Best haircuts for a diamond face (men): fill out the forehead and temples, keep the sides

The short answer

A diamond face is widest across the cheekbones. The forehead above and the jaw below are both narrower, so the outline comes to a point at the top and the bottom, with the cheekbones as the corners in between.

The cuts that suit it add width where the face is narrow: a fringe or textured top brought forward across the forehead, and sides left full enough to fill out the temples. In barber terms, sides at a #3–#4 guard and 6–8 cm of texture on top, worn forward. What to avoid is the opposite: very short sides and slicked-back styles that expose the narrow forehead and temples.

The usual caveat applies. Face-shape categories are a styling convention, not a scientific finding. They are a handy way to think about where hair adds width, not a measurement of anything more.

How to tell if your face is diamond-shaped

Diamond is one of the less common labels, and it is easy to mistake for oval or heart. The best evidence is a photo taken from about 1.5–2 metres, straight on, at eye level, with your hair pulled back off the forehead and temples.

Avoid judging from a close selfie. At arm's length the camera enlarges the middle of the face; a 2018 paper in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery modelled the effect and estimated that a photo at about 30 cm makes the base of the nose roughly 30% wider than in an undistorted view. That middle-of-the-face swelling is exactly what makes cheekbones look wider than they are, so a close selfie can turn almost any face into a "diamond".

From the distance photo, check three things:

1. Cheekbones against forehead. With the hair off your face, the width at the cheekbones should be clearly greater than the width across the forehead at the temples. There is often a visible inward curve at the temples.
2. Cheekbones against jaw. The jaw, measured just below the ears, should also be clearly narrower than the cheekbones.
3. The chin. The jaw narrows to a fairly small, often pointed chin.

If the forehead is about as wide as the cheekbones and only the jaw narrows, you are closer to heart-shaped. If the cheekbones are only a little wider than forehead and jaw, you are nearer oval.

What suits a diamond face, and why

A fringe, or a front brought forward

Hair across the forehead adds width at the top of the face, which is one of the two narrow points. A textured fringe sitting partway down the forehead, or a crop with the front left down rather than lifted, does this without looking heavy. On a diamond face the fringe can be slightly fuller than on other shapes, because covering forehead width is not a problem here — adding it is the point.

A textured top

6–8 cm on top, cut with texture so it has some body and falls forward or to one side. Texture matters more than length: hair that sits up and out slightly at the front and temples reads wider than hair that lies flat to the head.

Fuller sides

This is the move most diamond-faced men lose by accident, because so many default cuts start with a fade. Leaving the sides at a #3–#4, or scissor-cutting them, keeps hair over the temples and above the ears. That fills in the narrow area just above the cheekbones, so the cheekbones no longer stand out on their own.

Medium and longer cuts

A side-swept medium cut, curtains, or longer layered hair all add width at the forehead and around the jaw — the two narrow ends of the diamond. Wavy and curly hair does this naturally; let it sit full at the sides.

What to avoid, and why

Very short sides. A high skin fade or a tight clipper cut at the sides removes hair right where the face pulls in at the temples. The cheekbones then become the only width in the outline, and the diamond shape is exaggerated.

Slicked-back styles. Combing everything straight back exposes the full narrowness of the forehead and temples. It is the same problem from the front.

Related cuts that tend to push the same way:

• A tall top over tight sides, which narrows the outline above the cheekbones.
• Buzz cuts, which take away the width you could have had. If you want short, a #3–#4 all over is gentler than a skin fade.

These are not banned, just worth knowing what they do.

The beard question

The jaw is the other narrow point of a diamond face, so facial hair that adds width there helps. A beard kept fuller at the chin broadens the lower face and gives the outline a flatter base, which balances the cheekbones from below.

• Let the chin carry a little more length than the cheeks.
• Keep the cheek line natural rather than cut high, so the beard does not emphasise the cheekbones further.
• Keep the neckline tidy, about a finger's width above the Adam's apple.

There is more on shaping a beard along the jaw in beard shape for a softer jawline.

What to say to the barber

Say what the cut should do, then the numbers:

"My cheekbones are the widest part of my face, so I want to keep some width at the sides and the forehead. Keep the sides at a #3 or #4 — no high fade — and leave 6–8 cm of texture on top that I'll wear forward."

Add one "no": "Please don't slick it back or push the front up when you finish." Bring a reference photo of someone with a similar hair type. The complete script, including how to check the cut before you leave, is in how to ask a barber for what you want.

Not sure of your shape? Find it from one photo.

How it shows up in photos

Hard light from the side or from above deepens the hollows under the cheekbones and makes a diamond face look more angular. Softer, even light from the front flattens that out. A camera at eye level, a metre or more away, keeps the cheekbones from looking wider than they are in person.

An honest limit

A haircut cannot change your cheekbones and does not need to. Strong cheekbones are a feature; the cut just stops them from being the only thing the outline is about.