If you’re unaware of the ‘face shape theory’, a recent viral TikTok video demonstrated how different ponytail placements can change how your facial shape looks. With over a million views a month after it was initially shared, the viral video showed the user’s face shape changing depending on whether her hair was tied into a low, middle, or high ponytail. Visibly, viewers noticed that a low ponytail gave her a softer look, whereas the high ponytail accentuated her facial bones and lines.
@tinaprokas Proof that your ponytail placement will change your face shape 🤯 my favourite will always be a high ponytail! My face feels the most snatched when I wear it high 👀 used @BALMAIN HAIR hair mousse to sleek back my hair #sleekponytail #ponytailhack #ponytailtutorial #ponytail
Credit: @tinaprokas on TikTok.
Hair expert Andrew Fitzsimons weighed in on the online debacle by explaining that the height of a ponytail can, in fact, change the appearance of a face by drawing attention to specific features depending on its position. Echoing sentiments drawn from the original TikTok video, Fitzsimons explained that a high ponytail can provide a lifting effect that emphasizes the cheekbones. In contrast, a low ponytail helps elongate the face and soften features for a more sophisticated look. This is just one example of how your face shape affects the style you’re going for.
Hair isn’t the only thing you have to pay attention to if you want to achieve a certain look, however. Your eyewear choices are also predominantly affected by your face shape, and you can combine all three to highlight your best features or create a more flattering look. Below, we’ll take a closer look at how to style your eyewear and hair depending on your face shape:
Eyewear
This Article Includes
Today, eyewear, such as glasses and shades, come in various shapes and silhouettes. While some styles, like the teardrop-shaped aviators, remain known and loved classics despite being decades old, many companies also continue to innovate eyeglass shapes and designs thanks to technologies like 3D printing and the use of new materials in production, which provide more flexibility. With so many different styles and glasses shapes available, choosing the right pair for you can be overwhelming.
In general, experts recommend balancing out your prominent features using your eyeglasses. For example, rounder faces tend to benefit from more angular frames for contrast, while sharper faces can be softened using rounder or curved lenses like aviators.
Nowadays, many digital platforms designed to help detect the best glasses frames for face shape can help you take a closer look at your facial features and even use color theory to identify the right eyewear style and design for you. Eyewear provider LensCrafters’ cutting-edge Frame Advisor tool can analyze your face shape, size, and facial features like face width, jawline shape, and interpupillary distance to provide a personalized selection of frames.
When choosing glasses for your face shape, it can also help to determine whether you’re trying to reduce prominent facial features like cheekbones or chin length or trying to highlight said features. In such cases, you can go bold by pairing angular glasses with a sharp, angular face shape.
Hairstyle
Just like eyeglasses, it’s not uncommon to see that some hairstyles and haircuts may look better on some face shapes than others. As illustrated in our introduction, even the height of a ponytail can determine the vibe of your look for the rest of the day, and an even more different vibe can be created when you choose to let your hair down.
As with eyewear, contrasting hairstyles and silhouettes with your face shape is an excellent general rule. For example, some hair experts will caution against going for round hairstyles like a bob if you’ve got a round face shape. However, some specifically styled bobs can undoubtedly work as round face haircuts, like the French bob that uses blunt ends to lengthen the neck and stylize your profile, or layered bobs that can alter your face shape or accentuate certain facial features like your cheekbones or chin. Meanwhile, if you have a square face shape, you can mess with textured layers of varied lengths to round out your face by creating volume.
While the right eyeglasses and hairstyle can certainly elevate your look, it’s important to note that what works best tends to be what makes you feel the most confident.
The rules mentioned above can be an excellent place to start, but you can always mix, match, and experiment to see what works best for you. For more on the latest in lifestyle and local and national news, check out the rest of our articles here at West Alabama Watchman.
