Can we talk about what happened at that barber expo in Chicago last month

I went to that big Midwest barber show at McCormick Place, you know the one. I saw this older barber from Detroit doing a demo on fading with a trimmer instead of clippers, no guards at all. He broke down how he flicks his wrist to blend the hard line, step by step, and I tried it on a client Tuesday, worked way better than my usual method. Has anyone else messed around with trimmer-only fades or am I late to this?

3 comments

3 Comments

lee.cora6d ago

Solidarity on this one. That trimmer technique has saved me so many headaches trying to chase a hairline with a clipper. Tried it on a coworker last week and it blended smoother than anything I'd done before.

paulnguyen6d ago

Man "chasing a hairline with a clipper" is the most real thing ever lol. That trimmer technique really flips the whole process. I've found that using the trimmer first to define the shape and then going in with the clipper just to knock down the bulk makes it so much cleaner. No more of that choppy line where the clipper guard lifts up by accident. Plus when you use the trimmer to flick out the neckline first, you can see exactly where your blend needs to hit without guessing. It's a game changer for keeping that fade looking fresh for an extra day or two.

bell.jessica6d ago

Blended smoother than anything I'd done before" - see I actually had the opposite experience. When I tried trimmer first, I ended up with visible lines where the trimmer hit and the clipper didn't match up. Going clipper first lets me blend into the trimmer work better.