How To Find The Perfect Bangs For Your Face Shape

Paul Percival, founder of Percy & Reed, adds that it’s key to consider how your hair texture and hairline will work with a fringe, as well as how much time and effort you’re willing to put into styling one. “There are so many people that love the idea of a blunt-cut fringe but have, as an example, wavy hair,” he says. “This is fine if you’re happy to spend five minutes blowing your fringe out when needed, but if you’re a wash-and-go kind of girl, it might drive you crazy. Basically, if you’re happy to maintain a fringe, then pretty much anyone can make it work.”

How to find the perfect fringe for your face shape

As a general – and very basic – rule of thumb, Percival advises choosing a style that gives your face a more oval look. Make sure you have a consultation with your hairstylist and be clear about what you do and – perhaps more importantly – don’t want. Alternatively, try a clip-in fringe, to experiment with the style before committing fully.

How to identify your face shape

One of the easiest ways to find out the shape of your face is to use an online calculator. Omni Calculator is a free tool that asks for your forehead and cheek width, along with your jawline and face length. It asks if your features are sharp, somewhat sharp or round and then, using these answers, tells you the shape of your face.

“Fringes can suit almost everyone as they’re completely bespoke to you – and that’s the best thing about them,” explains Issey Cook, a senior stylist at Larry King South Kensington. “It’s your face shape and features that will determine the length, width and thickness of your fringe.”

For oval faces, Cook says that any fringe goes, whether it’s short, long, micro or blunt. For someone with a heart-shaped face, she “would lean towards something soft and wispy.” If you do want to go short, she would recommend leaving the sides a little longer to frame the centre of the face.

In her view, round faces tend to suit a longer, curtain-style fringe. It helps elongate the face and soften the overall look, she says.

For a full breakdown of the best fringe for your face shape, find our full inspiration guide below.

Heart-shaped face

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“For heart-shaped faces, I suggest asking for a fringe that is more of a half-moon shape,” says Percival. “By this, I mean you want the fringe to be shorter in the middle and longer towards the sides.”

Round face

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Rounder faces require some length to help balance and elongate the face. “You might want to try a grown-out bang, something that’s a bit more flexible that you can lift up and switch from side to side, or maybe go for a sweeping fringe,” King says.

Long face

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“It’s all about long, grown-out-looking fringes,” says Percival. “That can be a curtain fringe, or bangs styled to the side, but essentially it’s all about keeping the length that little bit longer.”

Square-shaped face

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Square-shaped faces should try curtain bangs or more choppy, ’70s-style fringes: “Both work really well for this face shape – anything that blends into soft layers around the face will work well,” says Percival.

Oval face

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The world of fringes is your oyster! Whether micro, blunt or grown-out fringe, those with oval face shapes can afford to be super experimental with their cut.

A universally flattering fringe

Emma McIntyre