Update: tried the 'hold the comb vertical' vs 'horizontal' thing for blending

For the last month, I tried blending fades holding my comb flat against the head like I always have. Yesterday, I switched to holding it straight up and down, almost like a guard, and just flicking my wrist. The blend from a 2 to a 1 guard went from taking me like 4 passes to just 2, and the line disappeared way cleaner. It felt weird at first but the speed and finish are totally different. Anyone else have a small change in how you hold a tool that made a big difference in your fades?

3 comments

3 Comments

skyler_anderson651mo ago

Oh man, that's the part nobody talks about though. The real game changer is how you hold the comb differently for the right side vs the left side of the head because the hair grows in opposite directions there. If you just flip your wrist the same way on both sides, you'll fight the grain every time.

iris_rivera443mo ago

My barber showed me that same trick last year. It felt wrong for the first week but now my fades are way faster. The angle change makes the guard act more like a soft eraser than a hard line.

paulhernandez3mo ago

Interesting. @iris_rivera44 mentioned the guard acting like an eraser, which makes sense. Are you using that same straight-up flick motion on the very top of the fade too, like blending a 3 into a 2, or does it only work best on the lower sections?