22 Bangs Hairstyles for Round Faces and Why Each Shape Works

A round face is not a reason to skip bangs. It is a reason to be picky about the shape. The bangs that flatter it add length or an angle. A diagonal sweep does it, and so does a center part that pulls the eye down the face. Height on top helps too. The ones to avoid sit heavy and straight across the brow, since a hard horizontal line makes the face look wider than it is. The long side swept bang does the opposite, which is why stylists suggest it first.

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Long Side Swept Bangs

Long pieces sweeping from a deep side part across the forehead, the shortest at the brow and the longest melting into the layers near the cheekbone. On a round face, that diagonal is the whole point. It cuts across the width and gives the eye a line to follow downward.

Keep the bangs long enough to reach the cheekbone at their longest.

Blow-dry them forward first, then sweep them over with a round brush so the curve looks natural rather than flat.

Curtain Bangs

The part runs straight down the middle and the bangs fall away from it on both sides, shortest at the cheekbones and longer toward the temples. That vertical split draws the eye up and down instead of side to side, which is what a round face needs.

Ask for them to sit at the cheekbones, not the brow. Shorter versions round the face off again.

Blow-dry each side away from the face with a round brush so the curve opens up rather than closing in.

Wispy Bangs

Skin shows through these, which is the whole idea. The strands are thin and feathery, light enough to look like they fell across the forehead on their own. A see-through bang never forms the heavy horizontal line that widens a round face, and the forehead that shows keeps it looking longer.

They suit fine hair best, since the section stays light without thinning. Keep them at the brow or a touch below, and blow-dry with a small round brush for a slight bend.

Bottleneck Bangs

Picture the neck of a bottle opening into its body, and you have the shape of this bang. It sits short and narrow at the center, then flares longer and wider toward the sides. It suits round faces because the narrow center exposes a strip of forehead while the long sides frame the cheeks.

The effect is length in the middle and softness at the edges.

Dry the center pieces straight down and the side pieces outward, then blend the two with your fingers.

Long Bob With Side Bangs

This is the bob for anyone who was told bobs make a round face rounder. It ends just below the chin, slightly longer at the front, with a long side bang across the forehead. The front pieces pull the eye down past the jaw and the bang breaks up the width above.

A bob that stops at the jaw draws a line across the widest part of the face, so ask for it to sit below.

Wear it smooth with a bend at the ends.

Pixie With Long Side Bangs

Short hair on a round face works when the height goes up and the bang goes across, and this pixie does both.

The back and sides are cropped close, and the top is left long enough to sweep over the forehead toward one temple.

Ask for the bang to reach the cheekbone at its longest so the shape has somewhere to go. The rest stays short and tidy.

A little paste worked through the top while damp keeps the height in place all day.

Choppy Textured Bangs

Nothing about this bang sits in a straight line. The ends are piecey and uneven across the forehead, with the scissors pointed into the hair so no solid edge forms. That broken edge helps a round face. Instead of one horizontal stroke, the eye sees many small angles, and angles are what round faces are short on.

This suits thick hair, where a softer bang would look sparse.

Rub a little texture paste between your fingers and pinch the ends into separate pieces.

Long Blunt Bangs

A full, straight-across bang that stops just above the lashes rather than at the brow. Round faces are usually warned off blunt bangs, and the short version deserves the warning. The long version is different. It covers most of the forehead, so the visible part of the face becomes a longer oval rather than a full circle.

Ask for the outer corners to be softened so the line does not look boxy.

A flat iron pass keeps it smooth between trims.

Shag With Bangs

The shag has flattered round faces since the seventies, and the reason has not changed. Choppy layers stack from the crown to the ends, and the bang is just the shortest layer, falling in wispy pieces around the brow. The layers at the cheekbones cut into the sides of the face and make it look narrower.

Air-dry with mousse and rough it up with your hands.

Ask for the bang to get the same choppy ends as the layers so nothing looks too neat.

Curly Hair With Long Bangs

Curly girls are told to skip bangs more than anyone, and a round face makes the warning louder. The fix is length. Springy curls fall across the forehead with the bang reaching the cheekbones once dry. A short curly bang sits like a puff on top of the face. A long one hangs down and frames it.

Have them cut dry, one curl at a time, and longer than you want, since curls shrink.

Style with curl cream and your fingers. Skip the brush.

High Ponytail With Side Bangs

Everything pulled up high on the crown, with a long bang left out and swept to one side. The height at the top stretches the face upward, and the bang keeps the front from looking bare. On a round face, that combination does more than either piece alone.

Brush the hair up with a little gel so the sides stay smooth. Blow-dry the bang to the side with a small round brush after the ponytail is tied so it curves toward the cheekbone.

Half-Up With Bangs

Half-up gets the hair out of your eyes without giving up the framing a round face needs. The top section is pulled back and tied while the rest stays down, and a bang falls across the forehead. The lift on top adds a little height, and the length below keeps the face framed.

A good choice for women who want their hair off their face for work but still soft.

Use a small claw clip or an elastic and pull the bang out afterward.

Beach Waves With Long Bangs

Waves put the movement below the chin, which is where a round face wants the attention. The lengths bend loosely, and long bangs graze the lashes and split wherever the waves push them. The bang covers the forehead without a hard line, and the texture underneath pulls the eye downward.

Wave the lengths with a wand and leave the bangs out of it. Give them one pass with a flat iron instead, curving the ends slightly, so they stay smoother than the waves.

Butterfly Cut With Bangs

Big, bouncy layers that stop around the chin on top and fall long underneath, with a long bang blending into the shortest layer.

The look is a lot of movement at the front.

Because the short layers sit at the chin rather than the cheek, they lengthen the face instead of widening it, and the bang connects the two levels at the top.

Blow-dry with a round brush, rolling the short layers away from the face, and let the bang follow the same direction.

Swoop Bangs on a Silk Press

Bold is the word for this one. A deep side bang is cut in one heavy curve, swooping across the forehead and past one eye, on hair pressed straight and sleek. Black women with round faces ask for it often because the swoop is one big diagonal that covers half the forehead and pulls the eye down toward the jaw.

Have the bang cut once the hair is pressed so the length is true.

Pin it flat at night in the direction of the swoop.

Top Knot With Bangs

Height is the fastest fix for a round face, and a top knot gives you inches of it. The hair is twisted into a full knot high on the head, with a soft bang left down across the forehead. The bang keeps the front from looking severe.

A wispy or side swept bang works better here than a heavy one.

Dry shampoo at the roots gives the knot grip. Pull a couple of strands loose at the temples to soften the edges.

Asymmetrical Bangs

One side cut short near the brow and the other left long past the cheekbone, so the bottom edge runs in a sharp diagonal across the forehead. There is nothing round about that line. On a round face it works like a slash through the width.

This bang suits straight hair, where the angle stays crisp. Waves blur it.

Blow-dry it flat and smooth so the diagonal stays sharp, and keep up with trims every four weeks, since a little growth softens the angle fast.

Feathered Bangs

There is a lift to feathered bangs that no other fringe gives you. They blow back from the face in two soft wings, with the center a little shorter and the sides flipping outward. The lift at the roots adds height, and the diagonal flip draws the eye up and out rather than straight across.

A seventies shape that keeps coming back, it suits medium to long hair with some layers.

Blow-dry the bangs up and back over a round brush, then let them fall.

Claw Clip Updo With Bangs

The claw clip twist looks casual and quietly helps a round face. The hair twists up loosely and clamps high at the back with the ends fanning over the clip, and the bang stays down at the front. Because the twist sits high, it lifts the eye, and the fanned ends add height on top.

Gather the hair and twist it upward, then clamp the clip over the twist. Pull the bang out afterward and part it or sweep it, depending on the cut.

Gray Hair With Side Bangs

Silver hair softens a round face in a way darker colors do not. Worn to the shoulders with layers around the face and a long bang sweeping across the forehead, it draws less of a hard outline around the cheeks.

The bang matters for the same reason it does at any age. It adds a diagonal where the face is widest.

A purple shampoo once a week keeps the silver from going yellow, and a light blow-dry keeps the bang from lying flat.

Knotless Braids With a Side Bang

Long knotless braids past the shoulders, with a few of the front braids cut shorter and swept across the forehead so the braids themselves form the bang. The diagonal line of the bang does what braids alone cannot, since braids pulled straight back leave a round face fully open.

Ask the braider to angle the bang toward one cheekbone and to keep those front braids small and light so they do not pull.

A little mousse keeps the ends of the bang lying flat.

Crown Braid With Side Bangs

Think of this as a headband made from your own hair. A braid wraps around the head like a halo with the rest tucked underneath, and a long bang sweeps across the forehead. The braid adds height at the crown, and the bang cuts a diagonal so the halo does not frame the face in a circle.

It works best on hair past the shoulders, since the braid needs length.

Loosen the braid with your fingers after pinning so it looks soft rather than tight.