Hairstyles for rectangular faces

A rectangular face tends to be quite long and to have little variation in the widths between the temples, cheekbones and jawline. To compare, a heart-shaped face is wide at the cheekbones, curving in along the jawline to a small, almost pointed chin, while a rectangular face will be almost straight along those points when viewed full-face. This can offer great strength to your appearance, and you will easily be able to achieve an almost androgynous and matter-of-fact appearance without too much effort, if that is a look that you like.

Having a rectangular face offers you the best of both worlds, allowing you to change up your look fairly simply by adapting your hairstyle to suit your chosen mood. Let us have a look at some suggested styles:

For a smooth and polished business-like London city look, you could opt for a sleek short bob that curves out around your face to soften the plane of your jaw. You could also try a tight crop such as that sported by Emma Watson after she had completed her work on the Harry Potter franchise. Do bear in mind too that a short hairstyle might emphasise the strong straight lines of a rectangular jaw: allowing a softening effect can help to alleviate this. This could be something like a long, asymmetrical fringe, or a bit more length or fullness around the sides of your head. If in doubt, speak to one of our hairdressers to see if they think your preferred style will work well with your hair and face shape.

These styles are very easy to maintain, and with the right styling, you can let your hair grow from its shortest until it is brushing your shoulders or even longer – or you can keep your ideal short look neat and tidy with regular trims. Choosing styles like these give you flexibility with regard to both your look and how often you need to visit your stylist.

If you're not sure that sleek and business-like is for you, there are also plenty of casual hairstyles that will suit a rectangular face.

A feathered crop is great fun, being relatively easy to achieve and requiring only a little work each morning. The feathering softens the lines of the face, adding femininity and intrigue to the face. Halle Berry’s feather-cut perfectly demonstrates this look, giving her a classy polished style along with a hint of feminine fun.

Short bubble curls are another fun way to break up the strong lines of a rectangular face. This is especially the case when the curls are arranged at the cheekbone, as with Rita Ora’s recent blonde look, as it enhances the cheekbones and minimises a wide chin and strong jawline. This effect could then be enhanced, if necessary, with careful make-up to contour the cheekbones and jawline to further achieve the desired effect.

Those with rectangular faces sometimes think that they cannot have long hair, but this is not true. Sarah Jessica Parker has a long, rectangular face, and she carries her long hair by allowing width at the sides of her face with a gentle wave. This prevents the long hair from adding even more length to an already long face. Width can be added with styling the hair into layers or by adding curls as they are needed.

Hopefully, some of these ideas for a rectangular face will be useful to you when you are next deciding on how best to change up your look, but we always offer a personal conversation with tailored advice from our expert stylists. To find out more about our salons in London, Horsham, Marlow, Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells, click here!