Skin fades in [Mid-City], Los Angeles

The thing that goes wrong with a skin fade

A skin fade is the least forgiving cut in a barbershop. It is bare skin at the bottom and full length at the top, and everything in between has to be a gradient with no step in it. Get it wrong and you get a shelf, a visible line where one guard stopped and the next one started. You cannot hide it, you cannot comb over it, and you are stuck with it for a fortnight.

The other one is height. "Skin fade" tells a barber almost nothing. Low, mid and high skin fades are three different haircuts, and the difference between them is about an inch of your head.

How it goes here

Before anything is switched on we settle four things out loud: where the fade starts, where it goes to skin, what happens at the temple, and how much comes off the top. Sixty seconds, and it is the reason people stop having to explain themselves on the second visit.

The blend is done by eye with the clipper rather than by working through guards in order, then checked against the light from two sides before the razor goes anywhere near the line. Your guard numbers, your part and your neck line go on file afterwards.

What it costs

[$40], 45 minutes. Includes the razor line-up, the neck shave and a hot towel. Add a beard for [$20] more.

Bring us a grow-out from another shop and we will take the shelf out of it before we start. That is not an extra.

If it is not right

Come back inside seven days and we put it right at no charge. You agreed something in the chair, and if what you walked out with is not it, that is ours to fix, not yours to live with for three weeks.

Book it

A skin fade holds its shape for about two weeks before the bottom starts filling in. Most people here run on a fortnight.

Call the shop and tell us the day. We will give you the next open chair and the name of the barber in it. Photo on WhatsApp beforehand if you have one.

Open [Tuesday to Saturday]. Walk-ins welcome, and if you call first we will tell you what the wait actually looks like.