Men’s Health Fashion Editor Dan Michel and The Fade

This year’s hottest hair style is the fade which gives haircuts that bad boy appearance while keeping things causal. But what is it about the fade that gives hair such a fashionable appeal? Men’s Health Fashion Editor Dan Michel talks with The Hype magazine about the fade and why it’s such a popular hairstyle heading into the new year. We discussed the concept of the fade, the tools needed and how you can do it yourself and maintain the look all year around. Starting from short to long and blending to reveal a stark contrast, the fade is a hair style that is appropriate for the corporate world as well as the casual everyday look.

What is it about the fade that makes it such a popular choice?

I think the fade by itself is just part of the haircut. You can do a lot of haircuts with it depending how tight the fade is or what you do on top. I think the thing that makes it so dynamic is that it is sort of the base for a lot of different haircuts. It depends on the length of it but in general, I think it is a good way to give your haircut a bit of an edge without completely redoing it and starting from scratch. The subtle fade, short hair to long hair, is slightly rebellious but at the same time, it is neat and clean. It’s a hair style that looks just as good with a suit as it does a leather jacket.

Is the fade more of a casual or a formal look?

I think it totally runs itself into a lot of different looks. So if you want to go casual you can or you can keep it more formal. Anyway, you do the fade, it’s going to have a tight and clean look. The fact is that the fade has a cleaner look as opposed to other looks with longer hair that will require more maintenance. Because of this, the fade will translate better into different looks. Another great thing about the fade is that it doesn’t take a lot of maintenance. If you do a skin fade and make it super tight, you might need to get it touched up every couple of weeks, but other than that, it is a very plug and play kind of haircut.

Can you do it yourself?

Yeah absolutely, if you have the right clippers, patience and enough time. You can easily do it with another person at home or you can do it yourself! It’s something you can achieve without clippers, but you are not going to want to use a trimmer or anything like that. You do need something powerful to give you an even cut. If things aren’t lined up properly, it will ruin the look. It does need to be symmetrical and that takes practice. As you feel more comfortable cutting your own hair, you can add in a shorter clipper guide comb to archive the fade look.

What kind of haircuts are popular right now?

With the fade, you could do what Brad Pitt has been wearing recently, which is short on the sides, longer on the top with a starker contrast. So, it’s not blended on the top like most haircuts that blend the back and sides into the top. The undercut has more of a contrast! Short buzzed hair, meets longer hair! By longer, I mean four or five plus inches. It’s something that is a bit more edgy, a bit more movie star! If you want it to be more appropriate for executive roles, you would want to keep it shorter on top.

The undercut can provide a youthful take. That is my favorite when it comes to incorporating the fade and taking advantage of that contrast that makes the fade so cool. I personally like a skin fade. That is basically starting at a zero, and is a clipper with no guard at the very bottom and toward the back of your neck, and eventually going up toward the middle. Then toward the crown you can change to a two setting where the back and sides meet the top! That is something that is edgy as far as the fade goes.

What advice do have to guys with a receding hairline?

My personal advice is to go shorter and embrace the sophisticated well aged look. However, going shorter limits your options. When you have more hair, you can style it differently depending on the occasion or the kind of look you are going for. The fade is something more to look at rather than just cutting your hair all one length. Go shorter so that you are not drawing more attention to your receding hair line or general thinning. The fade appeals to the natural pattern that appears on your hair as opposed to everything be short and everything just being there. It is one of the few stylistic things you can do if you are left with fewer options.

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Tags: Dan Michel, DCypher Studios, Fade, Hair, Mens Health

About the Author

David Morales is the Executive Editor of The Hype magazine. A graduate of Eastern Michigan University, David has a background as an artist manager, writer, blogger, drummer, and in the human services industry. He is passionate about helping others, learning and has a deep empathy for the creative process. You can follow his social media @dcypherstudios