Old barber at the state fair told me to ditch the clippers for two weeks

Guy must have been pushing 80 with shaky hands but he swore I was overusing my Wahl Seniors. Said my fades looked lazy because I never used shears to blend. I laughed it off until I tried his method on three clients last Monday. First two came out uneven and I almost quit. But the third guy looked way better than anything I did with clippers. Now I do half my tapers with scissors and my book is fuller than ever. Anyone else get handed some ancient advice that actually works?

3 comments

3 Comments

pat_murray536d ago

Fades looked lazy" lol old head was right, I ditched guards for a month once.

williamhenderson6d ago

Ha, I gotta push back on that one a bit. When done right, fades take way more skill than a guard line. You have to learn your own growth pattern and keep a steady hand. A guard is just a number, a fade is all about blending and knowing where the hair naturally falls. I've seen too many guys with a harsh line where the fade should be, and that looks way worse than a guard cut to me.

taylor_patel6d agoMost Upvoted

Pat_murray53 gets it. That old guy cutting you down about lazy fades probably saw a hundred barbers come through who thought they knew everything with their clippers. Dropping guards for a month is a solid challenge, it forces you to actually see the hair instead of just running a number over it. I tried something similar back when I started, only used shears and a straight razor for like three weeks. My first few cuts were rough, real rough, but by the end my blending got way cleaner because I had to pay attention to every detail. Clippers are great for speed but they can make you lazy if that's all you use. The old heads might shake and mutter but they've forgotten more than most of us will ever learn.