Short hair tends to suit all face shapes, although each face shape has things to consider when going short. Round faces, for example, can look rounder with the wrong short cut, but some short haircuts can look simply amazing.
Anyone at any age, with any features, and with any style preferences can look good in short hair with enough confidence and the ability to find the right cut for their face, hair texture, and personality.
Quite often, you'll hear beauty advice that says women with round faces should not wear their hair short. That's simply not true. You can wear short hair no matter the shape of your face; you just want to make sure to find the right cut and style.
"Just like there's no such thing as a 'perfect' body shape, the same goes for face shapes," says Jon Reyman, celebrity hairstylist and Dyson global stylist. "With that that in mind, short hairstyles do work well for round faces, but it's all about the cut, length, and styling," he adds.
Generally speaking, small faces and short haircuts go together like cookies and milk. The shorter length enhances the size, the jawline, and the overall facial features for a softer, rounder look of the face. There are several variations of this cut to consider like the shaggy pixie which has more volume to the top.
All you do is place a pencil under your chin horizontally and hold a ruler under your ear, vertically. If the intersection of the two measures less than 2.25 inches, your face is made for short hair a la Halle Berry or Audrey Hepburn.
A cropped cut can be a way to show the world how strong you are. "A woman with short hair is perceived as confident — not having to hide anything,” says Jo-Ellan Dimitrius, author of “Reading People: How to Understand People and Predict Their Behavior – Anytime, Anyplace.”
A very short haircut will expose the width of the upper body and will make the appearance more “boyish”, while long hair will stretch the face even more, visually emphasizing broad shoulders.
Ultimately, short hair can make you look older, but it doesn't have to. “The way you style your short hair has a bigger impact on how old it makes you look rather than the actual haircut itself,” she says. This leads us to the importance of texture in a short haircut, and its instant de-aging effects.
A short crop will make your body appear larger by making your head look small. “Hairstyles with sharp lines in them will enhance the body's natural shape,” says Joel Goncalves, Creative Director at John Frieda. That means a longer style but with choppy layers that draw into the cheekbones.
Your Facial Features
That's because the less hair you have, the more attention pronounced features get—think a pointed chin, large forehead, or far set eyes. That being said, with the right cut, harshness can be eliminated, so you don't necessarily have to say no to short hair.
Short hair can be slimming as well, as long as you have tons of texture and fullness, which make your face look smaller in proportion. To re-create, apply a dry texturizer from mid-shaft to ends.
Long hair is perfect and universally flattering on round faces because it lengthens the face. If you have a round face, your ideal cut will fall a few inches below the chin or longer. The shortest layer should never be above your earlobe; this can also make a style look dated, and no one wants that!
CNN recently shared research that men are most likely to prefer women with long hair past the shoulders. Guys were asked to rate the same women's faces based upon short, medium-length, plus super long locks.
The experts say between every three and seven weeks for shorter cuts and bobs. According to celebrity hairstylist Richard Collins, if you have a specific style, like an Anna Wintour bob with bangs, then you probably need to get your haircut every three weeks to keep the look precise and polished.
There's an easy, and we mean easy, way to decide if short hairstyles are in your future. We call it the 2.25 rule. Practically fool proof, this rule states that if the longest part of your chin is less than 2.25 inches from the tip of your earlobe, then short hairstyles are for you.
#1 Consider Your Face Shape
The best haircuts for you are are those that are not too short - hair that ends at least a few inches below your chin. For those with a square or rectangular face shape, a short haircut may not be the best look for you as it tends to emphasise angular features.
One of the nicest parts about having short hair is how quick it is to style. After the shower, it dries in a flash, and working out the very small amount of tangles that form is easy. Although I've been wearing it wavy most of the time, drying or heat styling takes less than half the time it used to.
An asymmetrical long bob, or lob, is the absolute best hairstyle if you want to make your face look thinner. Opt for a lob at least three inches below the chin in the front, and angled shorter in the back.
Does short hair bring out jawline? “If someone has a strong jaw and a bob, where that bob lies can diminish the strong jaw or can highlight it.” A chin-length bob (the most common length for this style) will make your jawline stand out, whereas a longer bob might soften the angles (more on that style next).
Deep Side Part. Switching where you part your hair doesn't seem like much of a style, but it's a quick and easy way to elevate your look and make your face appear slimmer. Like side-swept bangs, creating a deep part gives your face a slimming effect as it sweeps diagonally across your face.