Glam it up with hair extensions.

It used to be a secret kept quiet by celebrities, models, and their stylists. Now, hair accessories such as wigs and extensions are much more mainstream and affordable for women and girls who want thicker, fuller-looking hair. Especially at prom time, girls are opting to use hair extensions to complement or improve their natural hairstyles. They also like the option of looking completely different without permanently dying their hair or navigating the treacherous road of a new haircut.

Long hair is hot right now and extensions are a perfect way to achieve long beautiful tresses without waiting for your own hair to grow out. The technology behind extensions and hair pieces has come a long way and they’re now easy to put in and maintain. The two important things stylists take into consideration when fitting hair pieces, extensions, and wigs are the shape of your face and your skin tone. Matching hair pieces to your face and coloring will help you achieve a look that is most flattering for you.

Where to Start

If you’re not sure where to start in choosing the best hair accessories for your face, begin by measuring the shape. You can do this one of two ways:

Tape Measure

1) Pull all your hair back and secure with a headband. Using a tape measure, measure your face across the top of your cheekbones at their widest point.

2) Measure across your jawline at the widest points.

3) Measure across your forehead to the widest point. You should be about halfway between your eyebrows and hairline.

4) Measure up and down from the tip of your hairline to the bottom of your chin.

Mirror

1) Stand directly in front of a full-length mirror with your entire hairline and head in view. Stand perfectly still and use a non-permanent marker.

2) Place a dot on the mirror at the point where your hair meets your forehead. Then, place a dot at the bottom of your chin.

3) Measure three points for the width. Place dots at the widest points on each side of your jawline, cheekbones, and forehead. You can add more dots to both length and width for more precise measurements.

4) Connect the dots and you will reveal your face shape.

Styles for Your Face Shape

Oval

If your face is oval, you have the most universal shape so you can wear just about anything. Your height is equal to one-and-one-half times your width. Girls with oval faces can usually wear long or short, straight or curly, up or down. If you have short hair and want to get the long tresses so popular now, add length with extensions and give them gentle waves in either an up-do or a half-up-half-down style.

Square

Square faces measure the same width as they do height. The width of your jawline is around the same width as your forehead. If your face is square, you will look great with wispy layers around your face and curls or waves. You can also wear long, sleek layers or add height to the top of your head with a clip-on that adds long layers or cascading curls.

Round

Round faces are also as wide as they are long, with fuller cheeks. You can’t go wrong by adding height to the top of your head. Avoid styles that add volume to the sides though, such as short, curly hair or one-length blunt cuts. Graduated longer layers with tapered ends will make your face look slimmer.

Heart

Not as common as other shapes, heart faces usually have pointy chins with jawlines that are much narrower than your forehead. You look good with both short and long hair but you should have soft layers, instead of blunt or choppy lines.

Skin Tones and Your Hair

Your skin tone is the next determining factor you need to take into consideration in choosing hair accessories. You can get an idea of whether you are warm or cool by standing outside or next to a window and holding a white piece of paper next to your inner arm. Regardless of whether you are cool or warm, you can go with any color usually, just as long as the tone of the color matches your skin’s tone.

If you see yellowish, greenish, peachy or gold undertones on your skin, you are a ‘warm.’ You look best in golden highlights, caramels, coppers, honey browns, and mahogany. If you are ‘cool’ with pinkish or bluish undertones to your skin, you look best in colors like ash blondes and cocoa browns. 

Regardless of the color, you can give yourself an entirely different look for prom or any occasion that isn’t permanent and can be changed in a matter of seconds. Choosing the best hair accessories for your face is easy and will help you look your best if you follow the guidelines for your shape and coloring. Adding length, layers, curls or a whole new color is a very cool solution to make your hair look fuller, longer, or trendy.

Now that these style tricks are so much easier to use, you can glam yourself up at home for prom, pageants, or other events without worrying about how your hair is going to hold up.