You're here because you need a haircut, right? I get it. The process proves unnecessarily hard. And the anxiety involved in switching styles overwhelms even the coolest cat. Although the core styles haven't changed much since the early 20th century, icons aplenty can shift and reshape the status quo with a simple visit to their high-end salon. They'll leave with a gravity-defying haircut you envy, fetching camera-wielding paparazzi along the way.
And don't get me wrong, the captured celeb looks great. No matter the hairdo, it seems they can do no wrong. Publications suddenly proclaim the current moment the era of the upright bob — that's a fake haircut, but indulge me — and you're left wondering, "Why doesn't my hair look like that?" or "How do I even ask for that?" Stop that. Starting points abound and can act as a way forward toward your desired haircut. Using a classic style like a crew cut as the foundation, for example, one can tweak it a little to add edge or skew conservative.
Unless you're forced to abide by rigid grooming regulations – a la the military, although they've since adapted their code to include ponytails, buzzcuts and dreadlocks — there's no sense in limiting what your hair can look like. Minimal research — aka a quick Google search — reveals millions of ways to wear your hair. But look around, men's haircuts aren't that different from person to person, and switching styles isn't rocket science. The good ones stick around and the bad ones are blips.
It's also important to consider length. Some styles take months — if not years, depending on how fast your hair grows — to achieve. Others are quick yet irreversible decisions. Before you go bald or commit to billowing layers, think about it a little more simply. Look at yourself in the mirror; then at your photo reference; yourself in the mirror again; the haircut once more; envision it all over again. Bring the photo with you but be ready to make adjustments, albeit minor.
"A photo reference, whether it be some cuts you've seen (from a celebrity standpoint) or just looks you've seen on social media, can be a really great jumping-off point. At that point, you're not necessarily discussing very strict terms in regards to texture, length or whatever it may be, but it's more so trying to look at that photo, see if it works with that person's personal style and then tailoring something to them that's going to be close. There's no such thing as one-size-fits-all for this," Rob McMillen, co-founder of NYC barbershop Mildred, tells us. He also offers his opinions on how long you should wait between appointments. "If you keep it really short, [you should go] two to three weeks; if you keep something medium length, three to five; and if you have a longer look, maybe it's five to seven or even longer."
That means the haircut your favorite athlete wore last week won't look identical on you — or your friend or your father — and especially so a week or two after it's cut. Tailoring a style to your face shape, aesthetic, activities and schedule requires assistance from a trained barber. First, figure out your face shape. Then, seek out a style you're interested in, find a local barber, book an appointment and get the look you've been yearning for — or something close to it. And bring whichever photo you need.
Yeah, I got you.
So instead of coming up to watch, we'll come into that.
I have this one.
This is the two.
I did. Yeah, I did.
Yeah, I did the P first and then into the two.
Just so he could have some way to come down.
And I'm busting the two into the three like this.
And then I can kind of lift up up here taking kind of almost into the two.
I'm just softening it down and then I'm going to do the fade this way.
Watch it.
Once I see that if he has a hairline that's kind of shorter to here,
I give him what's called a ghost fade.
It's just kind of like a fade that I made up and everything.
Where it just starts from the top and the waterfalls down.
See, this is a one and a half right there.
And I just softened it with the three first, then the two,
then I come into the one and a half.
And over here, I'll leave that side to kind of, you know,
be coming down and hit it with clipper over comb later.
Still take that one into certain areas up here because I know I'm doing a lineup.
But I don't want it all coming down here.
I'm just going to give him a special lineup here.
As soon as I make him come down right up, this mid-fade will be, you know,
the base where we know exactly where I'm going to cut.
It's the scissors line.
See, that's where I say the lineup is real important,
just because it dictates how everything flows.
And then all this is custom.
I'm just softening again with the one.
You know, in the beginning, they could say,
well, why don't you just hit the one instead of even the three?
I like to soften it with the, you know, just because it gives it that extra,
just gives it that good gloss.
It's real structured in the line.
And then from there, I'll just take the half and go right into the zero.
And with everyone's trim on top, it's custom,
because it's about how his hair is.
Is his hair thick? Is it thin?
Is it, how is it, depending on how I'm going to cut it,
whether I'm going to add reverse texture.
I don't even tell a lot of them about it.
They just, you know, they can't give it anywhere else
because it doesn't exist.
And this is called a ghost fade.
And this is a ghost fade.
And so it just, and why I call it that,
you don't know where it's coming or going.
There's no line that starts with this.
It just, I shadow it just, and now I come into this,
and it's the easiest fade in the world to do.
Once you know how to do it, and you just lift up here,
to get that little part out, you just form it a half again.
This will just come right here.
That'll just come, I can show you how to do one whole section,
and then just, how I told you I sectioned it before,
and see, so watch, I barely touch that.
Here goes the half again.
I could have it all the way open just because I know
that's where I'm going to need it.
That doesn't mean it'll always be there.
It just, and you touch it with two teeth,
and it just shadows right away.
I can come in here and come down here and
put this easiest, best fade in the world.
And it's only easy because I made this system up for it,
so it's, I'm not too used to it.
Look, when I used to do 30 haircuts a day,
60, 50 haircuts a day when I worked from 6 in the morning
until 10 o'clock at night,
this is when I came up with my own way to fade.
I said, there's got to be a simpler way
to simplify the haircut and have it, you know,
be able to achieve fade quicker and easier.
And so that's, I think the judge of all of that
is it's his haircut, and it's got to be superior to me.
See, that's why they pay us differently,
because I say, they can go to another shop for
5 bucks off or 7 bucks off,
maybe even 10 bucks off,
because the haircut will never be this.
That's where it's like, you can,
this haircut will last longer than this.
Just on the corner, too.
Because if you brush the whole thing, you're going to lose it.
Just on the corners.
And I don't even tell you this,
just so you can pick up on certain, you know,
I had someone that did this same thing for me,
and that's why I became the barber that I am today,
because of the guy that taught me everything,
and it was like, oh, wow.
All those secrets that he knew,
that they didn't teach me in barber school,
I could use.
What's sick about me is all these guys
are kicking out videos on all that ----.
They're all editing.
I'm doing this ---- in real time.
It ******* still comes out fire.
That's the shocking part.
It's like,
I'm glad I didn't spend enough money on this ----.
All right, Patrick.
------- best spray bottle in the game.
Perfect spritz.
For the texture,
I'm going to run with the Nano Powders Mizutani.
Now I'm going to switch to my gold ones to finish.
