Why Oval Faces Suit Almost Any Haircut
Most haircut advice is about balance: adding width to narrow places or length to short faces. An oval face is already balanced. It's about one and a half times as long as it is wide, the cheekbones are the widest point, and the forehead and jaw are similar and gently rounded. There's nothing to correct, so the haircut can follow taste, hair type and lifestyle instead.
Oval is also the most common face shape. In Ollie's face scan of 4,032 celebrities, 22% came out oval, more than any other shape. Celebrities it measured as oval include Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie, Priyanka Chopra, Emma Thompson and Julianne Moore.
Cuts That Show an Oval Face Off Best
Blunt bob: a chin-length bob, which can widen other face shapes, frames an oval face neatly. Pixie cut: short cuts show the balanced outline and cheekbones; Anne Hathaway's short cut for Les Misérables is a well-known example. Long layers: movement without hiding the face. Lob: collarbone length, straight or wavy.
Curtain bangs or a full fringe: an oval face can carry a straight, heavy fringe that would shorten a round face too much. Shag or wolf cut: lots of texture works because there's no width to worry about. Centre parts: an oval face is symmetric enough to wear a centre part with any length.
The Few Things That Can Go Wrong
An oval face can look long if you add a lot of height at the crown and keep the sides flat, or wear very long straight hair with a centre part and nothing around the face. If your face is at the longer end of oval, a fringe or some side volume keeps it balanced.
Heavy curtains of hair hiding the cheekbones waste the shape's main advantage. And it's worth checking you really are oval: oval is the shape people most often assume, and it's easily confused with oblong or heart. For the men's version, see haircuts for oval faces (men).
Choosing Between So Many Options
When almost anything works, decide by hair type and upkeep. Fine, straight hair suits blunt bobs and lobs, which make the ends look thicker. Thick or wavy hair suits layers and shags, which remove weight. If you want low maintenance, choose a length that's easy to tie back. If you like a change, a fringe is the cheapest way to get one.
The free face scan in Ollie Stylist confirms whether you're oval and ranks cuts for your shape and hair texture. With Ollie Pro you can try several on your own photo before you choose.
Read more: Celebrities With Oval Faces, and Why Oval Is Hard to Pin Down