How to Get a Smaller Forehead with Hairstyling, Makeup or Surgery

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Plus, learn how to measure if you actually have a "big" forehead

Co-authored by Elaine Heredia, BA Reviewed by Barbie Ritzman

Last Updated: January 6, 2025 Fact Checked

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With Makeup

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With Surgery

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How to Find Your Forehead Size

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Is the size of your forehead getting you down? While we should all try to embrace our imperfections and love ourselves for who we are, there are some flaws that we wish we could simply do away with. The good news is there are several effective ways to make your forehead appear smaller–and even a couple of methods to reduce its size permanently. Come with us as we show the top hair and makeup tricks to make your forehead smaller, plus the available surgical alternatives.

How to Make Your Forehead Smaller: Quick TIps

Style your hair with long fringe, top layers, or side pieces to cover up your forehead. Alternatively, apply a darker foundation to your hairline and blend it in to create the illusion that your hairline is lower than it really is. For a permanent solution, you can get forehead reduction surgery to move your hairline further down.

Section 1 of 4:

Making Your Forehead Appear Smaller with Hairstyling

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Cut the edge of the fringe off at your eyebrows to hide your big forehead as much as possible without also hiding your brows and eyes. The feathered, layered styling will lend movement to your hair while also allowing your forehead peek through a little bit. That way, the fringe isn't completely overwhelming your face.^{[1]
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Side bangs extend over your forehead at an angle, leaving some of your forehead bare. This is a great option if you want to create the illusion of a smaller forehead without covering all of it up. It's also an attractive style that balances out your face.^{[2]
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These layers will flop over your high hairline and emphasize the abundance of your hair rather than the abundance of your forehead. This cut works best for men and women who already have a lot of thick hair.^{[3]
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This classic hairstyle covers up the corners of the forehead, making the forehead look smaller overall. It's worth noting, though, that in this style, the center of your large forehead is still exposed – but the side pieces fill up some of the blank space and provide a softening effect.^{[4]
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Section 2 of 4:

Making Your Forehead Appear Smaller Using Makeup

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Apply a small amount of foundation 3-4 shades darker than your normal foundation to your hairline and temples. (You can also use a concealer 2 shades darker than your natural skin tone.) Then blend the product upward into your hair with a foundation brush or a beauty sponge. The resulting contour will make your forehead look smaller and more snatched.^{[5]
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Draw attention away from your forehead with bold makeup. There's so much more to your face than just your forehead! By applying makeup to emphasize your brows, eyes, cheeks, and lips, you can distract anyone looking at you from the area you're most insecure about. Here are some tips for wielding the power of makeup to enhance your natural beauty.^{[6]
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- Darken your eyebrows slightly to make them appear more prominent on your face and draw the eye down instead of onto your large forehead.
- Apply black or dark brown winged eyeliner and layer eyeshadow on your lids to amp up the drama.
- Spread on a bold lip color like red or pink that complements your skin tone.
- Finally, top off your cheeks with blush and highlight to add a natural-looking flush and sparkle to your skin.

Section 3 of 4:

Reducing Your Forehead Size with Surgery

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Talk to a plastic surgeon about forehead reduction surgery. Forehead reduction surgery is the most common procedure for making your forehead smaller. During the surgery, the doctor will cut an incision across your hairline and stretch your scalp forward so your hairline is about 2 cm (0.79 in) closer to your brows. Then they'll stitch the skin together and remove any excess tissue.
- Some doctors recommend this surgery more for women than men. That's because women typically don't have the same pattern of baldness when they age that men do, so their hairline will almost always cover the scar left by the procedure when it grows back in. For men, your doctor may want to assess you for a family history of receding hairlines before recommending a forehead reduction.
- Shock loss is the primary risk of forehead reduction surgery. Shock loss occurs when there is a sudden loss of blood flow to part of the scalp and all the hair in that area falls out. While it's a rare occurrence in most forehead reductions, it can happen if the plastic surgeon makes too many incisions beneath the scalp or places too much tension on the scalp as they move it forward.^{[7]
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Consider getting a hair transplant to fill in baldness in your hairline. This is most effective if you have temporal recession, or baldness at your temples that's making your forehead look larger. A hair transplant can also work in tandem with a forehead reduction.^{[8]
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- For example, you can get a hair transplant first to fill in your bald temples and then get a reduction surgery to move your (newly filled) hairline down your forehead.
- The upside of getting a hair transplant instead of a forehead reduction surgery is it doesn't leave any scars on your forehead.
- The downside of hair transplants is the new hair is never as dense as the hair on the rest of your scalp. Additionally, you may have trouble getting your transplanted hair to grow in the right direction.

Section 4 of 4:

How to Find Your Forehead Size

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Place your fingers horizontally across your forehead and count them to see how many it takes to fill up the space between your brows and your hairline. 4 fingers wide is considered normal. Anything above that is considered large and anything below is considered small.^{[9]
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Use a tape measure to check your forehead size more accurately. Place the end of the tape measure at your hairline and note where the other end meets the top of your eyebrows. The ideal height is 2–2.8 in (5.1–7.1 cm) for men and 2–2.6 in (5.1–6.6 cm) for women. Meanwhile, the average width is 4.7–6 in (12–15 cm) in for men and 4.4–5.8 in (11–15 cm) for women.^{[10]
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- Keep in mind that even if your forehead is larger than 4 fingers or the "ideal" height and width, a large forehead is nothing to be ashamed of. It's a part of who you are. Instead of getting surgery or even using hair or makeup to cover it up, embrace it and love it as just one of many unique things about your amazing body!