There’s something so fun about being able to put on an accessory that completes your outfit and pulls a look together.
There’s something even better about being able to choose an accessory that helps you feel better about an area of your appearance that you’re self-conscious about.
If you’re unsure how to pair a headband with your face shape or forehead size, keep reading:
Here’s How Headbands Make Foreheads Look Bigger:
Depending on where the headband is placed, they can make a small forehead look bigger or make a large forehead look smaller. Wearing it higher on your head makes your forehead look bigger. If you wear headbands too tightly, you can cause your hairline to recede, making your forehead bigger.
Table of Contents
Do Headbands Look Best on Everyone?
It speaks to this accessory’s versatility that a headband can look great on just about anyone.
When you combine all of the factors, such as your face shape, haircut, and choice of headband, there is sure to be something that suits your physical features and style.
Headbands can also be dressed up or down, with some headbands designed for your calming nighttime routine and others the perfect complement to a red-carpet outfit.
There’s no shortage of celebrities opting to be featured on their Starbucks run with a headband adorning their heads.
Do Headbands Make Your Forehead Look Bigger?
Accessories can be a great way to either focus on features you like about yourself or draw attention to another feature.
Headbands are great no matter how you want to style your forehead, and they can work in conjunction with your haircut to create the look you want.
For Those With Small Foreheads
If you have a small forehead and want to style your hair to help balance your forehead with your other features, a headband can be a great accessory to help do that.
Whether rocking a full-on fringe, a pixie cut, or a wispy, side-swept bang, popping a headband can help keep those locks in place.
A headband can also help draw the eye upwards, giving the illusion that your features are longer than they are. This will help ensure that your forehead appears bigger, so go ahead and rock that headband with a bow or twisted knot at the top!
If you have a small forehead, you’ll want to wear the headband pushed a little further back on your head instead of positioning it very close to the hairline. This, again, helps to create the illusion of continuity instead of breaking it up with a harsh hairline or headband.
For Those With Large Foreheads
If you’re self-conscious about the distance from your eyebrows to your hairline, you may think it would be crazy to wear a headband. If you were to push your hair backward, you might accentuate the thing you’re already not feeling great about.
However, if you wear a continuous loop headband, you could easily wear it down on top of your forehead and your hair. This would disguise the line between where your hairline begins.
Headbands can also be great for those with large foreheads who have opted for a shorter hairstyle, whether you’re wearing something that adds a pop of color or helps keep your hair under control if you’re in an awkward growth stage.
Do Headbands Look Good on All Face Shapes?
Another piece of the perfect headband puzzle is the shape of your face.
Not every headband will look good on every face shape, but in general, there’s a headband for everyone, regardless of their face shape.
Those with round faces should pick headbands with knots or bows that are off-center, whereas those with diamond faces will want something delicate that won’t elongate their features. If you’ve got a heart-shaped face, part your hair to the side and rock any headband on top of your part.
Your fashion possibilities are endless, but are all of these headbands good for your hair?
Can Headbands Thin Your Hairline?
We always want our accessories to help our look without harming our health, and headbands can sometimes protect our hair. However, in others, they can cause a condition known as traction alopecia.
Essentially, if you wear headbands consistently, especially those that are very tight or create tension in your hair, you can damage the hair follicles. Given enough time, your hair will stop growing from the follicles that have been most damaged, which will almost always be the ones lowest down on your forehead.
In this way, prolonged use of headbands (or any hairstyle that causes tension on your hairline) will eventually cause your hairline to recede.
Luckily, traction alopecia is reversible if you change your behavior as soon as you notice excess hair loss around the hairline. Switch up your hairstyle every few weeks, and if you have long hair, consider going for a shorter trim.
We can forget how much our hair weighs; longer hair will put more tension on those hair follicles.
Reduce Infections
Also, if you’re using headbands to work out or sleep in, if they’re not clean, you could get infections in your hair follicles, which could also cause hair loss.
Those types of headbands usually act as sponges for bacteria, as well as our skin’s natural oils.
That’s not a great combination to put on your skin day in and day out, so wear a headband once and toss it in the washing machine.
Are Hats Better than Headbands for Large Foreheads?
A hat with a large brim can help cover your forehead, which can be helpful if you want to wear your hair pulled back on a hot day. In that case, you might want a baseball cap or a brimmed hat.
However, if you pull a hat low down over your eyes, it will not look particularly stylish.
It’s hard to say if a hat or headband is better for a large forehead since so much of it comes down to personal preference. But if you have a large forehead, don’t be afraid to wear either a headband or a hat!
Sources:
21 Best Haircuts to Complement a Bigger Forehead | Byrdie
15 best hairstyles for small foreheads that look great in 2021 | Tuko