A low skin fade haircut is a men’s haircut that involves long hair on top which gradually gets shorter until skin-level as it goes down to the sides and nape area. Also commonly called a bald fade or a zero fade, the skin fade brings with it a crisp contrast.
Plus, having it low makes it an awesome match for modern hairstyles like pompadours, faux hawks, quiffs, high tops, undercuts, and a lot more others! No matter the length of the top hair, Afro barber Matthew Odediran exhibits how to work the low skin fade magic on various styles, textures, and lengths.
Cutting your hair down to the skin creates a low-upkeep, laidback, and clean look that could last for weeks, meaning that it’s a perfect fade for both business or casual settings.
See how celebrity dreamboats Cristiano Ronaldo, Zayn Malik, Tom Hardy, and Adam Levine flaunt their low skin fade cuts handsomely in and out of action!
For the most recent and popular examples, take a look at this collection of low skin fade haircuts that will make you look no further!
Faux Hawk
Style with gel or mousse to create a spiked fohawk. The low shaved sides balance out the fullness up top.
Slicked Back
Combed over the back creates a cleaned up look. The low skin fade is the contrasted addition that you would want to try.
Disconnected Undercut
Ask your barber for a shave that is close to the skin while having the top portion full. Style pomp accordingly.
Low Skin Fade + Comb Over
All the hair hat remains after that sharp shave can be slicked towards the sides. Gel those streaks up!
High Top + Low Skin Fade
The curls do all the work here but the low skin fade hairstyle complements it nonetheless.
Low Skin Fade with Beard
A little rough around the edges wouldn’t hurt. Tousle up those layers, shave the sides instead of the beard and you’ll be good to go with this haircut with a low skin fade.
Caesar Cut
Revolutionary and bold, a caesar cut with a lower skin fade is just what you need to amp up your style. The shaved sides give it a nice taste of balanced volume.
Low Skin Fade with Quiff
Partner anything full like a quiff to low bald fade sides and you’ll surely rock any party!
Long Hair on Top
If you’re still not ready to let go of your long locks, try this low bald fade that will surely ease you into having shorter hair in the future.
Wavy Hair
Mesmerizing waves that fades into a clean-cut puts in that feminine factor that is quite attractive.
Pompadour
Go home or go hard indeed! This attention-seeking quif with a low skin fade is the real definition of extra.
Textured and Messy
The ready-to-go hair. The bed hair. The not so bad hair day. With a full hair on top and minimal hair to style at the sides, the possibilities are endless for this super easy to maintain haircut with a low skin fade.
Crew Cut
Q&A with style creator, Dominic Grech
Barber @ The Blind Barber in Mosta, MT
How would you describe this look?
I would describe the faded mohawk as “awesome is what it is”. This haircut carries a lot of benefits when it comes to styling. Having the upper section of the hair longer than the rest makes it more easy to style, depending on the client’s mood, outfit, or occasion. The faded mohawk will always have you covered.
Any advice for someone considering it?
I would recommend this low skin fade hairstyle for someone who is fashion forward, strong-charactered, and who can own the look. Having well defined facial characteristics would also bring the best out of this hairstyle.
With regard to products, I would say that to create a volume and scruffy effortless look, the boost powder would be the best option. A matte dry look, a clay, or a matte wax would be another suitable option.
Ivy League
This is a really stylish, modern, and versatile look. The fade in this style has been left low and very short and then it starts to blend into more length and volume around the temples. This hairstyle looks really good when the hair is slicked back, creating a polished and well-groomed look.
I especially love the low skin fade style, as it’s a very popular cut at the minute. All fades look different and create a different effect on each head and hair types.
Always blow dry into shape after washing and depending on the overall look they were after to use either a strong wax or hair powder (which has the same effect but more natural look).
With this particular hair cut, I believe it allows people to see themselves in a different, tidier, polished light. It creates a sense of hair pride which encourages them to take more care of their appearance – this look changes lives.
As stated before, this is an extremely versatile hairstyle. Men and children can all have this hairstyle. It also works on all hair types too, hence why the style is so popular.
As this style is so short, it does require regular maintenance. A visit to the barber every 2-3 weeks would suffice.
For Curly Hair
Q&A with style creator, Lolín Rodríguez
Owner @ Supremo Professional Hairdressing in Málaga, Spain
How would you describe this look?
In this low skin fade style, I was inspired by the type of hair that in this case presented, one forward direction and one medium undulation. Thus enhancing its undulation and giving it a natural effect accompanied by a very soft blur while maintaining harmony.
What I like most about this style is to take advantage of its natural form and not alter it, thus giving a very comfortable result for day to day.
Any advice for someone considering it?
For this type of styles, we usually apply a curl-enhancing styling base and dry naturally.
Hard Part
Q&A with style creator, José Manuel Guzmán
Barber / Stylist @ Skilled Barber in Levittown, Puerto Rico
How would you describe this look?
This is a low skin fade haircut with a blended beard and a hard part and a pompadour hairstyle. My favorite thing is doing the blow drying process to create this awesome classic look with a nice definition with a custom comb created by SJ precision by Sherwin.
Any advice for someone considering it?
Let your hair grow and take care of it with quality products to give the hair the nutrition it needs to be healthy, so the hairstyle can be done correctly and look awesome as it is. Don’t expose the hair too much to the sun because it can be damaged. For blow drying, I use some serum or leave-in conditioner, and after blow drying it, to create the hairstyle, I use Skilled Barber Hair Pomade to create a nice natural shine and mold the hairstyle before finishing it with some hair spray.
