The Ultimate Guide to the Pear-Shaped Face: Hairstyles, Glasses, & Makeup

What is a pear-shaped face?

Pear-shaped faces are wider at the jawline than the forehead. The pear face shape is sometimes called the triangle face shape. Someone with this face shape typically has an angular jaw that is the widest part of their face. Their forehead is the narrowest part of their face, with their cheekbones lying somewhere in the middle. Female celebrities with a pear-shaped face: Jennifer Aniston, Meghan Markle, Kelly Osbourne, Jenna Ushkowitz, Billie Piper, Geena Davis, Minnie Driver Male celebrities with a pear-shaped face: Keith Urban, Édgar Ramírez, Jason Derulo, Jonah Hill, Matt Bomer Pear-shaped faces are similar to square-shaped faces. However, in square-shaped faces, the forehead is the same width as the jawline.

How to Tell You Have a Pear-shaped Face

Measure the width of your jawline, forehead, and cheekbones. To determine your face shape, grab a measuring tape or ruler and measure the widest point of your jawline, cheekbones, and forehead. Then, compare your measurements to see which one is the widest. If you have a pear-shaped face: Your jawline should be the widest measurement. Your cheekbones should be slightly less wide than your jaw. Your forehead should be the narrowest measurement. A different way to determine your jawline measurement is to measure from just below your ear to the center of your chin. Then, multiply the measurement by 2. According to professional makeup artist Dr. Anjuli Yera, another way to find your face shape is to “divide your face into 2 halves” horizontally. Identify the shape of the top and bottom half and then put them together.

Women’s Hairstyles for a Pear-shaped Face

Get side-swept, curtain, or wispy bangs. Adding bangs to your look is a great way to bring balance to your pear-shaped face. Whether you prefer the look of side-swept, curtain, or soft and wispy bangs, they’ll help add volume and width to your forehead while softening your more angular jawline. Styles to avoid: In general, avoid getting blunt, straight across bangs. These bangs hide your forehead, which can make it appear more narrow. The sharpness of this style can also emphasize your jawline.

Give your hair a deep side part. Another easy way to add fullness to your forehead and soften your jawline is to part your hair in a deep side part. Creating an asymmetrical look draws attention away from your jawline, helping your face appear more balanced. To add more volume and soften your look even further, style your hair into loose waves with a curling iron or straightening iron.

Go for a long-layered cut. Cutting layers into your hair is a great way to create more volume and fullness towards the top half of your head, helping your face shape look more balanced. Just ask your hairstylist for long layers that hit below your jawline to help it appear symmetrical with your forehead. To give your layers extra oomph, blow dry your hair and apply a volumizing mousse to make your hair bouncier and fuller.

Try a trendy and short shag cut. The shag haircut is a choppy, layered look that adds lots of fullness and volume to your forehead, which helps it appear wider. The messy, casual style also helps to soften your jawline and harmonize your face. Just keep the cut to a short or medium length to maximize the volume around your upper face. Cut layers above and below your jawline instead of directly in line with it. This helps draw attention to your midface and neck, rather than your jaw.

Add loose waves or curls to long hair. If you prefer your hair longer, style it into rolling, retro waves or loose, beachy curls. This helps lift your hair up and add fullness around your forehead. Keeping your hair long helps your jawline appear softer and more in balance with your face. If you have natural waves or curls, add long layers to thin out your hair so it hangs straighter, rather than emphasizing your pear-shaped face.

Men’s Hairstyles for a Pear-shaped Face

Try a voluminous quiff or pompadour. Adding fullness to the crown of your head is a great way to make your forehead appear wider and balance out your jawline. Just keep the top of your hair long and the sides short, like with a taper fade, to properly style either of these looks. To make a quiff: Apply a bit of pomade to your wet hair. Then, blow dry your hair upwards to add volume. Simply use your hands or a comb to brush your hair upwards and back. To make a pompadour: Run pomade through your damp hair, pushing it up and backward. Then, brush your hair back with a round hair brush while blow-drying your hair to set the style.

Style your hair into a side part with fringe. Whether you like your hair short, medium, or long, brushing it into a side part helps widen your forehead and balance out your face. To bring more volume to your upper face, add side-swept bangs. Style your bangs with pomade or a texturizing cream to keep them in place and achieve a more tousled look.

Opt for a layered, mid-length cut. If you prefer a longer style, cut your hair a little above or below chin length. Then, add lots of choppy layers. The longer style helps add fullness to your forehead while the layers help soften your jawline. Apply a volumizing mousse or texturizing sea salt spray to tousle your hair and add a few messy waves.

Grow a beard or mustache to balance out your face. When paired with a voluminous hairstyle, a full beard is a great way to add dimension to your face. Just opt for a close-cut beard so you’re not adding fullness to your jawline. Or, simply grow out a full mustache to draw the eye up and bring balance to your mid-face. A great in-between option is to grow a goatee. Just keep it close cut, too. Regularly trim and shape up your beard about every 2 to 4 weeks to keep it clean and close cut.

Glasses for a Pear-shaped Face

Choose round, oval, cat eye, or aviator frames to balance your face. Whether you’re looking for prescription glasses or sunglasses, these rounded frames help soften the angles of your jaw while adding volume to your forehead. Feel free to opt for an oversized pair of either of these frames to add even more width and fullness to the top half of your face. Square and rectangle glasses are a great option if you want to complement your structured jawline. The sharper lines of these frames highlight your angles while still adding width to your forehead.

Eyebrow Shapes for a Pear-shaped Face

Opt for long, arched brows to complement your face shape. To help balance out your jaw, draw your brows longer so they extend farther on your face. Then, create a soft arch toward the tail of your brow to complement your more angular jawline. Another great option is a rounded brow with a subtle arch. This also helps elongate your forehead while softening your jawline.

Makeup for a Pear-shaped Face

Contour your cheekbones and under your jawline. Choose contour that’s a few shades darker than your skin tone. Then, lightly brush the contour under your cheekbones, extending from your hairline to the corner of your mouth. To help slim down your jaw, apply a light layer of contour along the outer corners of your jawline. Contouring helps balance out your face. The cheekbone contour helps them stand out, adding more width to your upper face, while the jawline contour helps your lower face appear more narrow.

Apply blush on top of your cheekbones. Adding blush is a great way to add dimension and width to your upper face. Simply focus your blush placement on top of your cheekbones and draw it up to your temples. For an even more lifted look, apply the blush above your brows.

Hats for a Pear-shaped Face

Wear stiff and medium-brimmed hats to bring balance to your face. Stiff, medium-brimmed hats help add structure and width to the top half of your face, which compliments your wider, more angular jawline. Some great options include fedoras, Bozeman hats, and baseball caps.

Is a pear-shaped face attractive?

Yes, the pear-shaped face is an attractive face shape. The pear-shaped face is one of the least common face shapes, so it usually stands out from the crowd. The highlight of this face shape is the structured, angular jawline which gives people with this face shape a sculpted and regal appearance. The rarest face shape is the diamond, while the most common face shapes are the round, oval, square, and heart.