THE 0.5 FADE

A 0.5 FADE IS A HAIRCUT THAT STARTS AT A 0.5 GRADE AND GRADUALLY 'FADES' UP TO A LONGER LENGTH AT THE ROUND OF THE HEAD.

STEP 1: GRADE NUMBER 3/2

IN ORDER TO FADE THE BACK AND SIDES, IT IS ESSENTIAL TO FIRST REMOVE THE WEIGHT WITH A CANVAS GRADE. START WITH A NUMBER 3 GUARD AND USE A GLIDING MOTION TO REMOVE THE INITIAL WEIGHT. WORK IN COLUMNS AROUND THE HEAD. AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH COLUMN, ENGAGE THE TEETH OF THE GRADE BELOW THE BOTTOM HAIRLINE THEN ROTATE THE ANGLE COMING UP SQUARE OFF THE TEMPORAL BONE. AROUND THE BACK, GLIDE SQUARE OFF THE LAMBOID BONE. REPEAT THIS PROCESS WITH A 2.5 GRADE AND A 2 GRADE.

STEP 2: PLACEMENT LINE

REMOVE YOUR CLIPPER GUARD AND OPEN THE LEVER TO A 0.5. IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT THE PLACEMENT OF THE LINE WILL DETERMINE THE HEIGHT OF THE STARTING POINT OF THE FADE. YOU CAN CREATE A LOW, MEDIUM OR HIGH FADE DEPENDING ON THE CLIENT'S PREFERENCE. STARTING AT THE FRONT HAIRLINE, PLACE THE 0.5 LINE HORIZONTALLY AND MOVE TOWARDS THE BACK OF THE HEAD MAKING SURE TO STOP AT HALF WAY ONCE YOU REACH THE NAPE. USE THE CORNER OF THE CLIPPER TO CREATE A CURVED LINE BETWEEN THE SIDES AND BACK OF THE HEAD. REPEAT ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE, MEETING IN THE MIDDLE AT THE BACK FOR AN EVEN AND BALANCED LINE.THE AREA ESTABLISHED BETWEEN THE 0.5 GRADE AND THE 2 GRADE IS WHERE YOU WILL NOW FOCUS ON CREATING THE FADE IN THE UPCOMING STEPS. REMEMBER TO PLACE YOUR LINE ONLY ON OR UNDERNEATH THE OCCIPITAL BONE.

STEP 3: 1.75 GRADE

ATTACH THE 1.5 FILLER GRADE, ADJUSTING THE LEVER SO IT IS OPEN CREATING A 1.75. BEGIN TO FADE THE NUMBER 1 LINE INTO THE GRADE 2 . ENGAGE THE TEETH OF THE GRADE BENEATH THE PLACEMENT OF THE LINE. USING A RUBBING C MOTION, WHICH HELPS CATCH ALL THE HAIR, RESULTING IN A SMOOTH FADE. THE BIGGER YOU 'C' MOTION, THE MORE 'STRETCHED' THE FADE WILL APPEAR. ROTATE THE ANGLE TO SQUARE WHEN WORKING UP EACH COLUMN SO THE 1.75 GRADE BLENDS INTO THE 2 GRADE. WORK IN COLUMNS AROUND THE HEAD,KEEPING THE CLIPPERS PARALLEL TO THE PLACEMENT OF THE LINE.

STEP 4: 1.5 FILLER GUARD

WITH THE 1.5 FILLER GRADE STILL ATTACHED, ADJUST THE LEVER TO FULLY CLOSED. CONTINUE TO FADE. START BY ENGAGING THE TEETH OF THE GRADE BENEATH THE PLACEMENT OF THE LINE. USE A RUBBING C MOTION, WHICH HELPS CATCH ALL THE HAIR, RESULTING IN A SMOOTHER FADE. WORK IN COLUMNS AROUND THE HEAD, KEEPING THE CLIPPERS PARALLEL TO THE PLACEMENT OF THE LINE. RUB AND GLIDE SQUARE TO MEET THE GRADE 2 . STRETCH THE EACH DOWN AND CRISS-CROSS YOUR COLUMNS IN A DIAGONAL UPWARDS MOTION.

STEP 5: 1.5 GRADE

ATTACH THE 1 GRADE, LEVER FULLY OPEN, THUS CREATING A GRADE 1.5. START BY PLACING THE TEETH OF THE GRADE BENEATH THE PLACEMENT OF THE LINE. USING A RUBBING C MOTION WHICH HELPS CATCH ALL THE HAIR, RESULTING IN A SMOOTHER FADE. WORK IN COLUMNS AROUND THE HEAD, KEEPING THE CLIPPERS PARALLEL TO THE PLACEMENT OF THE LINE

REPEAT THIS STEP WITHE THE 1.5 CLOSED (GRADE 1)

ATTACH THE 0.5 FILLER GRADE, ADJUSTING THE LEVER SO IT IS OPEN CREATING A 0.75. BEGIN TO FADE THE NUMBER 0.5 LINE INTO THE GRADE 2 . ENGAGE THE TEETH OF THE GRADE BENEATH THE PLACEMENT OF THE LINE. USING A RUBBING C MOTION, WHICH HELPS CATCH ALL THE HAIR, RESULTING IN A SMOOTH FADE. THE BIGGER YOU 'C' MOTION, THE MORE 'STRETCHED' THE FADE WILL APPEAR. ROTATE THE ANGLE TO SQUARE WHEN WORKING UP EACH COLUMN SO THE 0.5 GRADE BLENDS INTO THE 2 GRADE. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO USE THE CORNER OF YOUR CLIPPER HERE. WORK IN COLUMNS AROUND THE HEAD,KEEPING THE CLIPPERS PARALLEL TO THE PLACEMENT OF THE LINE.

REPEAT THIS STEP WITH THE 0.5 FILLER GRADE CLOSED USING THE CORNER OF YOUR CLIPPER.

REMOVE YOUR CLIPPER GUARD AND OPEN THE LEVER TO A 0.5. BEGIN TO FADE THE NUMBER 0.5 LINE INTO THE GRADE 2 . ENGAGE THE CORNER OF YOUR TEETH OF THE GRADE BENEATH THE PLACEMENT OF THE LINE. USING A RUBBING C MOTION, WHICH HELPS CATCH ALL THE HAIR, RESULTING IN A SMOOTH FADE. THE BIGGER YOU 'C' MOTION, THE MORE 'STRETCHED' THE FADE WILL APPEAR. ROTATE THE ANGLE TO SQUARE WHEN WORKING UP EACH COLUMN SO THE 1.5 GRADE BLENDS INTO THE 2 GRADE. WORK IN COLUMNS AROUND THE HEAD,KEEPING THE CLIPPERS PARALLEL TO THE PLACEMENT OF THE LINE.

STEP 8: TAPERING THE NAPE

FADE THE BOTTOM OF THE HAIRLINE STARTING WITH THE 0.75 GRADE AND WORK DOWN AS MANY GRADES AS YOU NEED TO UNTIL THE HAIR IS BLENDED. THE SHORTEST GRADE YOU BLEND DOWN INTO IS DEPENDENT ON THE CLIENT'S DESIRED BASE LENGTH. FOR EXAMPLE, IF THEY WANTED A 5 BACK AND SIDES, YOU WOULDN'T NECESSARILY NEED TO FADE DOWN INTO A 0. BUT IF THEY HAD A 0.5 FADE (LIKE HERE), YOU WOULD.

STEP 9: TAPERING & OUTLINES

THE GENERAL RULE HERE FOR TAPERING IS THTA IF THE GRADE IS 3 OR HIGHER, WE USE OUR TRIMMERS AND COMB TO TAPER THE EDGES - DIAGRAM (1). IF THE GRADE IS 3 OR LOWER, WE USE HALF A GRADE LOWER AND GO ROUND THE EDGES ON 'TWO-WHEELS' OF THE CLIPPER - DIAGRAM (2). IN THIS EXAMPLE, WE WILL USE OPTION (2)

USE THE DETAILERS AND THE SELECTED COMB TO REFINE AND SHAPE THE OUTLINES. START AT THE FRONT HAIRLINES AND THEN WORK AROUND THE EAR. CONTINUE BEHIND THE EAR AND THEN INTO THE HAIRLINE AT THE BACK OF THE HEAD TO CREAT YOUR NECK SHAPE.