How to Give Yourself a Fade Haircut - Look Your Best At Home

If you want to leave yourself a trendy look but low-cost spending, a fade haircut is a great option that is easy to cut without a barber. But cutting your hair to a fade style is always a tricky task especially for a beginner. Here is a 101 guide for you to do a fade.

What is a Fade?

Basically, a fade is a hairstyle that mixes long and short lengths on the sides and back. The hair near the neckline and ears will be cut the shortest and get longer toward the top. There are a lot of fade types for men’s look such as low taper, skin, bald, drop, temp, or undercut fade which you can try at home.

What do you need for a fade haircut?

Getting your hair a fade by a professional barber is better but you can do it at home with advance preparation. If this is your first time, you will need to care more about this. Then to the future home shaving, you will not worry much about preparing anymore.

The right equipment for your chosen fade

To get started, there is no need to invest in a full-kit barber, a basic electric clipper with different guards is highly recommended for your haircut. You can simply buy it at any local store or supermarket. A plastic guard in size #0 or #1 is preferred which helps you control the length of cutting hair easier.

A standing mirror or a handheld mirror, a comb, and a scissor are other tools that might be available at home. By using a mirror, you can look at the blind spots on your backsides.
You can get through with fewer of these things if you probably already have some of them, but I wouldn't recommend skipping on quality. You'll save a lot better in the long run and receive a far better trim while investing in good equipment.

Purchase less with discounts on hair cut tools:

Space for cutting a fade

It is essential to pick a place only for cutting your hair because your hair will spread everywhere around your fading space. A tile or wood floor is an ideal place that allows you to clean up your hair easily. If not, a bathtub is another perfect choice that can store your hair. But it would be better if you take it outside your house.

Prep your hair

Whether you have short hair or long hair, it is essential to wash it clearly and let your hair smooth by combing. A special note for you is to let your hair dry before using an electronic clipper. You will meet some unexpected trouble when mowing your dry hair.

How To Fade Your Own Hair with Clippers

First and foremost, you will need to decide the style of a fade that you want to achieve. The length of your chosen style will decide how should you go to get it and which guard is needed. We know that having a fade haircut is not easy but if you follow step by step through this instruction, you can control your fade hair look successfully.

Decide the Fade Line

You have to determine where the fading is going to begin. This will depend on how short or long you want to cut. People who choose to have low, medium, and high fade haircuts will taper the hair below the fade line based on their picked hairstyles. But in the case that you want to have a bald fade, you can skip this step.

Select the Appropriate Guard Size for the Fade Line

When you complete the first step, the next thing you need to do is to opt for the correct size of the guard. Through a perfect guard, you can control the length of your haircut exactly. As a beginner, we recommend you start with a lower guard such as #1, #2, and #3. These guards won’t trim your hair much but still leave a flattering fade shape.

• # 1 – 1/8th of an inch
• # 2 – 1/4th of an inch
• # 3 – 3/8th of an inch

If you need your hair mowing nearly to the skin, #0 guard is preferred to achieve a bald fade.

Trim the Hair to the Desired Length

Once you get an ideal guard size, it’s time to work on your hair. To get a fade haircut, you will need to shave from the bottom and move upward to the top of your hair. Getting rid of the hair on the back and sides of your head by using small, short strokes. In this way, your hair across the head will be trimmed evenly. Don’t forget to move the cordless trimmer in an upward motion during tapering until it touches your fade line.

Continue your last fading cut by changing your guard to size one or two. Move your clippers slightly up the head to have a nice blend. Look at your handheld mirror or standing mirror to mow the uneven hair. It is natural for the appearance of overlapping in certain areas when trimming your hair at home for the first time but you can fix it by moving the trim again or adjusting a larger guard to layer your hair.

Soon by the end is blending the hair into your longer hairstyle on top. It will require some technique to complete but you can use your comb as a support tool. Smooth your hair on the top by comb and select enough amount of hair to remove. Then run the trimmer along with the comb and control the length of your hair until you like it.

Finishing

When you finish the final step of the shaving process, your fade haircut is already shaped but you will need to do a few touch-ups to have a perfect finish. Trimming your bottom section of hair below the fade line and neckline will create a good shape for your hair. A normal trimmer or a beard trimmer is an excellent tool to build the final look. If you want to have a sharp cut, you can style by using an outliner or an edger.

How to Have a Fade Haircut in Different Styles

When you are ready to taper your hair with a fade haircut, check out these mentioned styles whether you can choose one for your at-home style or not.

Long Fade Haircut

This kind of taper fade haircut will allow you to maintain your long hair while leaving a handsome look to your performance. There are some types of long fade haircut that you can give it a try like Taper Fade Pompadour or Taper Fade Slick Back.

Taper Fade Pompadour

Mid Fade Haircut

Mid Fade Haircut is a safe choice for any person who can’t control the movement of the trimmer. You can go for a buzz cut, and side cut detail which will not create a dramatic contrast of your sides.

Skin Fade

With a skin face, your hair will be trimmed shortest on the sides with a bit of hair on the top of your head. To give yourself a skin fade haircut, you will need to use #0 and #1 guards to shave your hair.

Undercut Fade

You will style your hair with a feature of medium to long on top and short on the sides while cutting undercut. Variety styles are designed for undercut but these haircuts are hard to shape at home. A blend of bard fade and undercut is the most popular choice recently.

You will find it a little bit difficult to taper your hair at home but it is not impossible when you have a detailed guide to follow. We hope that you can get information through this article and can give yourself a fade successfully.