How To Do A Low Taper Fade - Easiest Steps

I don't know about you guys, but I know every single time I used to have a haircut that had some flow or some fluff to it, I would always shudder in fear because I had no confidence with the scissor skills. I'm going to break it down real simple. I'm going to show you how to set the foundation, how to make sure that the hair flows well, and how to do a blurry crispy taper and a line up to blend right up into that so we can give my client that famous low taper fade, guys. Let's not waste no time. We're going to get right into it. The first key, guys, is if you're going to cut the hair wet, commit to cutting the hair all the way wet. Now, of course, it's going to be a little uncomfortable. Your client might not love the fact that they're getting water sprayed on them, but dude, you have to do it. You know what I'm saying? If you're going to have full control over the hair, you're going to need to fully saturate it. I'm going to need to fully saturate it multiple times just to make sure that my cuts are going to be consistent. If I cut the hair where some spots are wet and some spots are dry, my cuts are not going to be consistent. I'm going to have hair sticking up here and there after it's all blow dried. So let's just make sure that we commit to cutting the hair fully saturated and then we split the hair according to the growth patterns. Every single haircut that I'm going to do that we teach you guys is based off of how the crown goes. I learned this from the DFS formula, taking Josh Opie's course. I'll see if I can leave a link down below because this is the gems I was able to take from it, but you really can make the formula your own. You always want to cut the hair according to the growth patterns because if I'm fighting against the growth patterns, that's really just going to mean that I'm going to have hairs sprouting up where they don't really belong or I might accidentally cut something too short. So this is going to be really important guys. Do this and it's going to make your life a lot easier. It takes a little bit of work, but I promise you doing this, I'm still able to maintain 30 minute haircut slots. Since I know this haircut is all about the flow and the volume and not necessarily a super tight fade on the sides, I'm going to set the baseline and the foundation for this haircut right below the occipital bone. If he wanted it faded really tight, I probably would be going a lot higher, like right at the occipital bone or right above it. But like I said, this is more of a low taper fade type haircut. So because of that, I'll be setting the foundation a little bit lower. Now this is probably not traditional, right? Most people are either going to go in and maybe let's say clipper over comb or just start off right here with the number four guard debulking. It's important to take time like this. This helps you increase your precision. What we're doing here is focusing on the foundation where the fade meets the scissor work. Okay. Everything below this is going to be, you notice my fingers are tied up against the scalp. Everything below this is going to be clipper length and below. That's where the lineup is going to be. That's where the taper is going to be. Everything from this point above is going to be scissor work. So you're almost starting in the middle of the fade. You know, some people say, cut the top first, then cut the bottom. We literally start in the middle. So now what we can do guys is I'm going to start pretty much softening this weight line, right? I set my foundation. That's where my clippers are going to go up to. But now you're going to start seeing me grab a vertical sections. Now in the temples, it's always going to be a little more diagonal. It could be more diagonal just to help with the flow really. But when I'm trimming this, I'm going to be keeping the bottom still tight, like finger length, tight at the bottom of the head, but using my fingers, I'm going to flare it up and outwards almost at a 45 degree angle. So that way I could start building the shape and I can control the layers. Now this is not something I'm fully comfortable with. So you're going to see me struggle and fumble here a little bit with these shears and be a little awkward with it. It's something I'm still getting used to, but honestly, the results show at the end of the haircut. And that's why I just want to show you guys what I've been able to learn so far. You know, so let's check this out. Work on building the shape guys. I'm pulling this out at a 45 degree angle from the scalp, tight at the bottom, flare it up and off the scalp. Very similar to the shapes that I teach you to cut with when you're cutting with the clippers. Now, like I said, I'm still getting comfortable with the scissor work. So what I'm going to do just to make sure that I didn't miss anything is use my scissor over comb. And this is going to help me just pick up any hairs that I may have lost and even further help me refine the shape. You could see, notice like when you run that comb up, you know, you'll see me do this motion over and over again, run the comb up, cut a few hairs. Now you can, as you work your continue to work your way up, you can take that scissor, flip it underneath that hair that's elevated. Watch cut, cut, cut. Look here, how I'm going to use the scissors to hold the hair in place, right? You kind of learn that motion over and over again, and it just makes it easier to do your scissor over comb. You guys remember how we started finger tight at the bottom? That's because now we can take this number four guard. Now this is personally for me, the four guard matches up with my finger length. If you have slimmer fingers, then maybe it's a number three, but whatever works for you guys, you know, that's why you have to work with the system and try to, you know, just learn it, learn it for yourself. But I'm basically going to be running this number four guard to and through that foundation that we set. Like I said, that was the middle point. That's where the clipper work meets the scissor work. So I'll be following the shape of the nape, you know what I'm saying? Like up and off the scalp, pressure at the bottom, float my way up, but this is just going to help me set the foundation for a nice crispy taper. Now you're going to notice we're going to fall right back into our normal fading system. Guys, we've debulked with the four. If you've seen any of my other videos, you know that we debulk with a four first and then come back down to set your primary and secondary guideline. So check this out guys. Look, I'm going to set my bald line, my quote unquote bald line with the clipper all the way closed. I will not be punching this in with the trimmer because it's just going to make it harder for me at the end to be able to do this, right? Like to, to fade it out. A trimmer is made to put harsh edges, sharp lines. Why do I want a sharp line in the middle of my fade? Nah, that's not going to happen. So I'm starting clipper closed and then the secondary guideline with the clipper open, make sure that you space it out. You're going to want to make sure that you have space to blend at the very least, make it a finger's width. Uh, at the most go up to an inch, maybe, maybe a little bit more depending on the canvas you're working with. But I would so much rather a fade be too blurry rather than too compressed. Now, again, here's the two because you guys see how, just because we're doing a taper, it doesn't mean that my fade system changes. I've already debulked with the four. Now we set the primary and secondary guidelines already. So now we are going to softly fade our way down and try to match. It just pretty much make it easier to blend out that bottom line. We're going to keep on fading down. So the two is going to float just fine up into that number four. If we keep consistent with our motions, pressure at the bottom, float it up and off the head. So again, consistent with the same haircutting system. Remember we did the four, the two, now we can do that number one. Now I like to start with the number one open, you know, just to make sure that it's catching all the hairs that the two clothes could not. And then we follow up with the one clothes, you know, you're it's, you're going to pretty much repeat the same motions over and over and over again, but everything that the four didn't catch, two is going to catch everything. The two didn't catch the one's going to catch. And anything that the one doesn't catch is the next and final phase of this blending where we come back down to the bottom and blend that thing up. So we're going to get to that in the next step, but for now let's catch everything we can with this number one. Now, remember we started this haircut with the clipper closed. So we're going to return to the closed. Don't be afraid to raise the fade guys. Yes, you are going to go higher in the blend as you start to blend out this bottom line, but as you go higher, the clipper get length gets longer. Remember you got to break through that line with the clipper closed. Oh, I raised the fade. Don't worry. You're going to open up to the first notch, raise the fade a little more, open it to the second notch, raise it a little more third notch, fourth notch. And by the time you're all the way open, it should be blending pretty dang good into that number one clothes that we faded down to. Now, if this sounds like a lot, don't worry. You can watch it happen. We're going to do it to the back taper and to the other taper. Now, if you've been following the tutorial up to this point, man, I'm proud of you. I know it's a lot of work. I know it's a lot of steps, but the results are going to be so good. So keep going, man. The focus and locking in how you are now is what's going to get you to that next level. Not everybody is willing to stick around to this point. So I am proud of you for sticking around to this point here. Let's actually do a heat check, man. I want you to leave a comment down below. If you're still watching at this point, I'm going to give you a shout out in my next video release. I need to know which one of you are actually serious about your barber education, man, because you guys are the ones that I'm going to be pouring into the most. Did you notice here how we reconnected? We went back to that crown, right? You remember how I said everything that we do is based off the growth patterns. So now that we're going to be trimming the top, I went back to the crown and I split it right down the middle. Yes, this is not a perfectly even split. You could see it slanted off to the right, but it's because nobody has a perfectly round or perfectly even head. Check this out, guys. This is where it all comes together. We're going to go ahead and knock this out one side at a time. I'm going to start to elevate the hair on this side. Let's go ahead and concentrate right here. And I'll be able to see as I pick this hair up, I'll be able to see in my hands, the hair below that we were layering. And I'll be able to see the hair above that's hanging over, which is that long hair that hasn't been touched yet. Now, if I just try to find a nice, a nice middle point that I could point cut to match everything, it's going to leave a nice texture, a nice flow. So that way it could all flow well together. Notice here, I'm going to pick this hair up. You see those long hairs that are hanging over and you see where it's dense, everything underneath, point cut to connect that section right there. We're going to do this to both sides. Then I'm going to show you guys next how to even this out and why it doesn't matter that the hair split looked uneven a moment ago. So now that both sides have been trimmed to blend into the foundation that we set. Now, if I elevate the hair, I'll be able to see a short point on the left side here that I can point cut to pretty much even out, kind of flatten out the hair a little bit. Now I'm going to continue row by row by row to bring this hair straight up and point cutting. Like I said, point cutting allows the flow. I'm not going to do like a super harsh blunt cut with this. I want to make sure everything has nice soft finishes, but check this out guys. You could see here and watch here closely. This next section I pick up, watch real closely on the left side. You're going to see that little short point. That's what we're going to be working to match all the way across. And then we're going to do the same thing with the other side. Now, just to make it a little bit easier and make sure that I can connect both sides properly, I'm going to go ahead and bring some of this left section that we've already trimmed. I'm going to bring it over to the right side. So now I'll be able to connect the short point from the blend on the sides to the short point that is, you know, from, from what we've already trimmed on the other side of the head. And you'll see this here come together right now. So right here, you'll be able to see as I elevate, you see how there's a short point on the left and a short point on the right. And all I have to do now is just point cut a few pieces to make sure that it flows well together. So this is why it's important for me to respect the growth patterns and split the hair the way that I did, but you know, that's going to result in an uneven line. So, okay, how do we compensate for that? This is exactly how just take your time, cut one side, cut the other side, and now you can connect them and bring it all together. Now, my client also told me that he absolutely loved how his hair was able to flip up and kind of hover over his, his eyes rather than just lay flat, kind of how it was in the beginning of this haircut. And I really want to attribute that to using a razor comb like this. I'm going to make sure to have one linked in the products down below, but just using this really helped me feather out the tips of his fringe and kind of make them a little more lightweight. So it was easier style, easier to flow. So guys, the secret to having this just beautiful flow and really having somebody's curls, whatever their natural growth pattern is to really have those waves pop out. And it's the sea salt spray, man. Tomb45 just released a sea salt spray. And if it's available, I'm going to be tagging it down below. It's a very recent release. We dropped it in February at EWP. Man, I'm so excited to be able to have a product like this now, because this is something so simple to use, man. Like, especially in the barbershop, because you're cutting their hair, their hair's wet. You can literally spray everything in there and just start working it into the scalp and then get ready to blow dry it. You guys are going to see here, I'm using the, the Tomb45, like the same collaboration they did with Babyliss, but this is the diffuser attachment that comes with it. And it's pretty simple, man. Like you don't really want to use full speed, full heat. I use full speed and maybe like, like level two heat, not level three. But notice, man, like I'll kind of bunch the hair up into those fingers that are on the diffuser and kind of rock it left and right. I'll sometimes twist it, kind of literally treating it like a, like a curl sponge, you know, and you'll just see over time, if you're patient with how you use the sea salt spray in combination with the diffuser, the flow comes through and bro, it just, I love it. Wait till you see this thing come together. Just give it a minute. Now, what better way to finish this off than with a crispy, crispy lineup? We're not going to be hitting the front lineup at all. We need to let that just flow naturally and just chill there, but we can hit this C-cup. Focus mainly on the, mainly on the overhang, right? You know, hit that nice sharp C coming down so that it accentuates the taper even more and then wrap that line around Man, you can see even it's so cool too. Cause mom literally came around and was like from pretty much from the waiting station and being like, Oh, his hair looks so good playing with his girls a little bit. I love to see this, man. I love to see, you know, as barbers, man, it's really art, right? The client gives us a vision and we have to execute. And that's what my channel is all about, man. I want to show you guys how to be able to execute while maintaining efficiency. And you'll see here, man, my client was super, super happy to be able to see the finished result, man. It was, it's just a pleasure to be able to do stuff like this. Look at that. He's like, wow, look at that. This is so dope. But listen, man, efficient haircutting and knowing how to do this haircut is only one part of the puzzle. You need to know how to scale from there. We get more efficient. How do we get more people in our business? I have a link down in the description below for our six figure barber mentorship. If you want me Basio and the other five, 245 coaches to help guide you to and through the goal of six figures, if you want to scale your business, I'll see you guys in the next video.