If you’re looking to change up your hairstyle for spring, it’s a widely known notion that cutting your tresses can never go wrong if you cater to your face shape, whether it’s long, square, heart-shaped, diamond, oval, or like many people (including celebs like Selena Gomez, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ginnifer Goodwin, etc.), round.
We checked in with professional hairstylists Lauren Udoh, the Hair Creative Director of WigReports.com and Holly Dear, expert stylist at the Dallas House of Dear salon to learn more about hairstyles for round-shape faces, which to avoid and why.
Cut To Avoid For Round Faces: Blunt Bangs, Layers, Etc.
#TerrencesTip – Also #HotThisFall the blunt bangs like these on @selenagomez #BluntBangs are bad ass! pic.twitter.com/a6V1Am0V
— Terrence Manning (@TerrenceManning) September 24, 2012
Having a round face (or often dubbed ‘baby’ face) usually means that someone has soft features. The best haircuts for rounder faces, experts say, include those with specific bangs and face-framing layers that make the face look longer, as opposed to even wider. Selena Gomez’s 2012 bangs as seen above were certainly cute, but overpowering her beautiful face. As you’ll see below, with subtler, wispier bangs that drew attention to her eyes and cheekbones without covering them,
“Round-shaped faces should avoid blunt haircuts and short hairstyles that will only make their face appear even rounder,” says Udoh. She notes that “styles such as a blunt bob or other blunt cut will shorten the appearance of your face and make it appear wider,” which is never the goal. If you have a round shaped face, Udoh stresses, “avoid blunt haircuts and blunt, short styles,” and ask for “long layers or side swept bangs instead.”
With a round face, this doesn’t mean your options are limited, you just might have to ask your stylist for a softer version of a blunt look. For example, you can still rock curtain bangs, side bangs, layers and other trendy styles, but maybe not with jagged edges or blunt, straight-across looks that appeal more to long or oval faces, hairstylists say. (You can of course wear whatever you want, these tips just provide advice re: the optimal look for your face shape).
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“A better option for someone with a round face shape is to have long layers that will add length and softly frame your face,” Udoh says. “If you do choose to go shorter, make sure to ask your stylist for layers that will give you some volume and movement.” As seen on Gomez in 2020, her parted curtain bangs and face-framing layers opened up her face and didn’t overpower it. She even became a notable part of the French-girl-cut revival (that its still trendy in 2022 and looks great on round faces).
Cutest @selenagomez pic.twitter.com/MQskjIypWn
— Selena Gomez Source (@GomezSource) January 13, 2020
Dear agrees with Udoh’s round-face cuts advice, saying that “layering where needed (if you want to keep your length) allows your hairdresser to take off length where your hair might be thinner and “blend the thick and thin textures to make your hair look healthier and thicker.” Her suggestion is “face-framing with a curtain fringe or bangs” because “your hairdresser can use the fringe to frame, highlight and lift your best features.”
Overall, round face shapes can still rock many trendy hairstyles, and with some adjustments, you can find a layered, bang or other stylish look what works for you and your best features.
