Many men like the clean look of a fade but still feel unsure about the terms, especially the difference between a high fade and a low fade.
A fade is a cutting technique where the hair gradually gets shorter until it blends into the skin. It is a popular style and a key part of modern men’s grooming.
A smooth fade takes skill, so it is best done by a professional barber. If the blend is uneven, it can throw off the whole haircut.
When you sit in the barber’s chair, you will usually be asked which type of fade you want. This guide explains the main features of high fades and low fades so you can ask for the right one.
Origin of Fade Haircut
While the fade haircut originated in the 1940s with military-style cuts, it gained popularity in the 1980s in African-American communities with the rise of hip-hop. During this time, high-top fade haircuts became increasingly popular.
What is a High Fade haircut?
A high fade haircut is a hairstyle where the fading of the hair begins and ends quite high up the back and sides of the head. Sometimes the hair only goes about 1 to 1.5 inches down the sides and the back of the head. This helps to make the hair on the top of the head look thicker and fuller. It is reminiscent of military cuts like the high and tight hairstyle.
The hair on the top of the head can be as long as you like with a high fade haircut. The best way to personalize a hairstyle is to use strong and bold features, such as a disconnected undercut (leaving a sharp length difference between the long top and the faded sides without blending). More subtle features are less likely to be noticeable in a High Fade hairstyle.
Be careful not to confuse a High Fade haircut with an undercut style. In an Undercut hairstyle, the hair at the back and sides of the look is cut to a uniform length without any gradient.
How to Cut High Fade
You’ll find below detailed instructions for a high fade cut.
Pre Step:
Clean and dry your hair thoroughly before cutting a high fade.
Step One: Trim the Top
Using styling scissors, trim the top of the hair in sections up to the desired length. For this, hold the hair between your forefinger and middle finger. Trim to your desired length, elevating the sections to follow the natural curve of your head.
Step Two: Shave the Back and Sides to A Uniform Length
Set up a 3-way mirror or use a handheld mirror to see the back of your head, then begin at the temples and shave the entire back and sides with a number three guard. This will make it easier to do the high fade cut.
Step Three: Section Your Hair Into Different Lengths
Begin approximately one inch below the top of the section that you shaved with a number three guard. This starting place should be about one inch below your temple.
Shave out an area that is approximately one inch long with the number two guard, then below that, a one-inch area with a number one guard, and everything below that with a number zero guard.
Step Four: Blend the Sections
Go back to each transition site with the guard for the shorter of the two sections you’re blending. Use a comb and that shorter guard to create hair lengths between the two guard sizes. Do this for each shaved section.
Step Five: Clean up The Edges
Make sure that the base of your neck has a solid hairline that goes straight across and that the hair around your ears is an evenly trimmed shape. Stick to a zero-gapped T-blade trimmer to carefully clean the neckline; attempting to use a straight razor on yourself without professional training poses a severe cut risk.
Watch Below Video to Learn How To Get High Fade Haircut
What is a Low Fade haircut?
A Low Fade haircut is a haircut where the hair starts to taper much lower down the head. In a low fade cut, the fade will typically start around 1 inch above the perimeter hairlines at the ears and the nape of the neck. As with any other type of fade cut, men can have the hair on the top of their head as long as they would like.
However, a Low Fade style can give men more freedom about what the rest of their style looks like. Because there is more hair involved in the whole style, it is easier to create distinctive features and definitions in the hair.
For example, the barber can create alternating sections of thicker hair and thinner hair as part of a low fade style. It is not possible to create this type of look with a High Fade style because the lack of hair would mean that there wasn’t clear definition in the style.
While a Low Fade haircut relies heavily on hair clippers, it is often refined using scissor-over-comb techniques.
How to Cut Low Fade
Let’s look at the different steps necessary to achieve a low fade cut.
Pre Step
Before cutting a low fade, make sure that your hair is clean and ready. After washing your hair, make sure that you dry it thoroughly.
Step One
Take proper scissors and trim the top of the hair to the length you want. You should always use styling scissors, as regular ones might give you a blunt and jagged look.
Hold hair between your pointer and middle fingers and trim to your desired length, elevating the sections to follow the natural curve of your head. Use small sections of hair, and always use a portion from the selection that you already cut and leveled to know you are being consistent.
Step Two
Set up a 3-way mirror or use a handheld mirror to see the back of your head, then begin just above the ears and shave the entire back and sides with a number two-guard. Removing all excess hair will make it easier to start your fade.
Step Three
Approximately one and a half inches below the top of where you shaved with a number two guard, shave out an area with a number one guard. This section should also be approximately one and a half inches. Below that section, shave with a number zero guard.
Step Four
If your top section isn’t too long, you can use a number three guard and a comb above the number two section to blend with the top. Otherwise, use a clipper with an open guard in a sweeping “C” motion, or use the scissor-over-comb technique to blend the top into the shaved section.
For transitions between the shaved sections of hair, use a comb and the shortest guard for that section to get hair that is between the two guard lengths.
Step Five
Make sure the hairline at the base of your neck is clean and straight across. The hair around your ears should also be evenly trimmed. Use a zero-gapped T-blade trimmer to clean the neckline with care. Do not use a straight razor on yourself unless you have professional training, as it can easily cause serious cuts.
Watch Following Tutorial to Learn how To Cut Low Fade
Low Fade vs High Fade Haircuts
Here are three main differences between low fade and high fade haircuts in short.
High Fade |
Low Fade |
| Starts 2–3 inches above the perimeter hairline. | Starts 1 – 1.5 inches above the perimeter hairline. |
| Great for bold definition. | Perfect for subtle definition. |
| Mistaken for an Undercut hairstyle. | Mistaken for Executive Contouring. |
Maintenance Tips for Fades
To keep your fade looking fresh, regular upkeep is important. Make sure to:
- To keep your fade looking sharp, you need regular barber visits.
- A low fade needs touch-ups about every 2 weeks.
- That is because even a little growth can ruin the clean blend around the ears and neckline.
- A high fade usually lasts 3 to 4 weeks before it grows out too much.
- For both styles, the longer hair on top usually needs a trim every 4 to 6 weeks.
For low-fades, you might be able to get away with touching up the sides every three to four weeks instead of every two to three.
Both low fades and high fades are trendy and very popular among men. You can also try fade hairstyles with a comb over and pompadour fades. Choose between these two fade styles according to your face size, shape and choice.
FAQs
Neither is better than the other, but each has different pros and cons. A low fade is a classic look, and it works well on textured and thick hair. These fades often don’t need to be maintained as often as high fades.
A high fade is a bold, dramatic look, and it can work well with any hair type, but high fades are typically more high-maintenance than low-cut one.
A high fade typically leaves only 1 to 2 inches of length dropping down from the top, keeping the shortest shaved hair high up on the sides and back.
Generally, a high fade is better for a receding hairline. Starting the haircut higher up gives the illusion that the receding hairline is a part of the cut instead of hair loss.
While low fades can still look good with shorter haircuts, they pair better with longer cuts. Low fades look excellent with blowouts, faux hawks, and crew cuts.
High fades can look good with longer haircuts and pompadours, but they look better with shorter cuts. Some good haircuts to pair with a high fade include the high and tight, a high skin fade, and high fades with parts and short tops.
No. Low fades are similar to a taper haircut, but they aren’t the same. The low fade is more dramatic because the final hair section is significantly shorter than a taper.
Both hairstyles involve changing hair lengths across sections, but a taper will never be so short that you can see skin, which is almost always the case with a fade.
No. A high fade has to do with where the fade begins on the side of your head, and a skin fade means that the bottom section of hair goes down to the skin. A high fade can also be a skin fade, but it doesn’t have to be.
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