What is it about a face-framing hairstyle that makes your facial features pop? Face-framing hair styles are a lot like wearing clothing that is tailored perfectly to fit your body. It throws a spotlight on your eyes, cheekbones, and jawline and accentuates your best features. Even when you’re running out the door with little or no makeup on, these are the haircuts that serve major style and make you look 100 times more polished.
As Hairstylist Justin Hickox explains, long, one-layered hair “can be beautiful, but at the end of the day it just doesn’t have the ability to accentuate things about our face.” Hickox also says many of his clients become frightened by the word “layers” because they don’t want their hair to look like a ‘mushroom” or misshapen in any way.
But when cut correctly, these layered haircuts are among the best out there, especially for women over 50 who are looking for a lift to their faces. If you’re in the mood for a change, give one of these cuts a consideration.
1. Asymmetrical Lob
The asymmetrical lob, shown here on Gal Godot, stops at around the collarbone — which is a great length for anyone who doesn’t want too-short hair, but is ready to part ways with very long hair that can often just sit there lifeless if not styled well. The magic about this cut though is how one side is slightly shorter than the other, calling immediate attention to facial structure and features.
2. Layered Bob
The shorter you go, the more difficult it can become to create that face-framing style you’re after — but bobs offer the best of both words. The chin-length style is short enough to give body and movement to thin and fine hair, and it has long enough layers that can be styled toward or away from your face. The trick to getting this cut (and any layered cut) right is to ask your stylist not to cut too many choppy layers at the bottom of your hair, which can make it look thin and straggly. Layers should be balanced and blend into the rest of your hair.
3. Lob With Face-Framing Layers
As a testament to the versatility of the lob, we offer one more great style: a lob with longer, face-framing layers. To avoid the dreaded mushroom look (where the top of your hair has a great deal more volume than the bottom), Hickox stresses the importance of not cutting layers too short. They should be strategic and blend well into your overall haircut.
4. Shoulder-Length Waves
Any time you add waves or curls to a hairstyle, you increase the appearance of your hair’s density by a mile. If you’re concerned about thin-looking hair, keep it at shoulder length (or shorter) and add a few waves with a heatless wave tool that won’t damage your hair with intense heat. And if you have natural texture that you’ve been straightening for years, try giving your straightening iron a break and letting it shine through.
5. Textured Full Pixie
If your first thought when you think of the classic pixie is “short and flat,” it’s time to rethink this flattering style. The pixie can certainly have very short pieces all around, but that’s not the rule. This versatile cut can also be kept short and neat around the sides and back and feature longer layers on top that can be styled so that they are textured and voluminous, giving your hair a thicker appearance and spotlighting your facial structure and features.
