Low Fade
the quiet one
Blend stays within an inch of the ear. Reads "fresh haircut," not "statement." Suits nearly every head and every dress code.
SAY —"Low fade, keep it soft at the bottom."
UPKEEP3–4 weeks
LESSON 00 — welcome to the board
Every fade, drawn to the line.
FadeGuide is the chalkboard your barber wishes you'd studied: one draggable diagram that shows what "low, mid, high" actually means on a head, the guard chart in real millimetres, and the words that turn "just a trim please" into the cut you were imagining.
8 styles decoded 11 guards charted 1 sentence builder
THE FADE DIAGRAM — drag the yellow line
fig. 01 · side profile
MID FADE
— blend clears the templeGUARD PATH0 → 1 → 2 → 3, meet the top
TOUCH-UPevery 2–3 weeks
READS ASsharp, still office-safe
The Goldilocks. Enough contrast to read as a fade, enough hair left that nobody asks whether you lost a bet. Blend runs from the ear to the temple before meeting your top length.
or tap:
the bands below the line are the blend — anchored at the ear, always. the line just sets where the blend stops.
LESSON 01 — the eight styles
Every fade on the board.
Tap any card to load it into the sentence builder below — each one comes with the exact words to say and how long it stays sharp.
Mid Fade
the Goldilocks
Blend clears the temple. Visible contrast, professional enough for Monday — the most requested fade on earth, for good reason.
SAY —"Mid fade, blended up to about temple height."
UPKEEP2–3 weeks
High Fade
the statement
Blend pushes to the temple and beyond — maximum contrast, and the top does all the talking. Rewards a strong style up top.
SAY —"High fade, keep the top long enough to style."
UPKEEP~2 weeks
Taper
the cousin
Not technically a fade: a subtle shortening at sideburns and nape. A cleanup, not a gradient — the "I have a real job" option.
SAY —"Just a tidy taper at the sides and nape, please."
UPKEEP4–5 weeks
Drop Fade
the arc
The fade line curves down behind the ear, following the head's natural shape. Flattering from every angle — especially the back.
SAY —"Mid fade, but dropped behind the ear."
UPKEEP2–3 weeks
Burst Fade
the semicircle
Radiates around the ear in a half-circle, leaving the nape longer. The mohawk-adjacent choice that still shakes hands politely.
SAY —"Burst fade around the ear, leave the back."
UPKEEP2–3 weeks
Skin Fade
the bald blend
Taken to bare skin at the bottom — foil-shaver territory. Sharpest possible line, fastest to grow out. Bring a photo in week 3.
SAY —"Skin fade at the sides — foiled, not just trimmed."
UPKEEP~2 weeks
The Finish
line-up & hard part
Not a fade — the punctuation: crisp forehead line-up, optional hard part, edges blocked or natural. What separates "done" from "finished."
SAY —"Line-up straight across, natural neckline."
UPKEEPedges: 1–2 weeks
tap a card — it drops into the sentence builder below ↓
LESSON 02 — the guard chart
Every guard, in real millimetres.
Fades are just arithmetic: the blend walks up in guard steps, anchored at the ear. Hover the circles — know what "a number 2" actually means before you say it.
no guard at all = trimmer or foil territory, under 1 mm — that's how a skin fade gets its skin. half-guards (1.5, etc.) exist for the steps between steps: the blend's fine print.
LESSON 03 — say it right
Build the sentence, get the cut.
Your barber is not a mind reader — they're a translator. Assemble the order below and copy it straight to your phone; it contains every number they need.
01 — the fade (pick one)
02 — the sides (how short)
03 — the top (the talking part)
04 — the finish (tap any)
what you say at the chair —
Hey — mid fade with a 0.5 blend at the sides, about two inches of textured crop up top.
That sentence has a height, a base number, a top length and a texture. That's all a fade order ever needed to be.
LESSON 04 — the translation table
What you say vs. what they hear.
YOU SAY→THE BARBER HEARS
"Short back and sides."the classic British order
A taper, not a fade — tidy at sideburns and nape, no dramatic contrast. (See card 04.)
"Number 2 all over."sounds efficient
6 mm everywhere, uniformly — a buzz cut, no blend, no fade. Check the guard chart before committing.
"Just clean it up."the vague classic
A trim of edges only — neckline, sideburns, around the ears. Length stays exactly as-is.
"Skin fade please."brave
Bald at the sides via foil shaver, blended up. Booking a touch-up every two weeks is part of the deal.
"Blend it."the pro word
No visible line where lengths meet — the gradient is the whole point. Say this and mean it.
"Do whatever suits me."tempting fate
A skilled gamble. Bring a photo anyway — reference pictures settle 90% of every haircut argument.
LESSON 05 — the questions
Asked after every haircut.
The six that come up whenever someone stares at a fresh fade in the mirror. Yours not chalked up?
[email protected]A taper is a subtle shortening at the sideburns and nape — a cleanup, with no dramatic contrast. A fade deliberately blends from very short (often skin) at the bottom into noticeably longer hair above, creating that gradient effect. All fades taper; not all tapers fade.
Low fades hold 3–4 weeks, mid fades 2–3 weeks, and skin or high fades start losing their line around 2 weeks. The sharper the contrast, the faster it blurs — that's the physics of hair growth, not your barber upselling you.
Low reads as a fresh haircut rather than a statement and suits most face shapes. Mid is the Goldilocks — visible contrast, still professional. High is maximum drama and rewards a strong top style. When in doubt, start mid: it's the easiest to adjust next visit.
A fade taken down to bare skin at the sides and nape — usually with a foil shaver or trimmer — before blending up. Highest contrast, sharpest look, and the highest maintenance: the skin line visibly grows out within about two weeks.
Please do — that's why the diagram exists. Drag the line to the height you like, show the screen, and confirm: "this height, blended like this." Barbers love a customer who knows the vocabulary, mostly because it makes their job possible.
Get a tidy-up at week 3 that only blends the grown-out line higher — ask your barber to "re-blend, don't take the sides shorter." After two rounds of that you arrive at a natural taper, and from there you can grow toward whatever's next without the shelf-shoulder look.
BELL RINGS — class dismissed
The board is wiped. Your cut isn't.
Drag the line once more, build the sentence, and walk into the shop with the confidence of someone who knows what a number 2 means in millimetres.
FadeGuide — an independent chalkboard · no barber shops were harmed, only enlightened