24 Layered Bob Hairstyles and Which Shape Suits Your Hair

Layers are the difference between a bob that moves and a bob that sits.

A one-length bob holds a line, which looks sharp for about a week and heavy after that, while a layered bob swings when you turn your head and grows out without losing its shape. Where the layers go matters more than how many there are.

Stacked at the back they add height, and cut around the face they soften it, while internal layers take weight out of thick hair without showing. The classic chin-length version is where most women begin.

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Classic Chin-Length Layered Bob

A bob that ends at the chin with soft layers through the back and sides, blown smooth with a slight bend under at the ends.

It is the version most women picture when they say layered bob, and it suits most face shapes because the layers can be moved to wherever the face needs softening. Ask for the layers to start below the ear so the top stays smooth.

Blow-dry with a round brush and finish with a drop of serum.

Layered Lob

A bob stretched to the collarbone with long layers through the ends, so it still ties back and still swings.

The lob is the layered bob for women who are not ready to lose the ponytail, and the layers keep the extra length from hanging in a flat sheet.

Ask for the layers to start at the chin and stay soft so the perimeter looks full. Bend the ends under with a flat iron or leave them straight for a sharper look.

Layered Bob With Curtain Bangs

A chin-length layered bob with center-parted bangs curving toward the cheekbones and blending into the shortest layers.

The bangs frame the eyes and the layers pick up where the bangs end, so the whole front looks like one shape rather than a fringe added to a haircut.

Ask for the bangs to sit at the cheekbone and the first layer to start where they finish. Blow-dry the bangs away from the face with a round brush and let the rest fall.

Stacked Layered Bob

Short graduated layers piled at the back in a rounded curve from the nape up, with the front left longer at the jaw.

The stack puts all the volume at the back, where flat hair needs it most, and the shape rises from the chin to the crown without teasing.

Ask for the graduation kept tight so the curve holds, and the front at the jaw. A round brush at the back lifts the stack, and trims every six weeks keep the shape.

Inverted Layered Bob

A sharp diagonal from a short nape to longer front pieces at the chin, with layers cut through the angle.

The inverted bob lengthens the neck and narrows the jaw, and the layers keep the steep line from looking like a wedge. It suits straight hair or a loose wave that still shows the angle, since curls hide it. Ask for the back checked every five weeks, because the angle softens fast.

Flat iron the front pieces so the line stays crisp.

Wavy Layered Bob

Loose waves through a layered bob at the jaw, the ends left straight and the waves bending in different directions.

The layers let each wave sit on its own instead of clumping, so the bob looks fuller without looking bigger, and the waves hide the first weeks of grow-out.

Wave sections with a wand away from the face and alternate directions so the waves do not match. Shake it out and finish with a texture spray, and skip the brush.

Choppy Layered Bob

Piecey, uneven ends all the way around a chin-length bob, with a few shorter layers on top for separation.

It is the bob that looks undone on purpose.

Point cutting through the ends removes weight without a straight line, so thick hair stops sitting in a block and fine hair gets some texture without losing fullness. Ask for the ends cut into the hair rather than across it, and no thinning shears. Rub texture paste between your palms and pinch the ends into pieces.

French Bob With Soft Layers

A bob cut between the cheekbone and the jaw with a soft wispy fringe at the brow and light layers through the ends, air-dried a little undone.

The French bob is the shortest bob most women will go, and the layers keep the shape from looking like a helmet while the fringe keeps it from looking severe.

Ask for the length at the jaw at the longest and the fringe cut thin. Air-dry with a little cream, or blow it smooth for a sharper version.

Layered Bob With Side-Swept Bangs

A chin-length layered bob with a long bang sweeping from a side part across the forehead and into the layers on one side.

The side bang gives the bob a diagonal that softens the jaw and suits round and square faces, and it grows out without a gap because it already blends into the layers. Ask for the bang cut a touch longer than the shortest layer so the two meet.

Blow-dry the bang forward, then sweep it over with a round brush.

Shaggy Layered Bob

A jaw-length bob cut in choppy layers from the crown down, with a wispy fringe and a lot of texture on top.

The shag turns a bob into something with movement from the roots, since the shortest layers sit at the crown instead of the ends, and it suits women who want a cut that air-dries.

Ask for the crown layers short and the fringe soft, with the ends point cut to match.

Air-dry with mousse and shake it out at the roots.

Curly Layered Bob

Curls cut into a bob at the jaw with layers shaped so they stack and sit round instead of spreading wide at the bottom.

The layers are what stop a curly bob from forming a triangle, and they get cut dry, curl by curl, so the stylist sees where each one springs.

Ask for the layers to start at the cheekbone and fewer of them than straight hair would get. Scrunch curl cream through damp hair and diffuse upside down.

Light Layered Bob for Fine Hair

A chin-length bob with feathered layers in the last two inches only and a little lift at the roots.

Fine hair loses fullness with every layer, so the light version keeps the layers to the bottom and the perimeter soft, which gives the bob movement without opening gaps. Ask for scissor-cut layers in the bottom third and no thinning anywhere, and keep the length at the chin where fine hair looks thickest.

Blow-dry upside down and finish with a root spray.

Layered Bob for Thick Hair

A chin-length bob with a blunt-looking perimeter and layers hidden inside, so it looks heavy from the outside and swings like a layered cut.

Thick hair needs the weight taken out from the inside, since surface layers only make it bigger, and the internal layers do that without changing the outline.

Ask for invisible layers under the crown and a soft perimeter, and say how much weight you want gone. Flat iron the ends so the line stays clean.

Bixie Cut

Shorter than a bob and softer than a pixie, with the back and sides cropped and the top left in layers that fall past the ears.

The bixie is the layered bob taken as short as it goes while still framing the face, and the layers on top give it the texture a plain pixie lacks.

Ask for the top layers to reach the cheekbone and the nape kept close. A little paste through the top and a round brush at the front finish it.

Layered Bob With Blonde Balayage

Hand-painted blonde through the ends of a layered bob, brightest at the face and darker at the roots.

Layers show color better than a blunt cut because each layer catches the light on its own, so the blonde looks like movement rather than a band. Ask for the lightest pieces at the front layers and a soft blend at the root so the grow-out stays even. A purple shampoo once a week keeps the blonde clean.

A smooth blow-dry shows the gradient best.

Flipped-Out Layered Bob

A jaw-length layered bob blown out with the ends curled outward, so the layers kick up around the jaw and show one at a time.

The flip gives a bob bounce that a straight blow-dry never does, and it suits straight hair or a loose wave with layers at the jaw.

Blow-dry each section over a round brush, rolling the ends out, then set them in large rollers for ten minutes. Hairspray the ends so the flip holds all day.

Rounded Layered Bob

A chin-length bob blown under in a smooth curve all the way around, with soft layers inside the curve.

The under-curl tucks the ends in, which hides thin tips and softens the jaw, and the layers inside keep the round shape from looking like a bowl. It suits straight to wavy hair. Ask for soft layers that follow the curve and the length at the chin.

Blow-dry each section over a round brush, rolling the ends under, and set with a cool shot.

Layered Bob With Full Blunt Bangs

A sleek chin-length layered bob with a heavy fringe cut straight across at the brow, the corners left square.

The blunt bang gives the bob a strong front that the layers soften from behind, and the contrast between the solid line and the moving ends is the point.

Ask for the bangs cut full and the layers kept soft at the sides. Flat iron the bangs and the ends each morning, and trim the fringe every three weeks so it stays above the brows.

Layered Silk Press Bob

Natural hair pressed smooth into a chin-length bob with layers cut through the ends, so the press swings instead of sitting flat.

Black women pick the layered version of the pressed bob because a one-length press can look heavy at the chin, and the layers give it bounce and lift at the crown. Ask for the layers cut once the hair is pressed, and keep the heat low.

Wrap the hair at night and bump the ends in the morning.

Copper Layered Bob

A chin-length layered bob in warm copper, deeper at the roots and brighter through the layered ends around the face.

Copper glows on a layered bob because the layers lift the color up around the face, and the short length means less fading to manage.

Pick the shade against your skin, since copper runs from deep auburn to bright orange and only one of them will suit you. Wash in cool water and use a color-depositing conditioner once a week.

Gray Layered Bob

Silver hair in a layered bob at the chin, with soft layers around the face and a side part.

Gray worn on purpose has a shine that dye cannot copy, and the layers catch it at the ends so the color looks bright rather than flat. It stays neat with little styling. Ask for light layers so the silver moves, and a soft fringe or side part to frame the face.

A purple shampoo once a week keeps the gray from yellowing.

Layered Bob With Micro Bangs

A jaw-length layered bob with the fringe cut well above the brows and the whole forehead showing.

Micro bangs are the boldest fringe a bob can take, and the layers soften the cut so the short bang looks like a choice rather than a mistake.

Ask for the bangs cut with a little texture rather than a straight line so they look less severe, and trim them every three weeks. Blow-dry them flat with your fingers and skip any product that adds weight.

Tucked Layered Bob

One side of a layered bob tucked behind the ear and the other left loose, so the face is open on one side and framed on the other.

It is a styling move rather than a cut, and it is the quickest way to make a bob look done, since the tuck shows the earring and the loose side shows the layers.

Smooth the tucked side with a little serum and pin it behind the ear if the layers slip. Let the loose side fall.

Half-Up Layered Bob With a Claw Clip

The top section of a layered bob twisted back and clamped with a mini claw clip, with the shorter layers left down around the face.

It gets the hair off the face on a cut that cannot be tied back, and the layers that fall out at the front look like they were meant to.

Gather the top from the temples back and twist it, then clamp a small clip over it. Curl the front layers under so they frame the face.