My old boss at the shop on 5th swore by cutting bald fades with a 1 guard then going down. Two barbers there do it his way, I switched to starting at 0.5 and got a totally different result. Which way is actually right?

Charlie Roberts · 2026-09-30T19:20:03.091904+00:00

Worked under this guy named Ray for 3 years at his shop on 5th Street and he always built fades top down, 1 guard first, then working down to the skin. When I opened my own chair last year I tried his method for 6 months and kept getting harsh lines right above the ear. Switched to starting at 0.5 and blending up and my clients stopped complaining about the hard line. Ray says I'm doing it backwards and that starting low makes the fade drop out faster. So who's actually right here, top down or bottom up, or does it just depend on the head and hair type?

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My old boss at the shop on 5th swore by cutting bald fades with a 1 guard then going down. Two barbers there do it his way, I switched to starting at 0.5 and got a totally different result. Which way is actually right? | Barbers - Topic Shares