Factors like heat, a receding hairline, or the desire to get ready quickly in the morning can make someone go for a buzz cut. But what if you have a round face? Do buzz cuts and round faces go together?
A traditional buzz cut can make a round face stand out and look too round. But not if you style your cut correctly.
So what can you do to make buzz cuts and round faces go together? Read on to find out how to rock a buzz cut even if you have a round face.
How Do You Know if You Have a Round Face?
Some people have faces that are obviously round. But others have more subtly round faces that are not as noticeable until they get the wrong haircut or buy the wrong pair of sunglasses.
So how do you know if you have a round face? Here are a few telltale signs.
- General Features: Curved facial features and a lack of angular lines
- Forehead: The forehead will typically be rounded and short
- Cheeks: Cheeks on a round face will be wide and circular
- Chin: The chin may be rounded off, or it may be just as wide as the cheeks and forehead
- Jaw: The jaw will be soft and smooth with little definition between the chin and neck
If you are still not sure if you have a round face, the safest bet is to take a measuring tape and measure your face. Here are the measurements you will need to take:
- Your face from top to bottom
- Your forehead width
- Your cheek width
- Your jawline width
If your face height and width are about the same, and your forehead and jawline are measuring almost equal, but your cheeks are a bit wider, you have a round face.
What is a Buzz Cut?
In simplest terms, a buzz cut is a very short haircut, and in most instances, the hair will be the same length all around. However, sometimes buzz cuts have hair that’s shorter on the sides and longer on top.
There are various types of buzz cuts, below are the most common:
- Military: So-called because it describes the cut given to members of the military. It is a very short, all-one-length buzz cut.
- Burr: The Burr Cut is similar to the Military cut, but it’s a bit longer. It is for people who feel the Military cut is too severe.
- Butch Cut: The Butch Cut is the next step up as it’s slightly longer than the Burr.
- High & Tight: The High & Tight has very short hair on the sides and a bit longer on the top.
- Crew Cut: Like the High & Tight, the crew cut is short on the sides and longer on top. The main difference is that the hair is styled up and to the side.
Buzz cuts are ideal for people who like no-maintenance hairstyles, keeping things cool in the hot weather and hiding receding hairlines.
Do Buzz Cuts Look Good on Guys with Round Faces?
Unfortunately, buzz cuts and round faces don’t always go together.
To combine buzzcuts and round faces successfully, you should use some of your hair length to create angles that will offset the roundness of a round face. But if you don’t have much hair to work with, this won’t be so easy to do. Since buzz cuts are short, they don’t leave a lot of length to play around with and can make a round face look even rounder.
So what can you do if you have a round face and like the low maintenance of a buzz cut? Or what if you are hoping that a buzz cut will hide your thinning hair? Well, there are a few options, including the following:
1. Add a Little Length on the Top
One recommendation is to opt for a High & Tight or a Crew Cut instead of the more conventional ‘all one length’ buzz cut. A High & Tight is ideal because you can spike up the hair on top, which elongates a round face. A Crew Cut is both high and off to the side, so it creates length as well as angles.
Related Article: High and Tight Haircut vs. Undercut: All The Differences & Similarities
2. Break Up the Roundness on Your Face with Glasses or a Beard
Unfortunately, an all-one-length buzz cut will bring out the roundness of your face. But you can cut up the round appearance by wearing glasses or growing a beard.
If you choose to wear glasses, opt for a pair with angular frames, i.e., square or rectangular frames. Avoid round frames, which will make your face look rounder. Note even if you don’t have a prescription, there are plenty of fashion glasses you can wear.
If you decide to grow a beard, grow one that adds angles and length to your face. Goatees and pointy facial hair styles are ideal. There are plenty of other beard options for round faces you can see here.
3. Taper the Sides
Tapering the sides involves cutting the hair very short around the ears and neck and allowing it to grow longer gradually as you go up towards the top of the head. In addition to leaving you something on the top to play with, it also provides a slimming effect to the face and helps define the jawline.
4. Grow it a Little Longer
Buzz cuts are typically quite short. But you may be surprised to find out how much you can grow them out and still maintain that ‘all one length’ buzz-cut appearance.
With a longer buzz cut, you will have some length to play with, so you can spike your hair or part it off to the side to add angles and create an elongating effect.
Related Article: The Number 1 Buzz Cut: Complete Tutorial With Photos
Different Buzz Cuts for Guys with Round Faces
As already mentioned, buzz cut styles and round faces don’t always go together. But there are short styles that can work with a round face. In fact, there are plenty of options. In this section, we will review various buzz cuts that look great on guys with round faces.
1. Long Buzz Cut
A long buzz cut style is an all-one length but longer than most buzz cuts. While buzz cuts are typically trimmed with a 1-3 guard size, the longer buzz cut will be trimmed with a guard number 5 or bigger.
Long buzz cuts give a person something to work with. As mentioned in the previous section, they can spike up their hair to elongate their face or part it to the side to create an angle that offsets the roundness.
2. Crew Cut with Tapered Sides
Earlier, we mentioned how both a crew cut and tapered sides can offset a round face. But if you combine the two, you will really hit it out of the park.
A crew cut gives you some length to work with on top, and if you taper the sides, you will add definition to your jaw and thin out your facial features.
3. Crew Cut with Fade
A fade is similar to a taper, but it’s more dramatic and shorter. It usually starts with the hair completely shaved around the ear and gets longer as you go up, providing some length on the top of the head.
When combined with the crew length on top will give you some hair to work with and also provide a narrowing, defining look around the face.
4. Hard Part and Combover
This throwback style will require hair to be a bit longer on top. The hair is divided by a severe side part and is combed back away from the face. It can be accompanied by a fade or tapering.
The style provides an elongated, angular look that won’t make the face look as round.
5. A Caesar Cut
A Caesar cut may be best described as a very short bowl cut. With some asymmetry and texture, it adds a modern touch to a classic crew-cut look. It’s highly stylish yet low maintenance.
This is another look that works well with tapering or fading.
6. Super Short Buzz with a Beard
If you are losing your hair or just really dislike styling it, you may opt for a super short buzz that has an almost shaved head effect. But because the shaved head won’t give you a more angular appearance, you can break the roundness by adding a beard to the mix.
Buzz Cut Round FaceFAQ Section
While buzz cuts and round faces tend not to go together, there are certain types of buzz cuts that work well. These include those with longer hair on top that give you the option to create angles. You can also choose a buzz cut fade that tapers or fades out the sides of your hair to add definition to your jaw and narrow the shape of your face.
Buzz cuts are best for people with diamond, square, or oval-shaped faces. This means they won’t work well on people with round, heart-shaped, pear-shaped, and oblong faces. However, with the right styling techniques, a buzz cut will look good on any face shape.
Men with round faces are best off getting haircuts that are layered, as layering will break up the roundness. Or they may consider a style that adds some angles to the face. Here are some examples:
Pompadour: Pompadours are ideal because they elongate the face countering a rounded look.
Messy Waves: This type of surfer look requires you growing out your hair, but you can leave it short on the side, if you prefer. It will make your face look longer and leaner.
Spiky Haircut: Like a pompadour, a spiky cut will also elongate the face. It’s an edgy look that can be as short or long as you prefer.
Choppy Bangs: Choppy bangs can be worn with any length of hair. It’s a fun, messy style that adds angles to round face shapes.
Shag: Men that have longer hair may opt for this modern-day version of a mullet. The layering is ideal for adding shape to the face.
Combover: The combover is any hairstyle with an extreme side part. The hair can be long or short, high, or slicked down. It’s great for breaking up the look of a round face.
Buzz cuts can make you look attractive if they are worn the right way. Pay attention to your face shape and style your buzz cut accordingly.
If you have a round face, bangs can work for or against you. Generally, straight bangs are a no-no. They will take away from the length of your face making it look even rounder.
A better option is to go for side-swept bangs cut at a strong angle. You can also go for choppy layered bangs that will detract from the roundness.
Conclusion
Buzz cuts and round faces don’t typically go together. But with the right strategies, you can make the look work for you. Choose one of the styles we mentioned and rock your new buzz-cut style with confidence. If you have any questions or a cool tip for guys with round faces to share, hit us up in the comments section.
Russell is the founder of themensattitude.com. He is a barber a beard enthusiast and he is obsessed with trying men’s lifestyle products and blog about them. If you have any questions you can hit him up via the contact page.
