BTerms like fade cut, low fade, high fade and scissor fade mean nothing to you? Then it’s high time that you took a closer look at the different transitions in a men’s hairstyle, because the individual variants can be used to create completely new and exciting looks from simple hairstyles.
We show you the possibilities and explain how the different transitions are cut.
Fade Cut
The basis of most transitions is the so-called fade cut. The word fade cut comes from English and means something like “fading cut”.
The hair is cut or shaved shorter and shorter from top to bottom to make it appear as if the hair is fading towards the bottom. This effect is caused by the scalp, which becomes more and more apparent due to the hair becoming shorter over time. With the fade cut, the hair is cut down to a few millimeters or even, as with the so-called skin fade, finally shaved to zero.
With such a transition, the hairdresser or barber works with a razor and blends the hair: Blending is the process in which the hair is cut shorter and shorter with different attachments, thus forming the flowing transition. When blending, hair can be cut progressively shorter over a long area, resulting in a long fade, or the area can be kept shorter, making the transition appear abrupt.
low fade
As the name suggests, the low fade is a variant of the fade cut. The low fade is characterized by the fading of the hair on the lower part of the head. The transition is therefore blended further down and is usually kept rather short.
The low fade is an inconspicuous variant of the transitions and is suitable for almost all hairstyles and types.
Medium Fade
With the medium fade, the hair is blended from about the middle of the head. It is not stipulated whether the transition is faded out rather briefly or forms a long fade.
Like the low fade, the medium fade is unobtrusive. Especially when the hair is slowly blended.
Especially when Buzz Cut the medium fade looks really good.
high fade
With the high fade, the cut can also be derived from the name. In this variant, the hair is blended high up on the head, which is why the contrast between the long top hair and the short sides is much more visible. This variant is much more noticeable than the low or medium fade.
By the way, a hairstyle in which the high fade is used particularly often is this French Crop.
Scissor fade
Unlike the other variants, the scissor fade is only cut with scissors. As a result, the hair does not become as short as with the razor and, accordingly, the skin under the hair is less visible. Only a slight shimmering of the scalp through the hair is typical of the scissor fade.
This style is perfect if you are looking for an understated cut that looks very clean. The scissor fade is also particularly useful if you have a beard have, because this way you can create a smooth transition to the facial hair.
Shadow Fade
The typical feature of the shadow fade is its long transition: With this fade haircut, a very wide area is blended, which is why the fade looks like a kind of shadow of the top hair. The cut is particularly effective with very dark hair.
Pages to Zero with Transition (Skin Fade)
“Sides to zero with transition” sounds like a somewhat rustic description of a hairstyle, but actually it means the so-called skin fade. The hairstyle is currently particularly popular with generations Y and Z.
The term refers to a fade haircut in which the hair is cut shorter and shorter from top to bottom until the hairdresser finally shaves it completely, i.e. to zero.
As far as the top coat is concerned, there are no limits to this transition. It is particularly popular in connection with a shaved side parting (obtrusive line), but a buzz cut and boxer cut are also often combined with the skin fade.
undercut
Most of you are probably familiar with the undercut. It is characterized by the abrupt transition from the top coat to the sides. Here, too, there are different variants and many also understand transitions such as the fade cut as a kind of undercut.
We have dedicated a detailed article to the undercut. You will find this here.
Transition of the hair at the back
By the way, when transitioning the hair, different variants can not only be cut on the sides, but different styles can also be used on the back of the head.
The 3 classics are:
- The fade with V shape: He looks young, sporty and unusual.
- The Short Fade Cut: It looks a little more rustic.
- The Scissor Fade: It looks subtle and unobtrusive.
Can you make a fade cut yourself?
The art of a good fade cut is the blending of the hair, in which the hairdresser uses a razor and scissors to cut the hair shorter and shorter from top to bottom. If the fade is bad, the transition will be unclean and the fading will not look accurate either.
Would you like to cut a fade yourself? We advise against it. Getting a really clean transition as a loan is extremely difficult and requires a lot of instinct, a lot of practice and, above all, accuracy. A poorly trimmed fade cut is particularly noticeable when the top hair is significantly longer than the sides. That’s why we advise you to go to a good hairdresser or barber.