What is a rectangle face shape?
A rectangle face shape is tall, narrow, and defined. A rectangle face shape is characterized by being taller than it is wide. The face is slender and straight, with the forehead, cheekbones, and jaw all about the same width. Someone with this face shape typically has a high forehead, well-defined cheekbones, and a square and angular jaw. Celebrity examples: Olivia Wilde, Joan Smalls, Riley Keough, Sarah Jessica Parker, Henry Cavill, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jay-Z, Brad Pitt The rectangle face shape is like a mix between the square and oval face shapes. The rectangle and oblong face shapes are sometimes used interchangeably. However, people with an oblong face shape typically have a more rounded and narrow chin. Meet the wikiHow Experts Shun Pittman is a master cosmetologist, global salon educator, and author with over 25 years of experience. Jamie Bushman is a master hair stylist with over 22 years of experience. Craig Whitely is a men's grooming expert and barber with over 15 years of experience. Nini Efia Yang is a makeup artist specializing in bridal makeup with over 10 years of experience. Paul Julch, MA is a personal wardrobe stylist with over 25 years of experience.
How to Tell You Have a Rectangle Face Shape
Measure the length and width of your face. The best way to determine your face shape is to measure your face. Use a flexible measuring tape to find the length of your face (hairline to chin). Then, measure the width of your forehead (at the widest point), cheekbones (at the most prominent point), and jawline (from the corner of your jaw to the tip of the chin, then multiply by 2). You likely have a rectangle face shape if: The measurement for your face length is greater than the measurements for your forehead, cheekbones, and jaw widths. The measurements for your forehead, cheekbones, and jaw are about the same width. If your measurements don’t fit the description for a rectangle face shape, don’t worry! It’s possible you have a different face shape. We’ll go over the different face shapes in the sections below.
Women’s Hairstyles for a Rectangle Face Shape
Try a shoulder or chin-length bob. Medium-length and short hairstyles tend to look best on rectangle face shapes, as very long hair can pull down your face and make it look longer. Shorter styles draw the eye up and add volume to the sides of your face, helping it appear more balanced. For instance, opt for a classic long bob, or go with a chic and trendy French bob. Go with a blunt cut, or opt for a more textured and choppy style.
Add layers to your hair. To balance out your angular features and add width to your narrower face, try a layered cut. For a sleek and simple style, go with long layers and flattering face-framing pieces. Or, opt for an ultra-layered and trendy look with a shag or wolf cut. If you prefer wearing your hair long, adding voluminous layers that hit around your chin and shoulders is a great way to flatter your face shape.
Get side-swept or curtain bangs. According to master cosmetologist Shun Pittman, bangs are a great way to shorten your face and add width, bringing balance to your features. Opt for styles with a lot of volume and movement to soften your face shape, like side-swept, curtain, wispy, and long, blunt bangs. Bangs are a great addition to all hair types, whether your hair is straight, curly, wavy, or textured.
Wear your hair wavy or curly. Styling your hair into loose waves, soft curls, or tight ringlets adds volume and softness, helping your face appear wider and more balanced. The extra dimension also helps lift your face up, giving you the appearance of a shorter face. If you have naturally straight hair, use a curling iron to get soft or tight curls. Or, braid your hair while it's damp to get natural loose waves. If you have naturally wavy hair, spritz your hair with sea salt spray and scrunch your locks to add volume. If you have naturally curly hair, coat your locks with a moisturizing styling cream and dry your hair with a diffuser.
Part your hair to the side. Master hair stylist Jamie Bushman says, “Anytime that you part the hair on the side of the head and sweep it across the face, it has the ability to kind of minimize the forehead a little bit” and give a “face shortening effect.” A side part also creates volume, which helps to add width and softness to your more narrow and angular face. Go for a deep side part on whichever side of your face you prefer, or a more subtle part that’s slightly off-center.
Avoid ultra-long and straight styles. For the most part, finding a flattering cut for your face shape is about balancing your features. So, aim to stay away from any hairstyles that add length to your face or emphasize its slenderness and angularity. This includes long hair past your shoulders, straight styles that lack volume, and sharp, angular cuts. Very short styles, like pixie cuts, can sometimes draw attention to the length and width of your face, too. These styles don’t look bad on you, they just draw attention to your features instead of balancing them. So, if you like the length and angularity of your face and want to emphasize these features, feel free to rock any of these styles! Remember, these tips are just suggestions, not rules. The best hairstyle for you is one that makes you look and feel good.
Men’s Hairstyles & Facial Hair for a Rectangle Face Shape
Choose short styles that add width and volume. To balance out your long, narrow, and angular features, opt for styles that add volume to the sides of your face. Keep your hair a short to medium length all over and style the top and sides with a texturizing pomade or mousse to create dimension and movement. Some great styles to try include: Textured crop: Cut the top of the hair slightly longer than the sides. Then, use a styling product to slightly tousle your hair for extra width and dimension. Messy waves or curls: Cut your hair to a short or medium length (around the ear) all over. Spritz on a sea salt spray while your hair is damp to create loose, tousled waves. Or, finger-comb a styling product through your hair to define your natural waves or curls. Wolf cut: Cut your hair to about chin-length. Add lots of shaggy layers and long curtain bangs that hit around your ears or cheeks. Use a styling product to scrunch and tousle your hair for extra volume and dimension. Textured fringe: Cut your hair to a short or medium length. Then, add a layered fringe that partially covers your forehead, like a straight across style or swoopy curtain bangs. Use a styling product to tousle the fringe and hold it in place. Side part: Cut your hair to a short or medium length. Then, part your hair to one side. For a sleek look, comb and smooth your hair into place with a styling product. For a messier look, scrunch and tousle your hair with a styling product. What to avoid: Styles that are very cropped or short on the sides while the top is kept long. This can add height to your face, making it appear longer. Very angular cuts can highlight the angularity of your face rather than softening and balancing it.
Go with facial hair that rounds and softens your jawline. With your strong, defined jaw, you typically look great without any facial hair. However, men's grooming expert Craig Whitely says growing out a beard or mustache is a great way to add width to your rectangular face and help it appear shorter. Just opt for styles that are more rounded, as this helps balance your angular features. Whichever style you choose, keep it trimmed and tidy. Some great options include: Short full beard: Grow out your beard along your chin, jaw, and upper lip. Trim the hair to a uniform length that’s no more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. Circle beard: Grow out your mustache so it's slightly wider than the corners of your mouth. Connect the hair to your chin in a circular shape, keeping your jawline and cheeks clean-shaven. Van Dyke beard: Grow out your beard and mustache to a short length (about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long). Then, shave your facial hair to disconnect your mustache and create a goatee, removing the hair from your cheeks and jaw. Balbo beard: The balbo beard is similar to the Van Dyke beard, except you keep some facial hair on your jawline. Just keep the hair short around your chin and jawline. Thick and wide mustaches: If you don’t like facial hair on your chin or jawline, just grow out your mustache. Go with broad styles that add width to your face, like a walrus, chevron, or handlebar mustache.
Glasses for a Rectangle Face Shape
Choose wide and round frames to balance your face. Whether you’re looking for prescription glasses or sunglasses, personal wardrobe stylist Paul Julch, MA recommends opting for a pair that is oversized with defined, horizontal lines. He says this adds width to your face and helps it appear shorter. Curved frames are great for softening the angles of your face, like oval, circle, cat-eye, or aviators. Look for styles with thick frames or bold colors. These styles draw attention away from your face, which can help your face appear less tall and narrow.
Makeup for a Rectangle Face Shape
Contour your forehead, chin, and cheekbones. According to makeup Artist Nini Efia Yang, “Whatever you contour, you're taking it away” and “making it smaller.” So, to shorten the height of your face, apply contour across the top of your forehead and along the edge of your chin. Then, sweep on contour under your cheekbones. This makes them pop and look more prominent, drawing the eye up and adding width to your face. Blend the contour into your hairline and neck to get rid of any harsh lines and achieve a more natural look. Use a bronzer or contour that’s a few shades darker than your skin tone—powder, liquid, and cream products are all fine to use.
Apply blush horizontally on the apples of your cheeks. To shorten and widen your face, concentrate your favorite blush on the apples of your cheeks. Smile to find the apples of your cheeks (which are the round, fleshy areas) and add a bit of blush. Then, sweep the product horizontally across your cheek, blending it out into your hairline. According to Pout Pro makeup artist Alana Schober, applying blush on the apples of your cheeks gives you a more youthful vibe, while taking the product into your hairline lifts up your face for a more snatched look.
Add highlighter on top of your cheekbones. While contour makes your features smaller, adding a light highlighter makes them bigger, says Yang. When placed on top of your cheekbones, the highlighter can make them appear even more prominent to help widen your face. Simply dust a bit of a matte or shimmery highlight right on top of the bone, sweeping it up into your hairline. The highlighter also lifts the eye up, which can help your face appear shorter, too.
Define your eyes with winged eyeliner. Defining your eyes with bold makeup is a great way to draw the eye up and make your face look shorter. Plus, the winged-out look creates a horizontal line that can help your face appear wider. To draw winged eyeliner: Use a pen or liquid eyeliner to draw a thin line along your upper lash line. Extend the line from the outer corner of your eye, taking it as long or short as you like. Connect the tip of the line to your upper lash line in a straight line. Fill in any blank spaces with the eyeliner and thicken the line to your desired look.
Accessories for a Rectangle Face Shape
Wear clothes, jewelry, and hats that balance your face shape. The accessories you wear can also complement your face shape and help it appear shorter, wider, and softer. For instance, check out some of these styling tips to bring balance to a rectangle face shape: Clothes: Wear wide necklines to add width to your face, like boat neck, scoop neck, square neck, and off-the-shoulder. Opt for more rounded necklines when possible for a bit of extra softness. Jewelry: Choose rounded earrings to help soften your features. Dangly statement earrings are a great choice to help widen your face and lift the eye up for a shortening effect. For necklaces, go with shorter chains rather than long ones, as they can elongate your face more. Hats: Go for flat, wide-brimmed hats to shorten your face and add width to the sides. For instance, try floppy sun hats, wide-brimmed fedoras, bucket hats, and berets styled to the side.
Is a rectangle face shape attractive?
Yes, lots of people find rectangle face shapes attractive. High, prominent cheekbones and strong, square jaws are seen as signs of beauty for men and women in many cultures. Plus, the long face length and the high forehead often give people with this face shape an elegant and regal look, which is totally beautiful!
Other Face Shapes
There are several other common face shapes. If you’re not sure whether you have a rectangle face shape or not, there might be a different face shape that suits you better. Check out the other face shapes and what they look like below: Oval face shape: The face is longer than it is wide, with a rounded forehead and chin that are slightly narrower than the cheekbones. Square face shape: The length and width of the face are about the same, with strong and angular features. Round face shape: The length and width of the face are about the same, with a rounded forehead and jawline Heart face shape: The face is widest at the forehead and cheekbones, and tapers into a narrow, pointed chin. Diamond face shape: The face is widest at the cheekbones and narrower at the forehead and chin. Triangle/Pear face shape: The face is widest at the jawline and narrower at the forehead.
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