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That barber expo in Columbus last spring changed how I do fades
I went to the Ohio Barber Expo back in March expecting to see all these guys using the latest clippers and foils. Instead, I watched a 50 year old barber do a perfect zero fade with just clipper-over-comb and a trimmer. No guards, no fancy tools, just technique. Now I spend 10 minutes each day practicing my comb work instead of buying new gear. Am I the only one who thinks we rely too much on products instead of skill?
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joseph_murray825d ago
That line about the 50 year old barber doing a zero fade with just clipper over comb and a trimmer really hit me. I was at a shop in Cleveland last summer and this old timer named Louie was cutting a kid's hair who came in with a picture of some TikTok fade. Louie didn't even look at the picture, just started freehanding the whole thing with a Wahl Senior and a straight razor. The kid was nervous at first but when he saw the mirror he tipped like forty bucks. Reminds me of when I first started and I bought every attachment set Maggard had to offer, then realized my cuts only got better when I stopped relying on them and started trusting my hands.
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phoenix_adams6025d ago
That bit about realizing cuts got better when you stopped relying on attachments really got me thinking. Did Louie ever tell you how long it took him before he felt confident enough to ditch the guards completely? I still catch myself reaching for a #2 when I know I could blend it smoother by hand, and I've been at this almost a decade now.
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