Clipper Cutting: How High To Cut A Fade With Longer Top

One of the most important things to consider when you are learning how to fade hair is how high it is going to be. There are a lot of things to consider as you think about this question. Some of them include cowlicks, hair thickness, hair color, head shape, surface of the scalp (lumps, bumps, and/or dents), moles, scars, customer’s age, customer’s job, desired hairstyle, the customer’s preference.
A very important note to keep in mind is that no matter how good you are at fading hair, if the fade is too high or too low your customer will not think it is a good haircut. I will say it another way. If the haircut is 100% technically correct but it is not exactly what the customer wants they won’t be happy. This is especially true with the fade haircut customer. It doesn’t matter if they are a young kid or older suit and tie professional. These are the most particular and hardest customers to please.
There are many modern and classic men’s hairstyles that require a longer top. Even though these styles require a longer top, a close taper or fade in around the outline of the haircut is required to finish off the haircut. The most important thing to keep in mind is: The longer the hair on top the lower the fade or taper should be cut. If the fade is cut to high the haircut will look out of balance. The best way to avoid this is to start the haircut by layering the top section. Next, cut the round of the head section using the top section as the guide. Before starting the fade, cut the sides and back section to give yourself a guide for the fade. After these three steps you will know exactly how high the fade should be cut to perfectly blend into the longer top.