Best Hairstyles for Men with Chubby Faces – Finding Your Perfect Cut

Finding the right hairstyle for a round face is challenging. The right cut creates a more defined facial structure and transforms your appearance.

This guide covers flattering hairstyles for round faces, styling tips, what to avoid, and maintenance advice.

Understanding Round Face Shapes

Round faces have fuller cheeks, less defined jawlines, and soft angles. The width and length are usually equal, creating a circular appearance.

To check if you have a round face, measure across your cheekbones, jawline, and forehead, then compare with the length from hairline to chin. Or trace your face in a mirror—if it looks more like a circle than an oval or rectangle, you likely have a round face.

To make sure, you can take our simple Face Shape quiz. I’ll take only 2 min to complete.

Good hairstyles for round faces create vertical lines and angles to elongate the face. They add height at the crown to draw attention upward rather than outward.

Top 10 Hairstyles for Chubby Faces

1. Pompadour

The pompadour features shorter sides with height and backward sweep on top. This vertical element makes your face appear longer and slimmer.

To style: Apply strong-hold pomade to damp hair, then blow-dry whilst using a round brush to create height and backward movement.

2. Undercut with Textured Top

This style combines short sides with longer, textured hair on top. The contrast creates angular lines that offset roundness, while texture distracts from fuller cheeks.

Needs maintenance every 2-3 weeks for the sides.

To style: Use texturising spray followed by matte clay or paste. Work the product through with your fingers to create separation.

3. Faux Hawk

The faux hawk keeps hair longer in a strip down the centre with gradually shorter sides. This vertical orientation draws the eye up and down rather than across.

Modern versions are more subtle and textured than traditional spiky mohawks.

To style: Apply strong-hold product to towel-dried hair and direct it upward toward the centre with fingers or a small brush.

4. Side-Swept Fringe with Fade

This style features longer hair on top swept to one side, with faded sides. The diagonal line adds angles to your look, while the exposed forehead on one side breaks up facial roundness.

Works best for straight to slightly wavy hair.

To style: Apply medium-hold product to damp hair, create your part, then blow-dry whilst directing the longer top hair across your forehead.

5. Quiff with Short Sides

The quiff has shorter sides with hair on top brushed upward and slightly back. Unlike the pompadour, it has more texture and forward direction at the front.

This style adds height at the front hairline, creating the illusion of a longer face.

To style: Apply volumising mousse to damp hair, then blow-dry whilst lifting the front section upward with a round brush. Finish with medium-hold styling product.

6. Textured Crop with Fringe

This style features shorter sides with a textured top and choppy fringe that can be styled forward or slightly to the side.

The texture creates visual interest that distracts from facial fullness and adds edges that round faces lack.

To style: Work texturising paste between your palms and apply with your fingers to create separation throughout.

7. Vertical Spikes with Tight Sides

This more dramatic style has closely cropped sides with longer hair on top styled into spikes. The strong vertical lines draw the eye upward, creating the illusion of height.

Modern versions feature softer, more textured spikes rather than stiff ones.

To style: Apply strong-hold gel or paste to towel-dried hair, then pull small sections upward with your fingers.

8. Layered Medium-Length Cut

This versatile style falls around ear to collar length, cut in layers that remove bulk and add movement.

The layers can be placed to frame the face, with longer pieces around the cheeks and jaw creating vertical lines.

Works well for wavy or curly hair.

To style: Apply lightweight styling cream to damp hair and air dry or use a diffuser to enhance natural texture.

9. Diagonal Fringe with Undercut

This style combines an undercut on the sides with longer hair on top cut and styled diagonally across the forehead.

The angular fringe contrasts with natural facial roundness, while short sides reduce width.

Works well for round faces with wider foreheads.

To style: Apply medium-hold product to damp hair, then blow-dry whilst directing the fringe diagonally across the forehead.

10. Slicked Back Undercut

This professional-appropriate style combines very short sides with longer hair on top slicked back away from the face.

The backward direction creates length, while height at the front adds vertical dimension.

To style: Apply medium-hold pomade to damp hair, then use a comb to direct everything backward while blow-drying.

Styling Tips

Create volume at the crown using a blow dryer and round brush to enhance vertical height.

Use lightweight products that add texture without weighing hair down.

A travel-size texturising spray is helpful for quick touch-ups throughout the day.

Try sleeping with slightly damp hair arranged in your desired direction to save morning styling time.

Consider seasonal adjustments to your style-keep it slightly fuller in winter to balance cold-weather layers, and opt for shorter sides in summer to stay cool while maintaining a defined look.

Hairstyles to Avoid

Steer clear of very short, rounded cuts that follow the head’s natural curve, as these styles accentuate facial fullness rather than minimising it.

Bowl cuts and centre parts create horizontal lines that emphasise width at the fullest part of the face.

Avoid styles with too much fullness at the sides as they add visual width where you need to reduce it.

Completely flat styles without volume at the top waste an opportunity to create the vertical dimension that elongates the face.

Beard Combinations

The right beard works with your hairstyle to define your face.

Choose beard styles that add length to the bottom of the face-goatees, extended goatees, and short boxed beards with extra length at the chin work particularly well.

Avoid full, rounded beards that extend significantly at the sides, as these add width where round faces need to minimise it.

Maintain clear definition between your beard and haircut with regular trimming of sideburns and cheek lines to create clean transitions that add structure.

Celebrity Examples

• John Bradley: Swept back with height and beard

• James Corden: Layered medium-length cut with beard

When showing these examples to your barber, focus on specific elements rather than requesting the exact cut.

FAQ

How often should I get trimmed?
Shorter styles with fades need maintenance every 2-4 weeks. Longer styles can go 6-8 weeks between cuts.

Can these styles work with a receding hairline?
Yes—textured crops, slicked back undercuts, and modified quiffs work well by focusing volume in strategic areas.

What are the best styling products?
Clay pomades, texturising pastes, volumising powders, and sea salt sprays create height and texture without heaviness.

How do I confirm if my face is round?
If width and length are similar, you have soft jaw angles and fuller cheeks, you likely have a round face. Trace your face on a mirror or measure across cheekbones, jawline, and from hairline to chin.

Can I adapt these styles for professional environments?
Yes—pompadours, slicked back undercuts, side-swept fringes, and textured crops can all be styled conservatively while still slimming the face.

How do these styles work with different hair textures?
Most adapt well—curly hair naturally creates beneficial volume, while straight hair holds angular styles better. Your barber can modify any cut for your texture.

How should I describe these cuts to my barber?
Bring photos from multiple angles and explain what elements you like (“I want height on top with very short sides”). Mentioning your face shape helps your barber tailor the cut.

Any quick styling options for busy mornings?
Pre-style the night before, use dry shampoo and texturising spray for quick refreshes, and invest in a quality hairdryer to cut styling time. Most styles can be simplified into 2-3 minute versions.