Had a chat with an older barber that changed how I do fades

Met this guy named Dave at a shop in Portland last weekend, been cutting hair for like 40 years. He watched me do a skin fade and said I was losing the blend because I was rushing through the lever play. Told me to slow down and feel the hair instead of just looking at it. Made me realize I've been relying on my eyes too much instead of trusting my hands. Anybody else had an old timer give advice that totally changed your technique?

3 comments

3 Comments

wesley18120d ago

Feel the hair instead of just looking at it" - what's the biggest tell that your hands were catching that your eyes missed?

the_lee20d ago

Wait, you mean there's actually stuff my eyes miss that my fingers can feel? Biggest tell for me is split ends. I can stare at my hair in good lighting for five minutes and think everything looks fine, then run my fingers through it and feel that rough, snaggy texture where hairs are splitting. It's like my eyes are just there for decoration half the time. I'll be totally convinced my ends are healthy until my hand gets stuck halfway down a strand, like my hair is trying to give me a handshake and then forgets the grip. Honestly, my fingers have caught more dry patches and damaged spots than my eyes ever have, which is kind of embarrassing since I've been doing hair stuff for years.

clark.alex20d ago

Ngl, I'm gonna push back a tiny bit on the split ends thing. Tbh, feeling them is definitely real and a good trick, but your eyes aren't totally useless there. If you really look at the very tips of your hairs in bright light, you can actually see them splitting and making little Y shapes or white dots. Your fingers might catch them earlier since they're better at feeling that roughness, but your eyes can spot a split end that's already formed and getting worse. So it's more like your fingers are the early warning system and your eyes are the confirmation.