23 Chubby Face Short Curly Hairstyles That Slim and Flatter

Curly hair is a gift for a round or fuller face, because curls add height, and height is exactly what makes a rounder face look longer and slimmer. There is one catch that trips people up, though. Curly volume at the cheeks and sides adds width, which makes a round face look rounder, not slimmer. So the entire game with short curly hair is keeping the volume up top and off the sides, a tall curly crown with tapered or tucked-in sides. Skip the chin-length curly bob that sits widest at your cheeks, since that works against you. Get the balance right and short curls are some of the most flattering styles going. Here are the ones to try.

Curly Pixie With Height on Top

One of the most flattering short cuts for a round face is a curly pixie with real height on top. Keeping the curls tall at the crown and the sides tapered close draws the eye upward and keeps width off your cheeks, which makes your face look longer and slimmer. Ask for length up top and shorter sides. Diffuse the top for maximum lift and define with a light cream. Bold, freeing, and genuinely face-slimming. Height is the whole trick.

Tapered Natural Cut With a High Top

Made for a round or fuller face, a tapered natural cut stacks height on top while the tapered sides keep width off your cheeks. The volume rises up at the crown, drawing the eye vertically, and the faded sides slim your face. Refresh your coils with water and a curl cream so the top stays full and defined. Add statement earrings. Bold, modern, and one of the most flattering short cuts for round faces on natural hair.

Long-Top Curly Pixie With a Side-Swept Fringe

Left longer on top with a side-swept fringe, a curly pixie adds height and a diagonal line, both of which flatter a rounder face. The longer top gives you curls to sweep up and across, and the angled fringe breaks up the roundness instead of cutting straight across, which would add width. Keep the sides tapered. Style the top up and the fringe off to one side. A soft, flattering short cut with movement and lift.

Curly Crop With Tapered Sides

Clean and edgy, a short curly crop with faded or tapered sides is a great way to slim a fuller face. Cropping the sides close removes the width at your cheeks entirely, while the curls up top add height and shape. It is a bold, low-maintenance cut with real attitude. Keep the top defined and full and the sides tight. This one takes confidence but pays off, since nothing draws the eye up and away from the cheeks quite like it. Sharp and slimming.

Asymmetrical Short Curly Cut

An asymmetrical short curly cut, longer on one side than the other, builds the off-balance, diagonal lines that flatter a round face. The uneven lengths pull the eye across and down rather than adding symmetric width at the cheeks. Part it deep on the fuller side and let the longer curls fall past your cheekbone. Define and diffuse for shape. It takes a good curl-specialist stylist, but it is one of the strongest short options for a rounder face. Edgy and slimming.

Short Curly Shag With Crown Height

Piling choppy textured layers with plenty of crown height, a short curly shag gives a round face exactly the lift it wants. The layers add volume up top while breaking up the width around your cheeks, and the shaggy texture keeps the eye moving. Ask for it dry-cut so the layers land right once your curls spring up. Diffuse with a root-lifting mousse. Cool, voluminous, and flattering. Height and texture do the slimming work.

Curly Bixie With Lift

Half bob and half pixie, a curly bixie works for a round face when you keep the volume high and the sides close. It lands around your earlobe with lift at the crown and shorter, tapered sides that keep width off your cheeks. The height draws the eye up while the length stays manageable. Have it dry-cut for your curl pattern. Diffuse the top for volume. A wearable, grow-out-friendly short cut that flatters a fuller face. Lifted, easy, and slimming.

Deep-Side-Part Curly Bob

Parted deep to one side, a short curly bob flatters a round face far better than a center-parted one. The deep part adds height on the fuller side and pulls everything off-center, breaking up the symmetry that makes a round face look rounder. Keep the curls lifted at the crown rather than wide at the cheeks. Diffuse for volume up top. A simple change that makes a curly bob work with your face shape instead of against it. Asymmetric and flattering.

A-Line Curly Bob

Shorter at the back and longer toward the front, an A-line curly bob draws the eye down and away from your cheeks. The longer front pieces frame your face on a slimming diagonal, while the shorter back adds lift. Keep the crown full and the sides from puffing out wide. Have it dry-cut and diffuse. This gives a curly bob real structure that flatters a fuller face. Angled, shaped, and slimming.

Curly Bob With Tucked-Back Sides

If you love a curly bob, tucking the sides back keeps the width off your cheeks where it counts. Wear a chin-to-jaw curly bob but pin or tuck the sides behind your ears, or sweep them back, so the fullness sits up top and behind rather than out at the cheeks. It lets you keep the bob while slimming your face. Add height at the crown. A smart way to make a curly bob flatter a rounder face. Tucked, lifted, and balanced.

Curly Quiff

Pushing the curls up and back off your forehead, a curly quiff builds dramatic height that is ideal for a round face. Building volume up and away at the front draws the eye vertically and keeps things off your cheeks. Work a curl cream and a little gel to lift the front up and back. Keep the sides tighter. It is bold and a little retro, with real presence. Height up front does all the slimming. Striking and face-flattering.

Curly Faux-Hawk

Concentrating all the volume up the center of your head, a curly faux-hawk is about as slimming as short curly hair gets for a round face. Pushing the curls up into a raised strip down the middle with the sides tapered or pinned close keeps every bit of width off your cheeks. It is bold and edgy, and the vertical volume makes your face look longer. Style with product pushed up and in. Fierce, high-impact, and genuinely slimming.

High-Top Curls

High-top curls, worn tall on top with tapered or faded sides, are a striking, slimming short style for a round face on natural hair. The height rises up while the close sides keep width off your cheeks, drawing the eye straight up. Pick out or define the top for maximum volume and shape. Refresh with water and a curl cream between wash days. Bold, sculptural, and one of the most face-slimming ways to wear short natural curls. All the volume goes up, not out.

Grown-Out TWA With Height

Shaped with height on top and tapered sides, a grown-out TWA is a fresh, low-maintenance short cut that flatters a fuller face. As your teeny weeny afro grows, keep the crown full and the sides close so the volume goes up rather than out at the cheeks. Moisturize with a leave-in and define the top with a curl cream. It celebrates your natural texture while slimming your face. Add earrings for extra lift. Bold, easy, and shaped to flatter.

Side-Swept Curly Bang Cut

Lightweight and swept to one side, a short curly cut with a side-swept curly bang frames a round face without adding width. The key is keeping the fringe light and piecey on a diagonal, rather than a heavy straight-across bang that widens the face. It softens your forehead and draws a flattering angle. Keep volume up at the crown behind it. Define the bang gently so it stays soft. Framing, soft, and slimming, as long as the fringe stays light.

Wash-and-Go With Crown Volume

Styled with the volume concentrated at the crown, a wash-and-go is an easy everyday look that flatters a round face. Apply your leave-in, curl cream, and gel, then encourage the height up top while keeping the sides from spreading wide at your cheeks. Diffuse upside down for root lift, then shape the top full. Scrunch out the crunch. This is the low-effort way to wear your natural curls short and still flatter a fuller face. Defined, lifted, and easy.

Twist-Out Swept Up

Swept up and off the cheeks, a short twist-out gives you defined curls with the volume exactly where a round face wants it. Set your twist-out on damp, moisturized hair, then style the top full and sweep the front and sides up and back so the fullness sits high, not wide. Pin one side if you like. It shows off your definition while slimming your face. A defined, voluminous natural style styled to flatter. Up top, off the cheeks.

Curly Half-Up

Gathering the top section into a small puff or clip, a curly half-up adds height and pulls the fullness up off your face. The volume rises at the crown instead of spreading at your cheeks. It works even on shorter curly hair as long as there is enough to gather. Leave a few curls loose at the front. Easy, lifted, and flattering. Height up top in ten seconds.

Curly Top-Knot

Pulling short natural curls up into a high top-knot or puff adds height and takes the fullness up and away from your cheeks, which is ideal for a round face. Gather what length you have high on your head, smooth your edges, and let the curls sit tall up top. It is a quick, comfortable style that slims your face by drawing the eye up. Refresh the curls with water first. Keep it from being too tight. Lifted, easy, and slimming.

Side-Swept Curls Off One Cheek

Sweeping your short curls over and off to one side keeps the volume asymmetric and away from both cheeks at once. Deep-part your hair and bring the curls to one side so they fall off your face rather than framing both cheeks with width. The asymmetry and the diagonal are both slimming for a round face. Add root lift on the fuller side. Define and diffuse. A soft, pretty way to wear short curls that flatters a rounder face. Off to one side, up at the root.

Deep-Side-Part Defined Curls

The fastest styling fix for a round face with short curls is a deep side part with plenty of root lift. Parting low on one side forces the roots up for height at the crown and pulls the curls off-center, breaking the symmetric width that widens a round face. Blow the roots up with a diffuser, then define the curls. It costs nothing and adds instant lift and asymmetry. A small change that makes short curls far more slimming. Height and angle in one.

Pinned-Back Sides

Pinning the sides of your short curls back is a simple trick that takes the width off your cheeks. Leave the curls full and tall on top, then pin the sides back or up with a few clips so nothing puffs out wide at your face. It reshapes the fullness upward and back, which slims a rounder face. Use a couple of small clips and keep the crown lifted. Quick, easy, and flattering. A ten-second way to slim short curls.

Elongating Placement Color

Color placed strategically can make short curls slim a round face, no cut required. A little lightness through the top or the fringe draws the eye up, while keeping the sides darker recedes the width at your cheeks. This vertical placement makes your face look longer. Ask your colorist for brightness up top and depth at the sides, and keep any lift gentle on curly hair, which is prone to dryness. Dimensional, slimming, and a clever styling secret. Color that flatters your shape.