How to Choose the Best Hats for Your Face Shape

How to Find Your Hat Size

Finding a hat that fits is the first step to actually wearing it. The proper measurement to find your hat size is to measure your head circumference at the center of your upper forehead, which is about an inch above your ears. Women’s hat sizes range from 21½ to 23½.  Most hats these days aren’t sold by size, but it will be good to know if your head is small, medium or large so that you can get proper assistance from a sales associate. If you want to stretch a hat that is too small, check out these tips.

Pick a Flattering Hat Shape

This is where many of us get tripped up. So, how can we find our perfect hat? The best way would be to go by face shape.

The Best Hats for an Oval-Shaped Face

Large brims work well. Keep the brim proportionate to your height, the taller you are the bigger brim you can wear. Because the oval-shaped-face is very balanced, it has limitless possibilities.

The Best Hats for a Round-Shaped Face

Because a round-face is often short and wide, it is wise to choose a hat with a high crown, this way the hat will add height and balance out your face shape.

The Best Hats for a Square-Shaped Face

The square-shaped face is short and angular, usually with a very wide jaw-line. Choose irregular-shaped brims to narrow your face. Cock your hat at an angle to offset your angles.

The Best Hats for an Oblong-Shaped Face

Oblong-shaped faces are much longer than they are wide, so choose full brims that widen a long, narrow face shape. Avoid high crowns and small brims, which will only make your face look long and narrow, and avoid tall, narrow shapes.

The Best Hats for a Diamond- or Heart-Shaped Face

The heart- and diamond-shaped faces have very narrow jawlines, so avoid any shape that is too wide at the forehead, this will only make your jaw and chin look more narrow. Instead, choose a style that has a bit more of a narrower brim and sits closer to the head.

Hats to Go

Traveling with a hat is the hardest thing to accomplish. The hat virtually needs its own suitcase. When traveling, it is probably better to choose a hat that travels well and can be squished or folded in a suitcase without getting ruined.

Another feature in hats is SPF protection built right in, even in the winter time. Be sure to check out Coolibar hats. 

Most UPF hats along and UPF clothing (UPF, or Ultraviolet Protection Factor, is the term used as opposed to SPF in clothing) blocks 98% of UV rays or UPF 50+. Pioneered almost a decade ago in Australia, where cases of melanoma are the highest, a UPF of 50 means that it only allows 1/50th of the UV radiation falling on the surface of the garment to pass through it. In other words, it blocks 49/50ths or 98% of the UV radiation. When buying UPF hats or garments there should be a hang-tag indicating the UPF rating the hat or garment has, along with just how much UV is blocked.

Hats Are Fun, but Hat Head Isn’t

Another issue around hats is hat-head and that lovely dent you can acquire in your hair. Once you put a hat on it seems you can’t take it off until the end of the day. Here’s a good trick to prevent that: before putting a hat on your head, lightly mist your hair with hairspray and brush you hair right after removing the hat. If you don’t like too many styling products in your hair, you can spray the brush instead before running it through your hair. Also, make sure your hair is fully dried before placing a hat on top of your head. Here are some other fool-proof tips to avoid hat head.