What is an oblong face shape?
An oblong face is clearly longer than it is wide, usually more than one and a half times. The forehead, cheekbones and jaw are close in width, so the sides of the face run fairly straight from the temples down. Some guides split this into "oblong" (with a softer, rounded jaw) and "rectangle" (with an angular jaw); the styling advice is the same for both.
The defining feature is length. Often it comes from a tall forehead, sometimes from a longer chin, sometimes from both. Because the widths are even, nothing interrupts the vertical line, which is why bangs and side volume make such a visible difference.
Oblong is easy to misread from a selfie. A phone held close to the face makes every face look longer and narrower, so many people who get "oblong" from a close-up photo are actually oval. Measure from arm's length before you decide.
How to tell if you have an oblong face
Clearly longer than it is wide, with fairly straight sides and a forehead, cheekbones and jaw of similar width.
- 1Forehead
- 2Cheekbones
- 3Jawline
- 4Face length
- Length
- Clearly more than 1.5 times the width, often 1.6 or more
- Widest point
- Fairly even: forehead, cheekbones and jaw close in width
- Forehead
- Often tall, with a straight or slightly rounded hairline
- Jaw and chin
- Jaw close to the cheekbones in width, chin can be long
- Your face is noticeably longer than it is wide, more than one and a half times.
- The sides of your face run fairly straight from the temples down to the jaw.
- Your forehead, cheekbones and jaw are similar in width.
- Your forehead is tall or your chin is long, or both.
How to measure an oblong face
Pull your hair back and look straight into a mirror, or take a photo at arm's length with the phone at eye level. Then compare four distances:
- Forehead: across the widest part, roughly halfway between your brows and hairline.
- Cheekbones: across the highest points, just below the outer corners of your eyes.
- Jawline: from the corner of your jaw below one ear to the same point on the other side.
- Length: from the center of your hairline to the tip of your chin.
For an oblong face, the length is clearly more than 1.5 times the cheekbone width, and the three widths are close to each other. If your length is closer to 1.5 and the jaw narrows gently, check oval. Our face shape detector measures all four from a photo, on your device, and warns you if the photo was taken too close.
Best hairstyles for an oblong face (women)
Add width and break the vertical line. Bangs shorten the face, volume at the sides widens it, and cuts that end around the chin or shoulders create horizontal lines. Avoid extra height on top and long, flat lengths.
Straight bangs shorten a tall forehead and add a strong horizontal line, the most direct way to balance length.
A bob that ends at the chin puts volume at the sides of the lower face and cuts the length in two.
Shoulder-length hair with body at the sides adds the width an oblong face benefits from.
A softer option than blunt bangs: they still cover part of the forehead and open out toward the cheekbones.
Best haircuts for men with an oblong face
A short, straight fringe covers part of the forehead and keeps the top flat, so the face reads shorter.
A longer, textured fringe brought forward breaks the vertical line without adding height.
Short and even all over, with a little fullness at the sides, so nothing adds height.
Medium-length hair that sits at the sides adds width around the face.
Haircuts to think twice about
None of these are rules. They are the cuts most likely to work against an oblong face, and why.
Long, flat hair parted in the middle adds two vertical lines and makes the face read even longer.
Height on top adds length the face already has, especially with tight, short sides.
A high knot or bun lifts the eye up and exposes the full length of the forehead.
Glasses for an oblong face
Deep frames cover more of the face vertically and add width.
A wide, strong top line runs across the face and breaks up its length.
The heavy top bar adds a horizontal accent at brow level.
Small rimless frames add almost no width and leave the length unbroken.
Narrow, shallow rectangles add little depth; choose deeper frames instead.
Choose frames with some depth, as wide as your face or slightly wider, with decorative temples or a strong top line.
Brows, beard and contour for an oblong face
Brows
Fairly straight, horizontal brows suit an oblong face best, because they add width across the face. Keep the arch low and soft and let the tail extend slightly outward. Avoid high, sharp arches, which pull the eye upward and add length.
Beard styles
On an oblong face, the beard's job is to add width, not length. Keep the sides fuller and trim the chin short and level. A goatee or a beard that grows long at the chin pulls the face further down, so keep those for later or skip them.
Width at the sides and a short chin add width and keep the length in check.
A neat, even beard adds a little width along the jaw without lengthening the chin.
Light stubble adds texture at the sides without adding any length.
Makeup and contour placement
If you like contour, place a soft shade along the top of the forehead at the hairline and under the chin, which visually shortens the face. Apply blush horizontally across the cheeks, from the apples toward the ears, rather than angled up. Highlight the top of the cheekbones toward the outer face to add width.
Blend the edges well and keep the shade only slightly deeper than your skin. Bangs do more for an oblong face than contour ever will, so if you have a fringe, you can skip forehead contour entirely. To see how bangs or a chin-length cut would look on your own face, the full analysis previews haircuts on your photo.
Celebrities with an oblong face shape
Names commonly cited for the oblong face shape in style guides and magazines, not measurements. Lists differ between sources, and hair, angles and makeup change how a face reads in photos, so use them for the overall impression only.
Oblong or another shape?
The shapes most often confused with this one, and how to tell them apart.
If your face is about 1.5 times as long as it is wide and the jaw narrows gently, rather than running straight down, you are more likely oval.
If your widths are even and the jaw is angular but the length is only a little more than the width, look at square.
If your face is long but the cheekbones are clearly wider than both the forehead and the jaw, look at diamond.