Shoutout to a barber college in Chicago that changed how I fade

I stopped by the old Pivot Point campus in Chicago last weekend just to check out a supply pop-up. Watched a student do a skin fade on a mannequin and she was using a different clipper-over-comb technique than I've ever seen. She was riding the comb with the corner of the blade instead of the full flat, and the blend was perfect on the first pass. I tried it on a client Tuesday and it saved me like 10 minutes of back-and-forth. Has anyone else picked up a trick just by watching students at a barber school?

2 comments

2 Comments

knight.diana20d ago

Honestly, did anyone else notice how that technique kind of flips the whole idea of pressure on its head? Most of us mash the clipper flat against the comb trying to get a blend, but using just the corner means you're barely touching it. Ngl, that lighter touch probably keeps the blade from digging in and creating those lines you gotta fix later. Tbh, it makes me wonder if barber schools are sitting on a goldmine of small tricks like this that nobody outside ever sees.

walker.jana20d ago

Man I love that you pointed this out because I tried that corner-of-the-blade trick and my first attempt looked like I was trying to shave a raccoon off my client's head. Absolute disaster. But after a couple more tries it clicked and now I feel like a total fool for all those years of mashing the clipper flat like I was ironing a shirt. You're right about barber schools having secret tricks though. Makes me wish I'd just parked outside one with binoculars instead of paying tuition for my own schooling. Twenty years in and I'm still learning from students who probably think I'm just some old guy creeping around their pop-up sale.