While celebrities and runway trends tend to inspire ideas for haircuts and styling, experts say it’s actually the proportions of the face that should be top consideration when picking a look.
“All faces have some degree of asymmetry. As a hair designer, I balance out faces with cuts and styles to create the illusion of symmetry,” says New York stylist and salon owner, Mark Garrison.
QUIZ: How Symmetrical is Your Face? Use Our Face Flip Tool!
Whether you’re consulting with an expert on a new cut or are having some fun experimenting with a new style in front of the mirror, taking your unique facial features into consideration is a must, says San Diego stylist and salon owner, Jet Rhys.
Keep in mind that our brains don’t detect most asymmetries (studies prove it!), so it’s not like people are zeroing in on your slightly off-kilter features (that even supermodels have) if you don’t have the “right” haircut.
But if you want to add another dimension to styling your hair, these clever cut and styling tricks can help you achieve balance with your features, whether or not you decide to go the route of shears.
Side parts are a cure-all. Whether the asymmetry is in your nose, eyes or lips, a deep or off-center side part can instantly bring harmony to any imbalanced facial feature, says Garrison. Using a pick comb, neatly part hair off to the side opposite the larger feature.The deeper you part, the more dramatic the effect. You can even experiment with a zig-zag part, to bring an angular look to round faces. The one style you’ll want to stay away from is the center part, which will call attention to any facial asymmetry.
Balance foreheads with bangs. An uneven hair line can make foreheads appear asymmetrical, while a wider top half can also make foreheads appear overly prominent.
MORE: What Does a Symmetrical Face Mean for Your Beauty? A simple solution is to cut a full set of feathery bangs that hit at or near the eyebrow, advises Rhys. Stay away from blunt bangs, as Garrison says the style will have the opposite effect of emphasizing unbalanced features.
Even out eyes with an angled bang. Slightly unbalanced eyes are more common than most think, and a hair styling fix can provide a more permanent option than makeup that comes off at bedtime.When cutting soft, wispy bangs, a stylist can ever so gently angle the bang so that the tips of strands hit a bit lower on the higher eye, creating the illusion of more evenly placed pupils, says Garrison.
Counteract an uneven jawline with layers. If one side of your jaw is longer or more angular looking than the other, you can cancel out the difference by cutting more volume and layers on the top, says Rhys. A side-swept bang that falls on the shorter side of the jaw and then flows into layers that create movement and volume is an especially effective way to create counter balance.
Work an uneven updo. Perfectly symmetrical updos that sit straight atop the head, like a round bun, will accentuate any facial imbalances in the same way that a center part does, warns Garrison.Instead, create shapes that aren’t even, like a messy teased bun or side-swept chignon. Adding a deep part or angular braid wrap are other modern ways to change things up in a flattering way.
Lift sloped lips with an angled bob. If one side of your lips falls lower than the other, you can make up for the difference in height with an angled bob, says Garrison.The back layers should build height at the back by laying on top of one another, and then slowly lengthen as you work your way to the front of the face, finally ending somewhere below the chin. The strong line of the descending bob will create an angle that makes your lips appear more even, says Garrison.
