Different types of haircuts with names

The Fade haircut is a popular men’s hair style that has enjoyed plenty of popularity through the years. Learn in this Fade haircut guide all about the different types of Fade haircuts in yet another spectacular hair guide by Rogelio!

The Fade haircut is a men’s haircut that relies on having the hair on the sides and back of the head tapered in length gradually until no more hair is left on the skin. The Fade haircut doesn’t require a specific length on the top of the head; a male can have as much length as he may wish to, which gives rise to a lot of hair creativity with a Fade haircut, plus the fade can also be implemented as a haircut to complement plenty of men’s hairstyles. Lastly, the Fade is very commonly seen in military haircuts as it satisfies the requirement of keeping the hair very short.

A Fade haircut

The Fade haircut should be performed by a skilled barber or hairdresser as a fade is one of the hardest haircuts to get right. To do the Fade haircut, the hair on the back and sides is clipped in layers and the layers are then smoothed, which gives a nice and gradual reduction in hair length. The hair always ends at the skin (i.e. fades), which is known in barbershop jargon as “done/clipped to skin”); this means that the hair’s length becomes progressively shorter until the hair is not visible any more.

There are several types of fade haircuts, and the only commonality between them is that the hair on the sides and back of the head decreases in length until there is no more hair (i.e. the skin shows).

The 5 types of fade haircuts

A Fade can be done in different ways although there are three main types of fade haircuts: Regular, High or Low. On top of that, a Fade haircut can also be coupled with a specific haircut on the top of the head, giving rise to an extra two types of fade haircuts: High Top Fade and Temple Fade.

If you are unsure about what type of fade haircut you want, I advise you to simply go for a regular fade haircut first and then, if you don’t like it, ask for a low fade haircut. If you continue to not like the results of the fade, then ask for a high fade haircut; if you don’t like the high fade haircut, you will have to end up clipping all of your sides and back to a zero or without a guard!

Fade haircut

The Fade haircut as a generic name refers to the hair on the sides and back being faded right until the hairline, so it is at the hairline of the sides and back of your head where the hair “disappears”. A Fade and a taper haircut are usually interchanged (and usually part of short hairstyles) but a taper need not end with no hair at the hairline, so be careful when asking your barber or hairdresser for a Fade and/or Taper haircut! The Fade haircut can also be referred to as a Regular Fade when distinguishing from the other types of fades.

High Fade haircut

A High Fade haircut has the hair disappearing anywhere within a two-inch-high area below the top of the hair (many times even lower than two inches), hence the adjective “High” before the “Fade” term. A High Fade haircut is usually asked by black men at barbershops as a High Fade requires the scalp to be of a natural tone and color as the skin on the face. In white men, the scalp is usually paler than the skin on the face so a High Fade haircut for white men doesn’t usually look very good for the first couple of days as the scalp takes time to tan naturally to the same skin tone of the face.

Low Fade haircut

A Low Fade haircut has the hair disappearing lower than a High Fade haircut but higher than a Regular Fade haircut. The hair for a Low Fade haircut usually disappears half way through the sides and back of the head and about an inch before the natural hairline of the sides and back of the head; the actual line of fading is up to the preference of the male getting the haircut.