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  • Women's cut
  • Medium
  • Clean & classic
  • Soft

Lob (long bob)

A medium, classic and soft women's cut with 10–12 in (25.5–30.5 cm) on top, finished with a blocked neckline.

Also asked for as: long bob, lob haircut, collarbone length hair, shoulder length bob

Top
10–12 in (25.5–30.5 cm)
Best on
1A–3A
Recut
8–10 wks
Styling
5–10 min

Traditionally suggested for

Near universal; round faces (length below the chin), square faces (curved ends), a large chin.

Stylist convention

Who it fits

Hair comes first: these decide whether the shape can hold.

  • Best on 1A–3A hair (straight, wavy and curly).Hair physics
  • Any density.Hair physics
  • Holds up through a Norwood 2 hairline.Barber consensus
  • Scores higher if you have a square jaw.Stylist convention

Who should skip it

Any one of these moves it down your list, or off it.

  • 3B–4C hair (curly and coily): the shape depends on a texture it can't hold, so we rule it out.Hair physics
  • A hairline past Norwood 2: at stage 3 it's shown with a caveat; beyond that we hide it.Barber consensus

Barbers also flag: Few — a dependable middle ground.

What to tell your barber

The catalog spec, in barber terms. Your own card adjusts it: part side from your crown whorl, curl notes for your texture, and a QR code your barber can open.

Read this to your barber

“Collarbone length; blunt or light long layers; bevel the ends under or out.”
Sides
Collarbone length
Top
10–12 in (25.5–30.5 cm)
Neckline
Blocked (squared-off line)
Technique
Blunt or light long layers; bevel the ends under or out
Product
Smoothing cream or texture spray
Recut
Every 8–10 weeks

Upkeep and yearly cost

Priced at $30 a cut. Your results use your own local price.

Trim every
8–10 weeks
Per year
5–7 cuts a year, about $150–$210 at $30 a cut
Daily styling
5–10 min a day
Product
Light product
Heat tools
Not needed

Proportions, by face shape

Where the lob (long bob) places in our engine’s geometry-only top 10 for a textbook face of each shape: a top-3 pick for oval. Proportions are the smallest part of a real score; your hair counts for more.

Where the lob (long bob) places in the geometry-only top 10 for each face shape
Face shapeOn proportions
Oval#1 of the top 10
Round#7 of the top 10
SquareNot in the top 10
Oblong#5 of the top 10
Heart#5 of the top 10
Diamond#4 of the top 10
Triangle#9 of the top 10
All haircuts

See the lob (long bob) on your own face before you sit down.

Free analysis first. Previews only change your hair, and if one doesn’t look like you, the redo is free.

Check it on my face