Took me 4 years to figure out I was fading the wrong way on skull fades

I've been cutting hair at a shop in Austin for about 4 years now. The whole time I was doing my skull fades starting from the bottom and working up with my clippers. One day a older barber named Rick walks by my chair and just goes 'you're fighting the grain, brother.' I had no clue what he meant. He showed me how starting from the top down with a open lever actually blends way smoother instead of me chasing lines all day. Literally 20 minutes of his time changed how every fade I do turns out. Has anyone else had a moment where a simple tip from another barber completely flipped your whole routine upside down?

3 comments

3 Comments

veraj5322d ago

So you're telling me I've been doing my fades backwards for four years and nobody said anything? Honestly that sounds about right for our industry, everyone just watches you struggle like it's a sport. Ngl I had a similar moment when someone told me to stop using so much pressure with my clippers cause I was basically scalping people. God bless older barbers who actually give a damn because the rest of us are out here reinventing the wheel poorly. Tbh I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what else I'm doing wrong, probably everything.

faith_carter23d ago

Dude, wasn't that such a game changer when Rick set you straight? It's wild how one little thing can make everything click after you've been fighting it for years.

abbyg6023d ago

Oh man, YES. Rick is a legend for that. I had basically the same thing happen to me like two years in. I was doing my fades bottom up, zero gapping, fighting with the blend for way too long. A older guy at my shop finally pulled me aside and showed me the same trick. Start open, work top down. It felt like magic. My lines just disappeared. Used to take me an hour on a skin fade. Now I can knock one out in 35 minutes easy. That one tip saved me so much frustration. Makes you wonder what other simple stuff we're all overthinking.