Hair Length to Look Shorter

Girls with long brown hair wearing satin dresses — Photo: Depositphotos

Q: What makes you look shorter: long hair or short hair?

A: This question, like so many other esthetic questions has no clear-cut answer. It's about balance and proportion. And to be more specific, the effect the hairstyle has on the appearance of height is more a matter of volume than hair length.

For instance, a tall person with very curly hair that is long may find that their hair lies flatter along the top of the scalp because of the weight of the hair (due to its length). If that same person were to cut their hair into a shorter style, her hair would spring up and rise away from the scalp and make her appear taller. And if she is already very tall, and perhaps very slender, this may not be a very flattering look.

Conversely, many shorter women, WANT some volume in the top of their hairstyle in order to add the appearance of height. But if the woman is not only shorter but petite of build, she must be very cautious not to create a hairstyle that is too big, because it will end up making her appear smaller because of the imbalance (as though she were a child wearing a grown-ups wig).

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See also:

Hairstyle lengths that will work with your features

How to match your hairstyle and body type

Hairstyles and clothes to look taller

How to make your neck look longer