Last updated: 2026-10-31

Haircut for a Chubby Face: A Chubby Face Is Not a Round Face

The top is 3 to 4 inches: lift it at the crown. The sides are 2 inches shorter than the top: cut them flat to the face to remove cheek bulk. The front pieces are 1 to 2 inches below the jawline: let them pass the jawline instead of ending at it.

Three numbers

Top: 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.2 cm). Top minus sides: 2 inches (5.1 cm). If sides measure 1 inch (2.5 cm), top measures 3 inches (7.6 cm). If sides measure 2 inches (5.1 cm), top measures 4 inches (10.2 cm). Crown point: 1. Top point: crown.

Sides: 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm) for a top of 3 to 4 inches. Front offset below the jawline: 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm). Bulk at the cheek: 0. Bulk at the crown: 1.

Jawline: ends at the jawline: 0. Front pieces that pass the jawline: 2. Horizontal lines at the jawline: 0. Diagonal lines from the cheekbone to below the jawline: 1.

Three tiers, three cuts each

With a double chin

Long layers to the collarbone, 12 to 14 inches (30.5 to 35.6 cm). Layers start at the cheekbone, then at the jawline, then at the collarbone, so no two layers share one height at the chin. Say: "Start the layers at my cheekbones, not at my chin, and keep the front at collarbone length."

Butterfly cut, 12 to 14 inches (30.5 to 35.6 cm). Crown layers sit above the cheek layers, and the length falls to the collarbone. Say: "Keep the crown layers up top, keep the length to my collarbone, and do not add bulk at my cheeks."

Inverted lob, front 12 to 14 inches (30.5 to 35.6 cm), back shorter at the nape. The front pieces pass the jawline and the chin, and the back does not add a second line at the jaw. Say: "Cut the back shorter, keep the front at collarbone length, and keep the front pieces past my jawline."

No double chin, cheek flesh

A-line bob, front 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm) below the jawline, back at the nape. The front line is a diagonal, not a horizontal line at the jaw. Say: "Cut the front 1 to 2 inches below my jawline and the back at my nape."

Lob with jawline layers, 12 to 14 inches (30.5 to 35.6 cm) to the shoulder. Layers start at the jawline, not at the cheekbone, because there is no chin flesh below for the eye to land on. Say: "Start the layers at my jawline, keep the length to my shoulder, and keep the sides flat at my cheeks."

Textured pixie, top 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.2 cm), sides 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm). The top stays 2 inches (5.1 cm) longer than the sides, and the nape keeps length instead of being cut tight. Say: "Leave 3 to 4 inches on top, keep the sides 1 to 2 inches, and do not cut the nape tight."

Wide face only

Long pixie, top 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.2 cm), side pieces to the cheekbone, sides 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm). The side pieces form a vertical line at the cheek, not a horizontal line at the jaw. Say: "Leave 3 to 4 inches on top, keep the side pieces to my cheekbones, and keep the sides 1 to 2 inches."

Side-part lob, 12 to 14 inches (30.5 to 35.6 cm) to the shoulder. The part sits to one side, and the layers start at the cheekbone. Say: "Part it to the side, keep the length to my shoulder, and start the layers at my cheekbones."

Curtain bangs with long layers, total length 12 to 14 inches (30.5 to 35.6 cm) to the shoulder. The bangs break at the cheekbone, so the bang line and the cheek line meet as a triangle, not as a straight line across the forehead. Say: "Cut the bangs to break at my cheekbones, keep the length to my shoulder, and do not cut a straight line across my forehead."

Four cuts to avoid, and the geometry behind each

Blunt bob ending exactly at the jawline. The end line sits at the jaw width. Bulk at the sides sits at the cheek width. Two widths, one line between them, and the eye stops at the line. The line does not need to be blunt to do this. Any end that stops at the jawline draws the same line.

Pixie with sides cut tight to the head, and a nape cut tight with them. Side length: 0. Nape length: 0. Top length: 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.2 cm). The outline becomes a dome on top of a circle, and the neck length that would break that circle is gone. The tight sides do not just shorten the sides. They shorten the back, too, and the back is where the vertical line would have come from.

One-length hair, at any total length. Top volume added by the cut: 0. Bottom volume: the whole length. Weight pulls the top down, and the eye follows the weight down. No layer starts at a second height, so no diagonal breaks the horizontal fall. Length alone does not change that. A longer one-length cut moves the eye down further, not up.

Centre part with full straight bangs. The centre part indents the crown, so crown volume at the part line is 0, and the top reads as two flat halves. Full straight bangs draw a horizontal line across the forehead, with vertical sides at the temples. Four lines, four angles, one square outline. The eye stops at the forehead width, and the vertical line that a side part would have drawn is gone.

If the cut is already too short

Do not cut it back to the line that failed. If a bob already ends at the jawline, grow the front 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm) below the jawline before the next cut, part it to the side, and keep the sides flat at the cheeks until the front passes the jawline. If pixie sides are already tight, do not cut the sides again. Keep the top at 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.2 cm), grow the sides to 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm), keep length at the nape, and add soft pieces forward around the jawline once the sides reach 1 inch (2.5 cm). If one-length hair already lies flat, add layers at three heights, cheekbone, jawline, and collarbone, so the ends do not share one height, and part it to the side. If straight bangs already run across the forehead, grow them to the cheekbone break, part them to the side, and do not cut a straight line again until they reach the cheekbone.

Say this

"Leave the front 1 to 2 inches below my jawline, keep the sides flat at my cheeks, and start the layers at my cheekbones."

"Keep the top 2 inches longer than the sides, do not cut the sides tight to my head, and do not end any piece exactly at my jawline."

"Part it to the side, keep the crown as the highest point, and let two front pieces fall past my jawline."

Links

If the short cut in the wide-face tier is the one you want to try first, read pixie cut for a round face for its own top and side lengths by face width.

If the long cut in the double-chin tier is the one you want to try first, read long layered haircuts for a chubby face for what happens when layers start at one height.

Disclosure: FaceShapeLens may earn an affiliate commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page at no additional cost to you.