23 Short Layered Bob Hairstyles and Which Shape Suits You

A short layered bob is the cut stylists suggest when a plain bob starts to feel heavy.

The layers take weight out of the ends and put movement back in, so the hair swings instead of sitting in a block, and the shape holds between trims better than a blunt cut does.

How short the bob goes and where the layers sit decide the look. A stacked back looks nothing like a shaggy top, and a French bob with bangs looks nothing like a bixie. The classic chin-length version is where most women start.

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Classic Chin-Length Layered Bob

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

Ask for the layers to start below the ear so the top stays smooth. A middle or a soft side part both work.

Blow-dry with a round brush, curving the ends under.

Stacked Bob

All the volume lives at the back of a stacked bob, where short layers pile up in a rounded curve from the nape. The front stays longer, so the shape rises from the chin to the crown and gives flat hair height without teasing.

Ask for the stack to sit at the nape with the layers graduated, and keep the front at the jaw or a touch below.

A round brush at the back lifts the stack. Trims every six weeks keep the curve.

Inverted Layered Bob

A sharp diagonal from a short nape to a longer front, with layers cut through the angle so the line moves rather than sits. The front pieces reach the chin and the back sits high, which lengthens the neck and makes the jaw look narrower.

It suits straight hair or a loose wave that still shows the angle. Curls hide it.

Flat iron the front pieces so the angle stays crisp, and ask for the back to be checked every five weeks.

Layered Bob With Curtain Bangs

Women who want a short cut that still frames the face pair the layered bob with curtain bangs. The bangs part in the middle and curve toward the cheekbones, and the layers in the bob pick up where the bangs end so the whole front looks connected.

Ask for the bangs to blend into the shortest layer rather than stop above it.

Blow-dry the bangs away from the face with a round brush, then let the bob fall on its own.

Choppy Layered Bob

Piecey, uneven ends all the way around a chin-length bob, cut with the scissors pointed into the hair so nothing forms a straight line. It looks undone on purpose, and it suits thick hair that would sit in a heavy block with a blunt cut.

Ask for point cutting through the ends and a few shorter layers on top for separation.

Rub a little texture paste between your palms and pinch the ends into pieces. Skip the brush.

Wavy Layered Bob

Loose waves through a layered bob give it the beach-day look that long hair spends an hour chasing. The layers let each wave sit on its own instead of clumping, so the bob looks fuller without looking bigger.

Wave sections with a wand away from the face, leaving the last inch straight, and alternate directions. Shake it out with your fingers and finish with a texture spray. Skip the brush, which pulls the bends out. It needs hair that holds a wave.

French Bob With Soft Layers

The French bob has been on every stylist's board for a few years now, and the layered version is the one that stays. It sits between the chin and the cheekbone with a full fringe at the brow, and soft layers keep the shape from looking like a helmet.

Ask for the bangs cut full and the length to the jaw at the longest.

Wear it air-dried with a little cream for the undone look, or blown smooth for a sharper one.

Shaggy Bob

Short choppy layers stacked from the crown to the ends, with wispy bangs and a lot of texture on top. The shag turns a bob into something with movement from the roots down, and it suits women who do not want a neat shape.

Air-dry with mousse and shake it out at the roots for lift. Nothing needs to line up.

Ask for the shortest layers at the crown and the bangs cut with the same choppy ends as the rest.

Curly Layered Bob

Curly hair gets the most out of a layered bob, because the layers stop the curls from forming a triangle. The cut sits at the jaw, with layers shaped so the curls stack and sit round rather than spreading wide at the bottom.

Have it cut dry, curl by curl, so the stylist sees where each one springs, and ask for layers from the cheekbone.

Scrunch curl cream through damp hair and diffuse upside down for lift at the roots. Skip the brush.

Layered Bob With Side-Swept Bangs

A long bang sweeping from a deep side part across the forehead, blending into layers that frame one side of a chin-length bob. The diagonal of the bang softens the bob and suits round and square faces that a straight fringe would widen.

Ask for the bang to be cut a touch longer than the shortest layer so the two blend.

Blow-dry the bang forward first, then sweep it over with a round brush so the curve looks natural.

Light Layered Bob for Fine Hair

There is a lift to this bob that fine hair does not often get, with feathered layers through the ends and a little height at the roots. The layers stay in the bottom few inches so the hair is full at the top and wispy at the ends.

Ask for soft layers with no thinning, and a length at the chin where fine hair has the most body.

Blow-dry with the head upside down, then finish with a root spray and a flat iron bend.

Bixie Cut

Shorter than a bob and softer than a pixie, with the back and sides cropped short and the top left long enough to fall past the ears in layers. The length at the front keeps the bixie from looking boyish, and the layers on top give it the texture of a bob.

Ask for the top layers to reach the cheekbone and the nape cut short.

A little paste through the top and a round brush at the front finish it.

Asymmetrical Layered Bob

One side cut to the jaw and the other left to the chin or below, with layers through both so the difference looks like a choice. The longer side frames the face and the shorter side shows the neck, and the whole shape has an edge that an even bob does not.

It suits straight hair that shows the line. Wear the longer side forward.

Flat iron both sides smooth so the two lengths show, and keep the shorter side trimmed so the gap stays.

Layered Bob With Blonde Balayage

Hand-painted blonde running through the ends of a layered bob, lightest at the face and darker toward 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 stripe.

Ask for the lightest pieces at the front layers and a soft blend at the roots.

A purple shampoo once a week keeps the blonde clean, and a smooth blow-dry shows the gradient.

Flipped-Out Layered Bob

The nineties flip is back on short hair, with the layers curled outward at the ends so the bob kicks up around the jaw. It gives a chin-length bob a lot of bounce and shows the layers one by one.

Blow-dry each section over a round brush, rolling the ends out rather than under, then set them in large rollers for ten minutes.

Hairspray the ends so the flip holds through the day. It works on straight hair with layers at the jaw.

Undercut Layered Bob

A chin-length layered bob with the nape shaved short underneath, so the hair looks full when it is down and sharp when it is tucked. The undercut takes the bulk out of thick hair and keeps the neck cool, and from the front nobody knows it is there.

Ask for the undercut to sit below the occipital bone so the bob covers it.

Tuck one side behind the ear to show the shaved section. It needs a trim every three weeks.

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.

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

Let the loose side fall forward with its layers showing.

Layered Bob With a Deep Side Part on Relaxed Hair

A sleek chin-length bob on relaxed or pressed hair with a deep side part, the layers flipped so the heavy side swings forward. Black women have worn this bob for decades because it holds its shape between touch-ups and looks sharp with no accessories.

Ask for the layers cut on the heavy side to add swing, and keep the back tapered.

Wrap the hair at night and press the ends with a flat iron in the morning so the swing comes back.

Copper Layered Bob

Copper on a layered bob glows in a way it never does on long hair, because the layers lift the color up around the face. The bob sits at the chin with soft layers, and the copper runs from a deeper root to brighter ends.

Ask for a copper that suits your skin. Cooler skin takes a deeper auburn copper and warmer skin takes a brighter one.

A color-depositing conditioner once a week keeps it from fading to orange.

Blunt-Edged Bob With Internal Layers

A bob with a sharp blunt line at the chin and layers hidden underneath, so it looks heavy from the outside and moves like a layered cut. The internal layers take out weight without showing on the surface, which suits thick hair that wants a blunt shape without the bulk.

Ask for invisible or internal layers and a blunt perimeter, and say how much weight you want gone.

Flat iron the ends so the line stays sharp, and trim every six weeks.

Gray Layered Bob

Silver hair in a layered bob has a shine that dyed hair does not match, with the layers catching the light at the ends. The cut sits at the chin with soft layers around the face, and many women over sixty pick it because it stays neat with little styling.

Keep the layers light so the silver moves, and ask for a soft fringe or a side part to frame the face.

A purple shampoo once a week keeps the gray from going yellow.

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 short cut that cannot be tied back, and the layers that fall out look like they were meant to.

Gather the top section from the temples back and twist it, then clamp a small clip over it.

Pull the front layers loose and curl the ends under.

Layered Bob With Micro Bangs

Nothing in short hair is braver than micro bangs on a layered bob, with the fringe stopping well above the brows and the eyes clear. The short fringe shows the whole forehead and makes the layers in the bob look softer by contrast.

Ask for the bangs cut with a little texture rather than a straight line so they look less severe.

Trims every three weeks keep them short. Blow-dry them flat with your fingers, and skip any product that adds weight.