How to Fade Your Own Hair (Step-By-Step Guide + Advice)

You want to look cool or make your own statement about you with your personal hairstyle. There are a lot of different hairstyles to choose from. The trend in today’ modern era is to have a fade hairstyle.

These hairstyles look sharp, to some, cool to others and allow you to make your personal statement without looking weird. The key to a great fade hairstyle is in knowing what you want. You need to decide on style, length and much more before you get the cut.

Knowing this will save you a lot of embarrassment when you debut our new hairstyle. And you won’t have to invest in a hat company till your hair grows out again. What follows are instructions on how to fade hair.

How to Fade Your Own Hair with Clippers

It is not always a smart idea to try to cut your own hair. The simple reason for this piece of advice is that you have difficulty in viewing your head properly. But if you want to fade your own hair, here are the tools to use:

tools to fade hair

To start, it is a wise move to find a photo of someone who has the fade hairstyle you want. Following the picture will help you get the right cut as you go. Here are a few steps to follow:

  1. Start with the sides, they are the easiest to cut
  2. Remember what you did one side must be done on the other side of your head​
  3. Cut the lower part of your sides shorter than the upper parts
  4. Next, go to the back and use extra mirrors so you can see what you are doing
  5. Use your hand to mark out where you want the levels to stop as you cut

How to Long and Short Fade Your Hair

The long hair fade is probably the easiest fade to do. You have less cutting and styling to do. Plus, a large portion of your hair remains long. To do a long fade you need patience. You have to work slowly and know when to lift the clippers up at the right moment. This movement will keep your hair blended and stop visible lines from appearing.

long fade hair

For a short fade, you need to keep your hair moist. It is easier to style and define wet hair than dry. Wetting your hair keeps it from being electrically charged and from flying in all directions. A brush and a comb are needed along with some wax to make sure you will get the look you want, and your hair cut the way you want it.

short fade haircuts
short fade hairstyle
short fade hair men

Image source: Pinterest

To style your long or short fade correctly and look good, make sure you have very good images to follow. Because the short fade can be very complicated to do, it is recommended that you get some help to do it right.

How to Bald Fade Your Own Hair

Using the same equipment as listed above, you just need to make sure you have them all ready to use and located in an easy to reach spot. A bald fade is probably the easiest of all fades to do. That is because your hair lengths are very short throughout the fade.

YouTube video
  • The taper starts at the top and gets shorter as you go lower
  • Begin with your temples - get the length you want, just do not go too short
  • Move back and lower from the temples - behind the ears and the lower back of your head are shaved bald
  • Leave some length on top- the top does not have to be long, just longer than the sides.
  • Wash your hair with shampoo and conditioner
  • Use a comb to give your hair the direction you want

A good bald fade doesn’t leave a lot of hair on your head. But it will blend together nicely and give you that even cut look.

A FADE IS NOT A TAPER...


You may think they are the same type of haircut but there are some noticeable differences. The tapered look is not as obvious and you will have more hair on your head. A comb and scissors are all you need to achieve a good tapered looked.

A fade’s styling of the hair is far more obvious, and you will have less hair to style and take care of. The big difference is that the lower parts of your head are almost shaved bald or is shaved bad. Then the rise to longer hair is more pronounced even though the hair at the top is shorter than taper cut.

How to Fade Your Own Hair

The first step in fading your own hair is to buy the right and best tools possible. These tools will be sharp enough to make sure your hair is cut right. Here are some other steps to follow when you want to save a little money and do it yourself:

  • Buy the right barber tools
  • Know the fade hairstyle you want - look at all the pictures before deciding how you want your hair to look
  • Go against the grain - cutting in the opposite direction provides you with better stability and traction
  • Generalize first - in other words, make sure you get the general outline done first before going to the specifics of the style
  • Go in the right order - sides first, the back is second, then the top. The sides are always the easiest to do
  • Shampoo when done- also condition your hair so you can style it afterwards
  • Style your hair the way you want it to look
fade your hair at home

If you follow these steps correctly, you should have a nice-looking fade hairstyle. But one word of warning. It is not easy to cut your own hair. It will take some practice before you get good.

You may want to invest in some hats at first, though.

A Few Final Words

When you want to know how to fade men's hair go to those websites or professionals that can give you expert advice. We know you want to look cool or make your statement to the world, but you can’t do that if you follow the wrong advice or use the wrong techniques.

Your hairstyle says a lot about you and it is one of the first things other people see. Make sure you are sending the right message when you go get your fade hairstyle. Also, while you can do a fade haircut yourself, it might be best to get someone to help you.

Cutting hair can be tricky especially when you cannot see everything that you are doing. Make the right choice when you want to change your hairstyle to something more hip.

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