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How to Control the Fade: Tips from @keonthebarber
Some guidance on guides from a Master Barber.
June 4, 2019
@keonthebarber
2 min to read
Keon Washington (@keonthebarber) of Greenville, SC, is a member of the Cosmoprof Artistic Team and lucky for so many clipper-cutting and clipper-curious artists out there, he is also a Master Barber and educator. Here he offers some direction on fading and guidance on guidelines.
“One of the biggest struggles with fading is the fade going up too high,” says Washington. “One of the main reasons for this is where you begin your fade or where you set your guide (referenced as “guideline” in picture above). For example, It would seem that if you're doing a high fade, you would set your guide where a high fade would be, but this isn’t the case. Once you’ve balded or took the hair to skin (below where the guide is), the only place to start your blend is above that guideline, which is why so many end up taking their fade too high.
“One of the simplest ways to control your fades is to always set your guide lower than where you want the fade to be. This will leave you an area to focus your blend so it is noticeable (referenced as “fade zone” above). Also, this is how you control your blend.
"Some clients want a tighter fade, some like it blurry (a wider spread blend). The further away you set your guide, the blurrier the blend. The closer you set it, the tighter."
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