22 Inspiring Short Haircuts for Every Face Shape

01
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Which Short Cuts Work With Your Face Shape?

Jennifer Lawrence blonde bob
Actress Jennifer Lawrence attends 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2' hand and footprint ceremony at TCL Chinese Theatre on October 31, 2015 in Hollywood, California. Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

When you're looking to cut your long hair short or want to refresh your short haircut, it's good to choose a hairstyle that will flatter your face shape. Whether you have a roundlong, oval, square or heart-shaped face, there will be styles that look great on you and others that may not be as flattering.

The good news is that almost every trend will work with every face shape, you just have to get the right cut. For example, the pixie typically doesn't flatter a round face. However, it can be gorgeous if you elongate your face by wearing short bangs that stick up or leave them nice and long in a side-sweep.

Your Hair Texture Matters

Your hair texture plays a role in choosing a flattering haircut as well. Your hair's density and texture may dictate your hairstyle, your hair length, and how your stylist cuts your hair. Curly hair won't work with all short hairstyles, but neither will super fine, flat hair. 

Don't Forget Your Personality

When it comes to short haircuts, in particular, your personality plays a huge role. Think about what goes through your mind when you see a woman with a structured bob or an edgy haircut.

You are probably passing some sort of judgment on her, whether you like it or not. Many automatically think a woman with a great edgy cut must be cool while a woman with a structured bob is sophisticated.

Consider also that short hair tends to draw more attention than long hair. If you're going to get a platinum pompadour, people are going to notice.

02
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All Faces: The Pixie

Charlize Theron with a pixie haircut
Charlize Theron wearing a cute pixie. Getty Images. Clockwise from left: J. Countess, Michael Stewart, Mireya Acierto

Pixie haircuts have been popular for a long time. While they are typically shorter on top, trends have been leaning towards longer layers. This gives you much more freedom to style your hair in a myriad of ways.

Super short hair doesn't mean that you're stuck with a monotone look. As long as you keep the hair longer on top, you can sweep it to the side, create a deep side part or straight down the middle, sweep it back into a pompadour, or curl it up for a bit of wave. With a little length, you can change your look as you see fit.

The Best Face Shapes

Almost all pixie hairstyles look great on oval, square, and heart-shaped faces. This particular style looks great on round face shapes because it provides angles, which visually soften the face's roundness. "All those little pieces help emphasize the cheekbones and eyes; it's almost as if you build in cheekbones with this cut," says stylist Jimmy Paul in Allure Magazine.

If you have a long face, this cut can make it look even more oblong. To avoid that, add bangs to your pixie that hang down over your forehead.

The Best Hair Texture

This particular look works best for petite women with wavy or straight hair. If you have curly hair, you can still wear your hair short, but it won't look like this without a lot of thinning and straightening.

03
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All Faces: A Soft Pixie

Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway. Jason Merritt/Getty

When you add long, thick side-swept bangs to a pixie, it's an entirely different look. This one also works on every face shape, and it's a great choice if you have a long face.

Overall, the style of this particular haircut can be worn by women of any age, hair color, and face shape. It's very pretty, casual, and professional at the same time. It also leaves you with some length to play with for special events or when you just want something new without a trip to the salon.

Wavy, thick, straight, and fine hair are going to be good for this cut. The only hair texture it really doesn't work for is very curly hair.

04
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All Faces: A Stylish Cut

Joanna Coles
Getty Images

This cut on magazine editor Joanna Coles is fabulous on all face shapes. However, it doesn't work with all hair textures. It's best for hair that's thin and straight.

The great thing about it is that it looks really nice when it's flat. A lack of body is something that many women with thin hair deal with, so the long layers of the cut are actually perfect. You can also apply product and blow dry it to boost the volume when needed, or simply wear it as a wash-and-go style.

05
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All Faces: The Curly Bob

Jennifer Lawrence
Getty Images

Women with natural waves and curls are not left out of the shorter haircuts. You may not want to go as short as the pixie, but you may be able to wear a shorter bob. It's a cut that flatters every face shape.

The beauty of this style is that it has just enough length to relax some of the curls and waves. Depending on your particular hair texture, going shorter may result in a little more poufiness than you'd like.

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All Faces: A Sleek Bob

Yolanda Foster
Yolanda Foster. Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

If you are thinking of going short and like this cut, you're in luck because it would work well for anyone. By cutting the bob an inch or so below the chin, it softens the jawline and adds just enough body to the sides. The long bangs draw attention to the eyes and the side part adds volume.

One thing to keep in mind with shorter hair is the maintenance involved. Even at this length, you'll likely want to get it trimmed every month or so to maintain the style. The longer your hair is, the more time you can wait between salon visits.

07
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All Faces: A Shaggy Long Bob

julianne-hough-shag-hair.jpg
Julianne Hough. Barry King for Getty Images

The shaggy long bob is one of the hottest hairstyles and it has many celebrities chopping off their long locks. The secret to this style is the choppy ends. It is imperfect, but not entirely bedhead. Instead, it is air-dried and finger-curled fabulousness.

 Most women have some natural wave in their hair and this cut lets you show it off with style.

The Best Face Shapes

The shaggy long bob works on all face shapes. It's the ideal cut for women with long faces because it's not too long and not too short. Plus, when it's wavy, it adds body to the sides of your face, making it appear to be wider than it actually is. 

It's all about softening the edges when you have a square face. This wavy shag works beautifully for that.

Get This Look

Ask your stylist for a soft, tapered bob that hits right at the chin. When styling, make sure to scrunch your hair to play up its natural wave. You can also add texture by using a dry shampoo spray, then flat iron the ends.

08
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Almost All Faces: Edgy Pixie

Judi Dench
Judi Dench. Karwai Tang/Getty Images

Nearly every woman, no matter your age or face shape, can wear this edgy and cool version of the pixie. The only exception is if you have a long face because the volume up top may make the face appear longer. 

There are many layers in this cut and it's very easy to style every day. It's not supposed to be perfect, so the less you do with it, the better it looks.

09
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Almost All Faces: Bobs With Bangs

Tamara Taylor. Frederick M. Brown for Getty

Bobs are one of the most versatile short-length cuts. It works just as well with blunt bangs as it does with side-swept or no bangs. This chin-length bob with bangs can be nice on any face shape, but it works best with oval, heart-shaped, and long face shapes.

10
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Long, Square, and Round Faces: A Great Short Cut

Evan Rachel Wood
Evan Rachel Wood. Getty Images

This sexy and playful cut works well a naturally square face shape. It would be nice with a long or round face, too.

You might want to avoid this cut if you have a heart-shaped face. The long bang hits right on the chin, drawing attention there. It's a feature you may want to soften up because chins tend to be pointier on heart shapes.

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Long and Oval Faces: The Shorter Shag

woman with short chin length hairstyle

This is a great shorter shag hairstyle that works best on oval and long face shapes. The volume on top is offset by the very long layers, which are super thick in front. It frames the face perfectly and hits right above the chin.

The shagginess of this look is fabulous. It's a style that can work both day and night and it has tons of dimension.

12
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Long and Oval Faces: The Sophisticated Bob

Agyness Deyn
Agyness Deyn. Jamie McCarthy/Getty

If you have a long face or an oval face that is a little longer, consider a sophisticated bob such as this. The angles show off a strong jaw and the long layers add some movement to the bob so it isn't too boxy.

The long bangs will also mask a high forehead. You can ask your stylist to cut the layers at your eyes and cheeks.

13
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Oval Face: You Can Get Funky

Singer Pink with short hair
Pink. Getty Images

If you have an oval face, you can wear virtually any hairstyle, including short ones. A funky cut is perfect for you if you have the personality for it. A woman who sports this hair is asking for attention and it is very daring and sexy.

Since everyone's head is a different shape as well, a good stylist should take yours into consideration when cutting an edgy cut. After all, if you're going this bold and short, you want to make sure and look good from every angle.

14
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Square Face: A Bob for a Strong Jaw

Keira Knightley
Toby Canham/Getty Images

If you have a square face, show off your strong jaw with a bob that hits you below the jawbone. "A bob works with, not against, bone structure," salon owner Rodney Cutler said on Glo. Ask your stylist for a "graduated bob" which is shorter in the back and angles longer towards the front. 

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Heart-Shaped Face: A Lovely Long Bob

Model Jourdan Dunn
Model Jourdan Dunn. Samir Hussein/Getty Images

The length of this long bob is perfect for a heart-shaped face. The longer waves are left below the chin, which softens the chin. It also offers less volume along the sides, where the face is wider, so it's very slimming.

16
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Heart-Shaped Face: Cute and Curly

Camren Bicondova
Camren Bicondova. Cindy Ord/Getty Images

If you have curly hair, you can successfully break the rules when you decide to go short. Even though it's often recommended to leave curls long, you can pull it off.

The trick here is to own the curls but get plenty of layers cut in to reduce the volume. You can see it best in the back, where it gets really short, but the layers are distinct. Up front, the curls naturally soften a stronger chin, but the layers are just above it, not right in line.

Adding bangs to curls is another rule breaker. It works beautifully, though, and it's all about those layers. By cutting each individual curl (typically when the hair is dry), a stylist can frame your face perfectly with just a few tendrils.

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Heart-Shaped Face: The Shag Is Awesome

Karlie Kloss
Karlie Kloss. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Perfect for a heart-shaped face, this shaggy, yet styled, bob would actually work on any face. It's interesting because the volume is added to just one side thanks to a deep side part. Her bangs draw all the attention because they're perfectly styled and just above the brow line. It's a perfect contrast to the choppy shag that makes up the rest of her hair.

18
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Round Face: Angled, Side-Swept Bangs

Cameron Diaz
Tim Whitby/Getty

On a round face, the angles from long, side-swept bangs offset some of the roundness. This cut is a nice example of how well it works. The trick is to avoid adding too much volume to the sides of your face, so it works best with straight hair.

19
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Round Face: Chin-Length Bob

Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence. Getty Images

Typically, women with round faces are urged to stay away from the classic bob that hits right at the chin. It can make a round face appear rounder. But it can look absolutely gorgeous.

This one works for a few reasons. By parting her hair down the middle, it falls like a curtain that hides some of the roundness. When it's swept back behind one ear, it's even more slimming and the waves add a bit of a distraction. You also have to consider that she has a long neck, which this length accentuates.

20
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Long Face: A Great Short Haircut

Tabatha Coffey
Tabatha Coffey. Beck Starr and Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

A flattering cut for women with long faces, this one is ideal if you have naturally pin-straight hair. It has plenty of volume along the side with the bangs to round out the face. It might also work for women with thick, slightly wavy hair, especially if your stylist thins it a bit.

21
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Long Face: Get Bangs

Elisa Nalin
Elisa Nalin. Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Images

Many women with long face shapes have a high forehead. You can downplay it by simply getting some bangs cut into your style. Whether you go with blunt or side-swept bangs, a few wisps or a thicker style, they can do wonders for a variety of hairstyles. Besides that, bangs can also take a few years off your look.

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Long Face: Curls and Waves Add Width

Ali Larter
Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Another element you might consider if you have a long face is adding or playing up waves. No matter the length, wavy or curly hair will add width to your face and make it look a little shorter than it is. The classic angled bob is a great cut for this because it works with all hair textures and can be as wavy as you want for any occasion.