My barber buddy talked me into trying a 1.5 guard fade

I've always done skin fades. For years. Never liked the look of anything longer. But my buddy Mark at the shop in Phoenix kept telling me to try a 1.5 guard on the sides for a more textured fade. He said skin fades can look too harsh on older guys with lighter hairlines. I finally tried it on a regular client last Wednesday. The blend was way smoother and the client loved it. Has anyone else made the switch from skin fades to a longer guard?

3 comments

3 Comments

hugo_robinson2511d ago

Yeah, the "older guys with lighter hairlines" thing hit home. My buddy in Dallas had a client who always did skin fades too, and he finally convinced him to try a 1 guard instead. Guy came back a week later saying his wife actually liked it for once. Have you noticed it taking longer to blend out compared to a skin fade?

elliot_patel11d agoTop Commenter

Fiddle with the lever a bit more but honestly @daniel_martin's got a point, those extra 30 seconds just means more time to shoot the breeze about the client's vacation plans or whatever. My trick is keeping the guard flat and going slow on the blend line so you don't have to go back and fix a bunch of mistakes. Worst case you end up with a little shadow that still looks way better than a harsh line popping out.

daniel_martin11d ago

Start by giving @hugo_robinson25 a hard time for overthinking it, yeah it takes maybe 30 seconds longer but that's just more time to shoot the shit with the client.

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