The Right Haircut for Your Face Shape: A Fairfield Stylist's Guide

When Celestine's Pinterest Bob Made Her Face Look Wider (And How We Fixed It)

Celestine came in last spring with a photo from Pinterest. Sleek, chin-length bob on a model with a narrow face and sharp cheekbones.

"I want this," she said. "Clean, modern, no fuss."

I looked at the photo, then at Celestine. She has a naturally round face with softer features. That exact bob (ending right at her jawline with no layers) would create a horizontal line that would emphasize width, not length.

"I can give you that cut," I said. "But I think it's going to make your face feel wider. Can I show you a variation that'll work better for your face shape?"

She looked skeptical but agreed to hear me out.

Instead of the blunt, chin-length line, I suggested taking the length slightly longer (just past her chin), adding soft internal layers that started below her jaw, and creating subtle movement at the ends. The overall vibe would be the same (sleek, modern bob), but the lines would work with her face instead of against it.

"Will it still look like the photo?" she asked.

"It'll look better," I said. "Because it'll look like it was made for you, not copied from someone else."

She let me do it.

When I turned her chair around, she stared at her reflection for a long moment. Then she tilted her head side to side, checking different angles.

"My face looks... longer?" she said.

Exactly. The slightly longer length and soft layers created vertical lines that drew the eye down. The horizontal line at her jaw was gone. Her face looked more elongated, more balanced.

"I almost made a huge mistake," she said.

That's the difference between copying a cut and sculpting one for your specific features. The same style can look completely different depending on where the lines fall on your face.

I'm Jess LaFerrara from The Warehouse Salon in Fairfield. Let me show you how the right cut can work with your face, not against it.

When Thessaly's Heavy Bangs Made Her Forehead Look Bigger (Not Smaller)

Thessaly came in with thick, blunt bangs cut straight across her forehead. She'd been wearing them for two years.

"I hate my forehead," she said matter-of-factly. "It's too big. The bangs cover it."

But here's the thing: the bangs were actually making the problem worse. The heavy, straight line was creating a harsh horizontal break that drew more attention to her forehead, not less. It was like putting a frame around the exact thing she wanted to minimize.

"Have you ever thought about softening them?" I asked.

She looked panicked. "No. If I don't cover my forehead, everyone will see it."

This is the trap so many clients fall into (thinking that hiding a feature is the same as balancing it). But heavy coverage often backfires.

I suggested curtain bangs: longer, softer, parted in the middle with pieces that swept to the sides. Instead of a harsh horizontal line, we'd create diagonal movement that would break up the forehead space without fully covering it.

"But people will see my forehead," she said.

"They'll see less of it than they do now," I told her. "Because right now, the line of your bangs is pointing directly at it."

She reluctantly agreed to try.

As I cut, she kept watching nervously in the mirror. When I finished styling the curtain bangs (soft, face-framing pieces that tapered longer toward the sides), she looked surprised.

"Wait. My forehead looks... smaller?"

Exactly. The diagonal lines drew the eye toward her eyes and cheekbones instead of stopping at a hard horizontal line. The forehead was still there, but it wasn't the focal point anymore.

Two months later, she came back for a trim. "Everyone keeps saying I look different," she said. "No one can figure out what changed. But I know: my forehead doesn't bother me anymore."

Sometimes what you think you need to hide is exactly what you need to reframe.

When I Moved Briony's Volume Up (And Her Whole Face Changed)

Briony came in asking for "more volume." Her hair was flat, and she thought adding fullness would help.

"Where do you usually add volume?" I asked.

She gestured to the sides of her head near her ears. "I try to tease it here, but it just falls flat by afternoon."

That was the problem. Briony has a round face, and adding volume at the sides was making her face appear wider. She was fighting her face shape with every styling attempt.

"Can I show you something?" I said.

I pulled her hair up at the crown, showing her what height at the top of her head would do. "Volume here creates a vertical line. It makes your face look longer. Volume at the sides creates a horizontal line. It makes your face look wider."

"So I've been making it worse?"

"You've been putting volume in the wrong place."

I cut subtle layers specifically at her crown (not heavy, choppy layers, but strategic internal layering that would allow the hair to lift naturally at the top). Then I showed her how to blow-dry with the volume directed upward, not outward.

When we finished, she looked at herself from different angles.

"My face looks thinner," she said. "But you didn't cut off much hair."

I didn't need to. The shape was the same length. I just moved where the volume lived. Up instead of out.

Three weeks later, she texted me a photo. She'd styled it herself at home. The crown had lift, the sides were sleek, and her face looked noticeably more elongated.

The caption: "I finally understand what you meant."

Volume isn't about adding more everywhere. It's about adding it in the right place.

When Everything About Ondine's Cut Was Working Against Her

Ondine came in frustrated with her hair. "I don't know what's wrong," she said. "I just never feel like it looks right."

I looked at her cut. Chin-length bob, blunt edges, heavy straight-across bangs. She has a round face and a prominent forehead.

Everything about her cut was creating horizontal lines. The bob ended right at her jawline (horizontal). The bangs cut straight across her forehead (horizontal). There were no layers, no diagonal movement, nothing to create length or break up width.

"Can I be really honest with you?" I said.

"Please."

"Your cut is fighting every feature. The length makes your face look wider. The bangs draw attention to your forehead. And the blunt edges add weight where you don't need it."

She looked devastated for a second, then laughed. "So you're saying everything is wrong?"

"I'm saying we can fix everything."

We took the bob slightly longer (past her chin to create vertical length). We transitioned her heavy bangs into softer curtain bangs (diagonal movement across the forehead). We added internal layers that created lift at the crown (vertical volume).

When I turned her chair around, she didn't say anything at first. Just looked at herself from different angles, touching her hair.

"Is this what it's supposed to feel like?" she finally said. "When a haircut actually works?"

Yes. That's exactly what it's supposed to feel like.

Ondine texts me before every appointment now: "Same thing. Don't change anything. This is the first haircut I've ever loved."

When every element of a cut works together (length, layers, texture, volume placement), you stop fighting your features and start enhancing them.

Ready to See How the Right Cut Can Transform Your Look?

If you've been feeling like your hair just isn't doing you any favors, let's change that.

Book a personalized consultation with one of our stylists at The Warehouse Salon. We're located at 1275 Bloomfield Ave, Building 1, Unit 3 in Fairfield, New Jersey. Give us a call at 973-500-4536 or book your appointment online.