What a taper fade is, the difference between a high, mid and low taper, and why it's the cut that grows out best between visits.
A taper fade grades the hair down at the sides and back to a short length, then stops there. It never reaches bare skin, which is what separates it from a skin fade. The gradient still runs smoothly from the length on top down to the shortest point at the neckline, so it reads as neat and deliberate rather than an obvious clipper line. It works well on straight, wavy, curly and coily hair alike, and it's the cut most people mean when they just ask for "a fade" without anything more specific.
If you're deciding between a taper and going all the way to skin, we've put the two head to head in a separate taper fade vs skin fade comparison.
Same idea as a skin fade: where the taper starts changes how sharp the finish looks.
Starts higher up the head, giving more contrast against the top without going all the way to skin. A middle ground between a taper and a skin fade.
Starts around the ear. The most requested taper at Crew, since it looks sharp fresh out the chair and still holds its shape three weeks later.
Starts low, close to the hairline. The subtlest option, and the one that grows out the most gracefully of the three.
A taper fade starts the same way every cut does: a quick look at what you've had before and what you want to change. Clippers work down through the guards, grading the length gradually rather than jumping straight to a short guard, so there's no visible step where one length meets the next. It's £20 at every shop, the same as a skin fade, and finishes with the same hot-towel neck treatment as everything else on the board.
£20, the same as a skin fade, at every one of our four West London shops.
A taper fade holds its shape for around four weeks, similar to a low or mid skin fade, and longer than a high skin fade, since there's no bare-skin line to grow back in.
Yes. It works with straight, wavy, curly or coily hair, and tends to sit a little softer against curls than a skin fade does.
A taper leaves a short length of hair at the sides rather than shaving down to skin, which is what a skin fade does instead. See our taper fade vs skin fade comparison for the full breakdown.
Walk-ins are welcome at every Crew shop, seven days a week. Book ahead on Booksy if you want a specific barber or time.
£20 at every Crew shop, same as a skin fade.
Book direct: Isleworth Brentford Whitton Teddington
