Finding the right short haircut for a round face can be tricky. The wrong style can make your face appear fuller and less defined, while the right one can create angles and slim your appearance. Let’s look at the short cuts to avoid if you have a round face, plus styling mistakes that make things worse.
1. Bowl Cut Blunder
Round face? A bowl cut is your worst enemy! The circular shape mirrors your face’s roundness, doubling the effect instead of creating balance.
Skip this retro style that frames your face like a halo of hair, emphasizing fullness rather than creating the angles you need.
2. Pixie Cut Without Texture
Flat, one-length pixie cuts create a helmet-like effect on round faces. Without layers or texture, your face appears even rounder than it actually is.
The lack of dimension fails to create the vertical lines needed to elongate your facial structure.
3. Chin-Length Bob With Rounded Edges
Chin-length bobs with curved ends frame round faces like parentheses, emphasizing circular shape. The curved line of the bob mimics your face’s natural roundness.
Many stylists recommend this classic cut without considering face shape compatibility, leading to disappointing results.
4. Blunt Bangs Cut Straight Across
Heavy, straight-across bangs create a horizontal line that visually widens round faces. The stark line draws attention to face width rather than length.
These bangs also cover forehead space, removing one area where you could create vertical interest to balance roundness.
5. Super Short Buzz Cuts
Buzz cuts expose the entire face shape without any hair to create strategic angles. For round faces, this can emphasize fullness with nothing to balance it out.
Without length on top to add height, your face appears wider and more circular than it would with a more strategic cut.
6. One-Length Lob Without Layers
A single-length long bob creates a curtain effect around round faces, adding width rather than length. The solid shape forms a frame that emphasizes rather than minimizes roundness.
Without layers to create movement, this cut sits heavily around the face, creating a boxy appearance.
7. Center-Parted Short Styles
Middle parts divide round faces into two equal halves, highlighting symmetry and roundness. This splitting effect draws attention to the widest parts of your face.
Many celebrities avoid center parts with round faces for this very reason, opting instead for side parts that create asymmetry.
8. Curly Bob With Rounded Shape
Curly bobs that follow the jawline create a mushroom effect on round faces. The volume at the sides adds width exactly where you don’t want it.
Natural curls tend to expand outward, creating horizontal volume that can make round faces appear even fuller and more circular.
9. Short Cuts With Heavy Side-Swept Bangs
Thick, heavy side-swept bangs create an imbalance on round faces. The weight of the bangs pushes against one side of your face, emphasizing roundness rather than creating angles.
This style covers too much face area, making features appear smaller and more compact.
10. Ear-Length Bob With Curved Ends
Short bobs that hit at ear-length with rounded edges create a helmet effect. The curved shape mirrors and emphasizes the roundness of your face.
This particular length tends to widen the appearance of the face at its middle section, precisely where round faces are already fullest.
11. Short Cuts With Rounded Necklines
Curved necklines in short cuts echo the roundness of your face shape. The U-shaped back creates a continuous curved line from all angles.
Many stylists default to this finish without considering how the rounded perimeter reinforces circular face shapes when viewed from the side or back.
12. Uniform-Length Pageboy Cuts
Pageboy cuts with one-length precision create a helmet-like frame around round faces. The uniform curtain of hair emphasizes rather than disrupts the circular shape.
This retro style turns rounded cheeks into the focal point instead of creating distracting angles to balance fullness.
13. Short Cuts With Rounded Fringe
Curved, arc-shaped bangs follow the roundness of your forehead, reinforcing circular face shapes. The curved line draws an outline around your already round features.
Many stylists cut these bangs without considering how they emphasize rather than counterbalance natural facial contours.
14. Mushroom-Shaped Pixie Cuts
Pixie cuts with fullness at the sides and flatness on top create a mushroom effect. The horizontal volume emphasizes the widest part of round faces.
This shape works against you by adding width exactly where round faces are already at their fullest point.
15. Styling Error: Tucking Hair Behind Both Ears
Tucking hair behind both ears exposes the full circumference of a round face. This common habit removes the vertical lines that would otherwise break up facial roundness.
Many women do this unconsciously throughout the day, not realizing how it affects their face shape appearance.
16. Styling Error: Flat-Ironing Without Volume
Super-straight, flat-ironed short styles cling to the sides of round faces. Without volume at the crown, your face appears wider and more circular.
The sleek, flat finish creates a pancake effect that emphasizes facial width rather than creating the illusion of length.
17. Styling Error: Too Much Rounded Curling
Curling short hair uniformly around the face creates a halo of roundness. These circular curls mirror and amplify your face’s natural shape instead of creating contrast.
Many women curl their entire head in the same direction, creating a continuous curved line that emphasizes roundness.
18. Styling Error: Slicked-Back Wet Looks
Slicked-back styles on short hair expose the full circumference of round faces. Without forward-falling pieces to create shadows and angles, your face appears at its roundest.
This trendy red carpet look works better for those with angular face shapes that benefit from softening.
19. Styling Error: Center-Parted Curtain Bangs
Center-parted curtain bangs frame round faces like parentheses, emphasizing the circular shape. The symmetrical split draws attention to face width rather than creating length.
This trendy style works better for rectangular or oval faces that benefit from softening at the corners.