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Hairstyle Tips for Eyeglass Wearers
The Right Hairstyles to Combine With Your Eyeglasses
One part medical device, one part fashion accessory, modern eyeglasses serve a function with fashion.
For many people, they are necessary for daily function, while for others - who prefer contact lenses for daily wear - they are a part-time
nuisance. For everyone who wears eyeglasses, they are a source of concern about how they make them look.
Today's featherweight lenses and designer frames are a far cry from the thick, heavy lenses and blocky
utilitarian frame styles of twenty years ago. These new styles are designed to be unobtrusive and attractive, even flattering. But just
like every fashion trend, eyeglass styles evolve. In the seventies, women's eyewear styles were large and rounded. By the eighties, the
fashion was for shorter, but wider, eyeglasses. And the nineties brought a trend toward smaller eyeglasses.
Now in the first decade of the new millennium, we have a resurgence of larger and wider frame styles
in addition to the smaller sizes. The style that's right for someone depends largely on personal taste and what will look best on her
face's shape. Because of this, we see a lot of different women with a lot of different eyeglass styles. And believe it or not, eyeglasses
can completely change the look and balance of your facial features, which makes choosing a hairstyle that works with the eyeglasses
style you wear an important decision.
The first thing we must remember is that our goal in choosing a hairstyle is always to establish
balance and harmony in the facial features. Eyeglasses add another element to the equation, but that doesn't necessarily mean that
there's a need for a dramatic change in your hairstyle. The eyeglasses you wear are likely selected to fit in with your features and
therefore simply reflect a feature set you would already have to account for in choosing your hairstyle.
With this in mind, let's take a look at three basic categories of eyeglass styles, the likely reasons
they were chosen, and what you should watch out for in choosing a hairstyle to wear with them.
Wide-Framed Eyeglasses:
The lenses of this style of eyeglasses are significantly wider than they are tall, with the result
being eyeglasses that extend well past the outer corners of the eyes and create a distinct horizontal line at the temples. The style is
generally chosen by persons with wide faces, or at least faces that are wide at the temple area (inverted triangle, heart-shaped, and
diamond-shapes).
The concern with choosing hairstyles for this style of eyeglass lies in avoiding the emphasis of the
face's wideness. A hairstyle that has a lot of volume on the sides can make the face appear much wider, especially when
combined with the effect of the eyeglasses.
By selecting a hairstyle that combines a little height on top and chunky, textured bangs with
closely-styled sides and longer length with a little volume at the ends, you create the illusion of a longer face to balance the
over-emphasized width. Even shorter hairstyles that have strong vertical lines and close-in styling on the sides will serve to balance
the effect.
Because the eyeglasses are normally chosen to accommodate an already-present facial feature -
wideness at the temple area - the style will still look good on you even if you switch to contact lenses from time-to-time or
permanently.
Large-Framed Eyeglasses:
The lenses of this style of eyeglasses cover the entire eye area, usually from the upper cheek to
above the eyebrow, though the actual size may vary. When combined with a bold frame style, these eyeglasses become the prominent feature
of the face. The lenses can be rounded or squared, but are always sufficiently large to cover the entire eye area. This style is often
selected by individuals with widely-spaced eyes or for whom the eyes are a strong feature to provide balance or prevent the eyes from
being obscured.
When selecting a hairstyle to accompany large eyeglasses it is important to remember that proportion
is the key. A long, low-volume or straight hairstyle will cause the eyeglasses to stand out, often to the point of overpowering the face.
Shorter, gamine hairstyles will even further intensify this effect. The best choice is a style that can hold its own - a long, layered
style with extra volume on the sides will put large-framed glasses into proper proportion.
If you choose at some point to switch to contact lenses, the style can be modified easily by styling
it with less volume on the sides. Doing this will continue to balance wide-set eyes, but will prevent your hair from becoming the
overpowering feature.
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