Combination
Mid Fade + Pompadour
The pompadour needs contrast underneath it or the volume reads as unwashed rather than styled — a mid fade gives it a clean edge to sit above. This is the pairing that fails hardest with a taper, which cannot supply enough contrast to justify the height.
Cut lives at guard 0-1
- Guard range
- 0-1
- Chair time
- 50-60m
- Back in
- 2-3 wks
- Instrument
- Clipper + scissors
Two decisions, not one.
Sides
Mid Fade
The gradient begins around the temple, halfway between a low and a high fade. It gives more contrast than a low fade without the severity of a high one, and it is the safest place to start if you have never had a fade.
Full mid fade pageTop
Pompadour
Serious height at the front, swept back and up, with the volume carried further back than a quiff. The most structured cut here and the one most dependent on how you style it at home.
Full pompadour pageAsk for it like this.
Two decisions means two sets of instructions, and the third sentence is usually the one that decides whether they meet in the middle.
- Ask for a mid fade with a defined top line, not a soft blend into the top section.
- Say the top is a pompadour — 10cm at the front, swept back and up, with length carried well behind the crown.
- Ask them to leave the sides of the top section long enough to sweep back rather than sticking out.
The failure mode.
Every pairing has one specific way it goes wrong, and it is almost always at the join between the two halves rather than in either one of them.
This needs a blow dryer and a matte clay, every day, ten minutes. It is the highest styling commitment on this list and the reason most people who ask for one end up with a quiff.