Making the Cut. Face Shapes and Hairstyles.

What’s the best short hairstyle for your face shape?

Before cutting your locks, estimate your “short” options. “You have to think about the jawline, the face shape, the length of the neck — all of those things contribute to how short or long you can go with the bob,” said celebrity hairstylist Ted Gibson, who snipped Anne Hathaway’s above-the-shoulder do. “Even though everyone is wearing shorter hair, it’s important to not be a slave to the trend.”

Gibson’s fail-safe tips? Those with fuller faces should avoid taking it too short: “You wouldn’t want the haircut to be at the jawline because it’s going to accentuate that,” he said. “If it’s a little longer, it’s slimming and more angular on the face and neck.” The perfect candidate for a pixie do or cropped bob, said Gibson, is someone who is thinner through the cheeks and with a smaller head. Regardless of how much you elect to cut, Gibson ranks the severity of the cut as the top consideration: “It should definitely have softness to it.”