Many people with naturally curly hair ask me what kind of hair cut will look best for their face shape and hair texture. You can find a lot of articles about this subject for straight hair, but many times stylist miss the mark when it comes to people with curly or wavy hair. For the purpose of this article, I will focus on what curly hair can do for your face and how to make you look your best! For a person with naturally curly hair, it is essential to have a good haircut if they want to look their best. A good haircut, that is carefully planned and executed, can obviously improve a person’s appearance. If a the haircut is well done, it will be easy to style and the curls will naturally fall in a way that will accentuate a person’s face and body. On the other hand, if the hair is cut poorly, it will be very difficult to style attractively. The key to having attractive curly hair is to find a hair stylist who understands curly hair, knows how to analyze your unique features, can design a haircut to accentuate your unique beauty, and then can execute a haircut according to this plan. This is easier said than done, and requires training and practice. I think that a lot of curly girls wear their hair straight because their hair stylist doesn’t know how to design a hairstyle that looks good curly, and they don’t know how to style it curly. So the stylist cuts the curly hair as if it were straight hair, blows it out straight, and then instructs the client to do the same. What a shame it is to hide beautiful naturally curly hair. All of my clients have naturally curly hair, and I always teach them how to style their hair curly. I make it easy for them to have beautiful hair. I will now tell you how I do this. When designing a haircut for curly hair, I always analyze my client’s face shape, facial symmetry, head shape from all angles, and body structure. We naturally perceive on oval face shape as being the most attractive. So when I design a haircut, I always consider what will make their face look more oval. The ideal head shape is in the dimensions of 5×7 (width x height) from both the front and the side. This is particularly important when looking at a person’s profile. I consider this when deciding where on the head to create more volume and where to remove volume. In addition to complimenting a person’s face, a good haircut will also compliment their body. Sometimes big hair can be sexy and dynamic, but other times it is inappropriate. A shorter woman can be swallowed up by too much hair, especially if she has long thick curly hair. The point is to make my client’s face look beautiful, not to hide her in the midst of an enormity of hair. A long neck can be made to look more proportionate by a hairline that falls at the center of the neck. A short neck can be made to look longer by a haircut that falls below the shoulders. There are ideal dimensions within a person’s face that are useful to examine. For example, it is most attractive when the face is divided into three equal zones. These zones are the hairline to the bridge of the nose, the bridge of the nose to the bottom of the nose, and the bottom of the nose to the chin. These areas can be made to look more proportionate by the haircut. Also, it is always best to accentuate symmetrical features and detract from any asymmetrical features. This is done by creating lines in the haircut that accentuate symmetry, and detract from any asymmetry. Here are some suggestions to consider when deciding what type of haircut will look best for your curly hair and your unique face shape. Haircut guidelines for a round face: When a client has a round face, my goal is to elongate their face and make it look thinner. This can be accomplished through: A center part or a side part that exposes more of the forehead. Layers that fall along the cheeks and thereby slim the face. Or longer layers that begin tapering away from the face below the chin Shorter layers at the crown that create volume at the crown and thereby elongate the head. A perimeter that falls below the chin. If a person with a round face has thick tight curls, I avoid cutting straight across bangs and I also avoid cutting a perimeter between their jaw and chin, because doing so will exaggerate the roundness of their face. Square face: When my client has a square face, my goal is to elongate that face, soften the jaw, and slim the forehead. This can be accomplished through: A center part that exposes the center of the forehead. A perimeter that falls below the chin. Volume at the crown and apex of the head. Layers that fall along the sides of the cheek and jaw. Curly hair is great for this because the curvature of the curls softens a square jaw. This is true for all curl types, whether loosely wavy, tightly curly, or anything in between. Heart shaped face: The goal is to reduce the width of the forehead and widen the lower part of the face. This can be accomplished by: A center part of side part that exposes part of the forehead. Bangs that fall at the eyebrows and taper downward at the sides of the head. Layers that angle steeply away from the face. A perimeter that falls between the jaw and the base of the neck. With curly hair, layers that begin at the level of the ear, jaw or chin will be great for creating the illusion of width at the bottom of the face. Expect tighter corkscrew curls to create more width than looser waves which will fall closer to the head. Oblong face: The goal is to minimize the length of the face and increase the width. Curly hair is perfect for this because curls naturally create width. This can be accomplished by: Heavy bangs that fall at the level of the eyebrows and are cut straight across, or slightly angled. With curly hair, I usually find slightly angled bangs to be more attractive. Layers that begin around the ears to accentuate width. A perimeter that falls at the level of the chin. Face framing layers the angle steeply away from the face. Oval face: This is the ideal face shape, so all options are available. I like to expose an oval faces by designing a haircut that lets the face be shown. Lines within the haircut should accentuate symmetrical features and detract from asymmetrical features. When deciding perimeter length, I will look at their body size to determine what length is most flattering. All head shapes are different, so I always look at the head from the side to evaluate ways to create an attractive profile. The hair should make the head look round at the crown and occipital bone and then taper at the nape. The suggestions that I have presented here are not hard and fast rules, just ideas to work with. When designing a haircut, a stylist must always consider hair growth patterns, hair density, general curl type and differing curl types on various parts of the head, and also how to accentuate the hair color. Every one of us has a unique look, and we all want to look our best. A good haircut is a critical part of our appearance. If you have curly hair or wavy hair, consider yourself lucky, because curly hair that is cut well can make all face shapes look beautiful.
