eyes and cheekbones while minimizing the prominence of the lower half of your face.
Avoid Blunt Cuts
Blunt cuts, especially those that stop around the chin, emphasize the width of the face. Opt for a layered, textured style instead, which helps break up the roundness.
2. Side-Swept Bangs for an Asymmetrical Look
Side-swept bangs are one of the best options for slimming a fuller face. They create a diagonal line that visually cuts across the face, making it appear longer and more angular.
Why side-swept bangs work: The diagonal movement of the bangs tricks the eye into seeing more length rather than width. It breaks up the roundness of the face.
How to style side-swept bangs: Use a flat iron to add a slight bend, ensuring they are sleek and directed to one side of your face.
Avoid Straight Across Bangs
While side-swept bangs are ideal, straight-across bangs tend to shorten the face and emphasize its roundness. Avoid blunt or straight bangs, as they can make the face appear wider.
The Right Length for Bangs
Keeping your side-swept bangs at a medium length—just grazing the eyebrows or slightly below—can be more flattering. Too short bangs may emphasize your face’s fullness.
3. Opt for a Long Bob (Lob)
A long bob, also known as a “lob,” is another slimming haircut. Unlike a short bob, which can emphasize the cheeks, a lob that falls below the chin elongates the face.
Why a lob works: It adds length to your face and frames it in a way that doesn’t accentuate the roundness. The longer length helps pull the focus downward.
How to style a lob: Style with soft waves or slight curls for added texture. Avoid straightening the hair completely, as this can emphasize the roundness.
Texturize Your Lob
Adding texture to a long bob is key to breaking up the roundness of the face. Textured ends and beachy waves give the illusion of volume and elongation.
Length Matters
Ensure the lob falls just below the chin or to the collarbone. If the cut is too short, it may highlight the fullness of the cheeks.
4. High Ponytail or Updos for Lift
A high ponytail or an updo can give the illusion of a longer face. By pulling the hair up, you add height, which balances out the width of the face.
Why updos work: The added height draws the eyes upward, creating a vertical line that makes the face appear slimmer.
How to style a high ponytail: Avoid slicking all the hair back tightly. Instead, add some volume at the crown and leave a few face-framing pieces out for a softer look.
The Importance of Volume
When styling an updo, avoid making it too sleek or flat against your head. Adding volume at the crown elongates the face, while flat styles emphasize width.
Face-Framing Tendrils
Letting some tendrils fall out of your updo softens the overall look and helps to balance your face’s proportions.
5. Middle Part for Symmetry
A middle part works wonders to add balance and symmetry to a round face. When paired with long hair or long layers, it can help elongate your face visually.
Why a middle part works: It divides the face into equal sections, helping to balance out the fullness and create the illusion of length.
How to style a middle part: Ensure your hair is sleek with a bit of volume at the crown to enhance the slimming effect.
Middle Part with Waves
To add dimension, consider loose waves or curls. These provide texture, which balances the face’s roundness.
Avoid Flat Middle Parts
A flat middle part can exaggerate the roundness of your face. Add some volume at the roots or soft curls to prevent this.
SEE ALSO: Hairstyles for Fat Faces With Round Cheekbones: 10 Looks to Try Now
Additional Hair Techniques for Slimming the Face
1. Add Volume at the Crown
Adding volume at the crown of your head can make your face appear slimmer. This technique draws the eyes upward, helping to elongate the face.
How to create volume: Tease the crown of your hair or use a volumizing product when blow-drying. Avoid heavy, thick styles that flatten at the roots.
Avoid Heavy Bangs
Heavy bangs add weight to the front of the face, making it appear even fuller. Keep bangs light and wispy if you choose to have them.
2. Highlighting and Lowlighting
Strategic use of color can play a huge role in creating the illusion of a slimmer face. Highlights around the crown and temples, combined with lowlights at the sides of the face, help to draw attention upward and reduce the face’s width.
Why highlights and lowlights work: They add dimension and contour, visually breaking up the roundness of the face.
How to style highlighted hair: Soft waves or textured layers can show off the color variation, enhancing the slimming effect.
Avoid Dark Colors Near the Cheeks
Dark hair around the cheeks can make your face appear fuller. Lighter tones toward the crown will balance this effect.
Strategic Placement of Highlights
Keep highlights focused toward the top and middle of your hair, avoiding too many highlights at the sides, which could widen the face.
Haircuts to Avoid for Round Faces
1. Short, Chin-Length Bobs
A bob that stops at the chin emphasizes the cheeks and jawline, making the face look rounder. Opt for a longer cut, like a lob, instead.
2. Straight, Blunt Bangs
Blunt bangs cut straight across your forehead can create a horizontal line that shortens and widens the face. Instead, choose side-swept or curtain bangs to create vertical movement.
3. Excessive Volume at the Sides
Avoid haircuts or styles that add too much volume to the sides of the head, as this widens the face. Focus on adding height or texture to the top of your head instead.
Conclusion
In summary, selecting the right hairstyle can significantly impact the appearance of a fuller face. Key techniques include opting for long layers to add length, side-swept bangs to create a diagonal line, and a long bob to elongate the face. High ponytails or updos can provide lift and balance, while a middle part offers symmetry. Additionally, adding volume at the crown, using highlights and lowlights strategically, and avoiding styles that add width to the sides can further enhance the slimming effect. By understanding and applying these hair styling principles, you can effectively create a more elongated and balanced appearance.