16 Best Hairstyles for a Long or Oblong Face Shape
Width, volume, and horizontal energy — here’s the formula that works.
Photo Credit:@issarae
Long and oblong face shapes have a natural elegance and grace—the vertical length reads as both commanding and striking. The secret to really owning your look is knowing the best hairstyles for an oblong face that add the horizontal dimension needed to bring your proportions into balance. The goal isn’t to make your face look shorter, but to create a frame that makes your features the main character.
If you’ve been searching for the most flattering hairstyles for a long face shape, you're in the right place. Here are 16 inspo looks that deliver the width, volume, and horizontal energy that long or oblong faces thrive on all centered on natural hair and protective styles.
Need Help Finding Your Face Shape? Take This 2 Minute Quiz To Find Out
Who this is for: Your face is noticeably longer than it is wide. Your forehead, cheekbones, and jaw are all roughly the same width — just stretched vertically. You may feel like you have a lot of forehead.
Your Face Shape At A Glance
Photo Credit:@kellyrowland @naomi
A long or oblong face is noticeably longer than it is wide, with the forehead, cheekbones, and jaw sitting at roughly the same width. Styles that add horizontal volume and width work with these proportions to create balance. The key is avoiding extra height at the crown (which adds more length) and instead directing volume outward and sideways. Bangs are one of the most powerful tools available.
Celebrities With a Long Or Oblong Face Shape
Kelly Rowland is a beautiful reference for long face styling her best looks consistently feature body, movement, and volume that opens up the sides of her face. When she wears styles with width and horizontal presence, the proportions are stunning. Naomi Campbell has one of the most iconic faces in fashion history and she consistently gravitates toward styles with volume and presence rather than going very long and sleek. Both show that a long face with the right style isn’t something to minimize — it’s something to frame.
01. FULL FRINGE BANGS
Photo Credit:@charlottevalentine
Full fringe bangs might be the single most effective style choice for a long face. A strong horizontal line across the forehead visually shortens the face and creates a proportional balance that changes the entire look instantly. This is the move.
Pro tip: Try on a lace front wig with fringe bangs before committing — seeing the look on your actual face is the most convincing thing you can do.
02. RELAXED PIXIE CUT — SHORT AND SLEEK
Photo Credit:@keke
A short relaxed pixie is one of the best hairstyles for an oblong face, even though many assume that going short adds more length. The secret is in the silhouette a relaxed pixie allows for precision layering that creates horizontal interest right at the eye and cheekbone level. By keeping the sides sleek and adding a bit of textured volume or a side-swept fringe, you shift the focus outward, creating a more balanced, proportional look.
Pro tip: Ask your stylist for a side-swept bang or "whispy" layers. This breaks up the vertical line of a long face shape and adds that necessary horizontal energy to the top half of your frame.
03. NATURAL AFRO — WIDE AND FULL
Photo Credit:@sonia_barbie_tucker
A full, wide natural afro adds horizontal volume on both sides of the head simultaneously, which directly addresses the long face’s proportional needs. The wider the fro, the more balanced the overall face shape looks. Direct volume outward, not upward.
04. BOB WITH SIDE VOLUME
Photo Credit:@allyiahsface
A bob with volume at the sides adds width at the jaw level exactly what a long face needs. The width created by the bob’s fullness at the sides broadens the visual proportions of the face and creates balance with the length above.
Pro tip: Ask for a blowout or round brush finish that adds volume outward at the sides rather than backward.
05. CURTAIN BANGS — HORIZONTAL SWEEP
Photo Credit:@slayology
Curtain bangs create a horizontal visual line at the forehead that shortens the face’s perceived length. The wider and more sweeping the curtain, the more pronounced the balancing effect. For long faces, go with the widest curtain you can.
06. CORNROWS — HORIZONTAL PATTERN
Photo Credit:@aceofbraids.to
Horizontal cornrow patterns are a direct application of the long face styling principle: lines going across the head add visual width. Horizontal cornrows literally map width across the skull, creating a bold graphic look that broadens the face’s proportions.
Pro tip: Ask your braider to run the rows horizontally rather than front-to-back for the maximum width effect.
07. BOX BRAIDS — SHOULDER LENGTH WITH VOLUME
Photo Credit: @ZoeKravitz
Shoulder-length box braids with volume at the ends add width at the level of the jaw and below. The braids fanning outward at shoulder level create the horizontal dimension that a long face benefits from — without the added height of longer styles.
08. MARLEY TWISTS — SHORT AND FULL
Photo Credit:@iamtabithabrown and @hairbyjasminemarchell
Marley twists have a natural width and body to them that makes them great for adding horizontal volume. Worn short to shoulder length with full texture, they create a wide, rounded silhouette that beautifully balances a long face’s vertical proportions.
Pro tip: The thicker the Marley hair used, the more width and volume you get. Go jumbo for the most pronounced balancing effect.
09. WASH-AND-GO — BIG AND WIDE
Photo Credit:@frizzymeli
A wide, voluminous wash-and-go is one of the most natural and effortless ways to add horizontal width to a long face. When curls extend outward rather than downward, they create the side-to-side dimension that brings balance to the long face’s vertical proportions.
10. SIDE-PART BLOW-OUT WITH VOLUME
Photo Credit:@thenaturaltouchofficial
A blow-out styled with volume directed sideways rather than upward creates a wide, horizontal silhouette that balances a long face. The side part also adds a diagonal element that draws the eye across rather than up and down.
Pro tip: Use a round brush to push volume outward at the sides rather than lifting it straight up.
11. PIXIE CUT — NATURAL TEXTURE
Photo Credit:@jadegodbolt
A natural pixie cut on a long face creates a compact, wide silhouette that beautifully reduces the face’s perceived length. The texture and volume of natural curls in a pixie adds width that a sleek pixie wouldn’t, making this a great option for natural-haired women.
12. KNOTLESS BRAIDS — SHOULDER LENGTH
Photo Credit:@issarae
Keeping knotless braids at shoulder length rather than longer prevents the added vertical length that could make a long face look even longer. At shoulder length, the braids add a nice frame without extending the face’s vertical line downward.
13. LOC BOB
Photo Credit: @evamarcille
A loc bob is a power move for long faces. The fullness of locs at shoulder length creates significant horizontal volume at the jaw level, and the bob length stops the eye from following the face’s vertical line downward. Bold, wide, and beautifully balanced.
14. FAUX HAWK OR MOHAWK BRAID
Photo Credit:@shanformd
A faux hawk concentrates volume in the center of the head rather than upward, which creates width at the top of the face without adding height. The close sides and wide center create a balanced, strong silhouette that works well for long faces.
15. SPACE BUNS — LOW AND WIDE
Photo Credit:@itszeenaedwards
Low space buns placed wide on each side of the head add significant horizontal width at the mid-head level. The width created by two outward buns directly addresses the long face’s proportional needs far more effectively than high space buns would.
Pro tip: Place the buns lower (at the temple or ear level) rather than high for maximum width and balancing effect.
16. BANGS + VOLUMINOUS STYLE
Photo Credit:@chrissybales
Bangs plus volume is the ultimate long-face combination. Bangs create a horizontal line at the forehead that shortens the face’s perceived length, and a voluminous style behind the bangs adds width throughout. Together they create the most comprehensive balancing effect available for this face shape.
Pro tip: Any bang style works here — full fringe, curtain, side-swept. The most important thing is the horizontal element at the forehead.
The 3 Power Moves For This Face Shape
Stylist Note: Bangs might be the single most effective style choice for a long face. A full fringe or curtain bangs create a horizontal line across the forehead that makes the face look shorter and more balanced instantly. If you’ve been curious but not sure — try them on a lace front wig first. Seeing it on your own face is always the most convincing thing you can do.
Long faces are elegant and striking. The goal is never to shrink your face — it’s to frame it in a way that feels balanced and intentional. Width, volume, and a good bang are your tools. Start with one and see how the whole look shifts.
Ready to go deeper? Read the full face shape guide for all 6 face shapes, all the inspo.
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