Curly coated dogs often need the neck coat to be hand scissored into the head to be balanced with the rest of the trim. For a round head style, start with the eye area. Clear the stop area either with clippers or by hand.

• Comb the coat forward over the eyes and trim it like the front of a poodle topknot, at a steep bevel over the eyes.
• You can trim just beyond the outer corners of the eyes with the bevel. Recheck your line and detail the beveled line until it is smooth and even.
• Next, pull the ears forward to the nose and trim off any ear coat that falls beyond the length of the muzzle. This will establish the jaw line for a Bichon-styled head where the ears and jaw are of equal length.
• For non-Bichon type round head styles, the ear length can vary from extremely long to super-short clipped ears.

Bichon Type Round Head Style

• Keep the eyes and nose at the center of the circle.
• With a Bichon-type head, there is no break at the ear line, so scissor the topknot and ears into one piece. On mixed breeds, a line can be created over the ear as you would with a poodle head style.
• For the Bichon, the sides of the head are hand scissored creating the full round head piece. The head can be tapered a bit on the sides for poodles and mixed breeds by using a long guard comb between the back corner of the eyes and the ear canal. Using a longer guard comb will assist in setting equal lengths from side to side.
• Finish the trim by hand, blending the top of the rounded topknot so that it smoothly flows into the crest of the neck.
• The muzzle may be trimmed by hand or, for shorter round heads with this coat type, trimmed with a medium to longer attach-on guard comb. Whether shaped by hand or set with an attach-on comb, double-check the area for neatness with either regular or thinning shears. The finished product  should be neat, clean and in pleasing harmony with the rest of the trim.
• Make sure all curls and kinks are removed in the drying stage.
• The eye area is beveled. Stack the coat above the eyes and create a kind, intelligent expression.
• Double and triple-check the line above the eyes for evenness.
• For large, full head styles, curved shears longer than 8.5 inches are helpful.
• For tighter head styles, set the sides of the face with a guard comb, ensuring evenness from side to side.
• Clasp the ears loosely behind the head to check the overall final head shape as you finish trimming this head style.

Terrier Type Round Head Style

When viewed from the front, this head style is full and round. The fur on pet terrier dogs normally does not have the harsh texture required to frame the face the way a hand-stripped coat does, although the same general rules apply. The coat should look very natural, with no scissor marks. The eyes and nose are at the center of the headpiece.

With thinning shears, clear the excessive hair at the inside corners of the eyes, but leave the longer fur in the stop area. There is a small cowlick just above the inside corners of the eye. With thinning shears, lightly remove the coat from this cowlick, but leave all the longer hair over the brow. This will serve as a frame for the deep-set eyes.

Standing to the side of the dog, rest your hand gently at the top of the head, fingers toward the eye area. Comb all the hair from the sides of the face up to the top of the skull, from the eye area to the ears, catching the long coat between your fingers. Once all the hair is combed up and held firmly between your fingers, find the median line of the skull, or the center groove.

Draw the coat up directly above that line. With thinning shears, trim the coat to be level with the tops of the ear tips, trimming in a line just above your fingers.

• When you release the coat, the hair will feather beautifully over the top part of the head. Repeat the process with the hair from the center point of the skull and the occiput. With curved shears used in reverse, create a deep-set arch over the eyes to frame them. Buffer the line with thinning shears to soften it once the shape has been set.
• Comb the fur in an outward and downward fashion over the nose. Neaten with thinning shears on a diagonal line that parallels the end of the muzzle, leaving at least an inch or two of hair. Looking from the side, comb the coat down over the muzzle and cheeks. Trim the lower jaw line to balance with the round headpiece, keeping the nose and eyes at the center of the circle.
• Neaten the neck area with thinning shears so that the longer fur of the headpiece is even but very natural looking. Finish by reviewing the outline, combing all the hair up and out, allowing it to drop in a natural manner. Trim any long hair that falls outside the lines of a natural, neat head style with deep-set eyes.