How have i never noticed this before?

[Krea]

There is a strong family resemblance among my relatives, but i have always thought that i don't actually look much like any of them.
(I know what you're thinking here.... Stop sniggering!) :naughty

Over the last year i have let my hair grow and it's currently at an indeterminate length so i usually just pin it back or hide it under a hat/bandana. Yesterday evening i tried a different style, a bit more androgynous, rather like my cartoon avatar. (altho my hair is much thinner)
I experienced a real omg moment when i looked at the mirror and noticed for the first time a distinct facial resemblance to one of my female relatives.
Bear in mind that i don't use any makeup, this was purely the result of framing my face with a different hairdo.

I can understand how some people can be unrecognisable with wig & makeup etc., but can your appearance really be changed that dramatically simply with a different hairstyle, or have i just been incredibly unobservant for years?
Has anybody else experienced anything like this?

[GretchenM]

Krea, hairstyle can make a big difference in how you look. It is kind of a proportional thing. Long hair that hangs more straight down in framing the face can make your face look longer than it is. While Bobs and similar short hair styles can make your face look more round even if it is naturally fairly long. I like the androgynous style you speak of as it fits my identity pattern which seems to always be shifting around on the spectrum. Also, I look horrible with long, curly hair. My face is not suited for the high glamour look. I tried it once and had turn around in the bathroom and throw up in the toilet. (Not really.)

I can style my wig in such a way that I look almost exactly like my late mother but that vanishes if I change it a bit. And it would not be surprising to hear that you matched to a degree a female relative. We all have various features that are configured very similar or even almost identical to various relatives, even distant ones. We do have many of the same genes they have or had. But when those features are blended with our more individualized features those highly similar features appear to change a bit and now are unrecognizable as being similar. Goes to show that we always recognize things by looking at the whole rather than the pieces that make up the whole.

[Krisi]

Hair is pretty much part of your look so changing the style or color changes your overall look. This is one of the reasons I keep my hair relatively short but wear a longer, different colored wig as Krisi. It's form of "disguise". Long, natural hair would be nice, but I would lose that disguise.

[Just Dana]

The first time I dressed with full makeup and wig, I realized that I DO look quite a bit like my mother. It probably shouldn't have surprised me, but it did.

Dana

[Karren H]

Yeah!! I look like my Dad.... wearing a wig and makeup and a dress. Sigh.....

[JenniferMBlack]

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It is possible I screwed this up and the pictures don't work. But yes hair and or lack there of can make that much of a difference the male looking one is a bit of an older picture but that's what I have. The other two are litterally taken for this. But still a bit of a different look.

[Jane G]

LoL, I'm told I look like my mum wig or no wig. Hair style certainly makes a big difference to our appearance, but it will never alter our bone structure.

[Krea]

Thanks to all of you for your comments about hairstyles and "perceived" face shape. :thumbsup:
Having previously had one standard hairstyle for decades, i never realised how much a different hairstyle can emphasise certain facial features.

[Alice Torn]

I noticed that all dressed up, i do resemble my mother some, even her legs.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Krea :hugs:, Depending what wig I have on I can see my Mother or my Sister, >Orchid**0:daydreaming:0**

[Natalie5004]

I look like my sisters with faceapp help. I have 5 sisters.

[candykowal]

Ever since I was young, everyone said I look like Mom. I suppose she was a major influence in my upbringing, way more then my father.

[Karen G]

Now that I'm taking pictures of myself while "in femme" I'm having a lot of those moments finding I really look like some of my female relatives.

[beccadeath]

I actually didn't think much about this until I started exploring FaceApp to just...see what technology thinks I'd look like or whatever

Every damn time I look like my sister...

[Lori Ann Westlake]

Yes, hairstyles can certainly appear to change the shape and proportions of a face. I'm not so sure about my parents, but I have noticed a distinct facial similarity between myself and our daughter.

[Richelle423]

People always told me I look like my dad in male mode but when I put on makeup I look like my mom. One Halloween I sent a pic of me en femme to my brother and he was like ?wow you do look like mom ?

[BTWimRobin]

Hi Krea,

I know exactly what you mean. I have not cut my hair in over a year and it's just about shoulder length. When I'm dressed with my pitiful attempt at styling my hair, I often see my mother looking back at me from the mirror. She's been gone doe over 25 years and it's nice to see her again. She always wanted a daughter.

Unfortunately, I only have a week or two before I can get a haircut. Now that things are getting back to normal my wife layed down the law and said she prefers me with short hair. Happy wife, happy life, I guess.