What to tell your barber: the exact words, guard numbers and photos to bring

Barbers work from specifics. A request like “fade, medium on the sides, not too short on top” can describe dozens of different haircuts, a point Cadmen's barber-training guide makes about vague consultations ^[1]. Five specs turn a vague request into one haircut:

• Sides: taper or fade, how high it starts, and the guard it ends on, such as “low taper, ending on a #3”.
• Top: how much length to keep, in inches if you can, and whether it should be textured, neat or swept to one side.
• Fringe: where the front should sit, from well above the brows to covering them, and whether it is blunt or choppy.
• Neckline: tapered (thins out naturally), blocked (squared off) or rounded.
• Finish: how you style it on a normal day and whether you use product, so the cut works without the barber's blow-dry.

Sides: [taper / fade], [low / mid / high], ending on a #[guard]
Top: keep about [length] inches, [textured / neat / swept to the side]
Fringe: [above the brows / at the brows / swept to one side], [blunt / choppy]
Neckline: [tapered / blocked / rounded]
Finish: I style it with [nothing / a little paste / cream], about [minutes] a day
Photos: front, side and back of the cut on hair like mine

The number on a clipper guard sets the length it leaves: the higher the number, the longer the hair. On the guard set the catalog uses, a #2 leaves 6 mm and a #4 leaves 13 mm. The chart covers every size from #0.5 to #8, with examples of catalog cuts that use each one where there are any.

Two caveats make a single number less exact than it sounds. Guard labels aren't fully standard: most professional brands step up by about an eighth of an inch per number, but some use different steps or a different starting point ^[2]. The result also shifts with the blade setting, the cutting direction and your hair ^[3].

Your hair changes the picture as well. Cadmen's consultation guide notes that the same guard 3 reads shorter on thick hair than on fine hair ^[1]. So say the finish and the height as well as the number, and once you find a guard that works, ask the barber to note it for next time.

This is a common mix-up, and it decides how much skin shows. A taper gets shorter toward the bottom of the sides and the nape but still leaves some hair over the skin; a fade carries on down to bare skin. Either can start low, in the middle or high. The full comparison lives in taper vs fade; the table below is the quick reference for the side options the catalog uses.

These tables come straight from the barber specs in the catalog. Short classics first:

Longer and trend-led cuts need more words, because the fringe and the back matter as much as the sides:

In plain words, here is the core of each request. Every name links to the style page with the full script to read out:

• Classic taper: scissor-over-comb taper, not a skin fade, top swept to the side, natural tapered neckline.
• Textured crop: mid skin fade, top point-cut for texture, choppy fringe sitting above the brows.
• French crop: blunt, straight fringe at mid-forehead with a low or mid taper on the sides.
• Crew cut: #2–3 tapered sides, with the top graduated shorter from the front to the crown.
• Buzz cut: one guard all over, or a #1 on the sides blended into a #3 on top, with an edge-up.
• Mod cut: scissor cut all over, a heavy fringe to the brows, sides covering the top half of the ears.
• Modern mullet: taper or burst fade around the ears, textured top, length left at the nape and blended rather than shelved.
• Curtains: centre part, fringe falling to the temples, scissor-cut or low-taper sides.
• Men's wolf cut: shaggy layers with the most height at the crown, a curtain fringe and the back blended in.
• Edgar cut: high or mid skin fade with a blunt fringe cut straight across and a sharp line-up.

Here is the full barber spec for the classic taper, the catalog's answer to “just a regular haircut”:

Yes. Cadmen's guide calls a reference photo the fastest way for barber and client to agree on the outcome, not a crutch ^[1]. Three habits make photos more useful:

• Show front, side and back views. The back and the neckline are easy to forget and hard to describe.
• Choose photos of hair like yours. A cut photographed on thick, straight hair won't look the same on fine or curly hair.
• Point at the parts you like: the fringe, the height of the fade, the length at the back. The barber can then tell you what will and won't carry over to your hair.

A photo of your own head on a day the cut came out right is even better, so take one before you leave the chair next time it does.

Say it first, before anything else, or you may leave with a neat version of the cut you came in with. Then ask for a cleanup rather than a haircut:

• “I'm growing out the top, so please leave the length there.”
• “Tidy the neckline and around the ears so it looks intentional.”
• “Keep the sides off the skin from now on, and go one guard longer each visit.”
• “Shape it toward the next cut on the way, not a grown-out version of this one.”

Fitcut's grow-out estimates assume hair grows about 1.25 cm (½ in) a month, and real growth varies from person to person. The top usually has the furthest to go, so expect it to take longest to get where you want. The mod cut and curtains pages show how much length each needs on top, and the guide to growing out your hair lays out the cut to ask for at each stage.

• “Just a little off the top.” A little means something different to every barber. Give a length or point at a photo.
• “A #2 on the sides.” A number without a finish and a height can come out as a hard line, a taper or a fade. Say “low taper, ending on a #2” instead.
• “Short back and sides.” It can mean anything from scissor-cut sides to a skin fade. Add the finish, the top length and the neckline.
• “Whatever you think.” Fine with a barber who knows your hair; a gamble on a first visit. Give at least the sides and the top.
• “Same as last time” at a new shop. They have no idea what last time was. Bring a photo or the fill-in script above.

Some requests depend on the hair and the head underneath. These are barber and stylist conventions, not measured rules, but they are worth raising before the clippers come out:

• Skin fades with ears that stand out: bare sides leave the ears fully visible. If you'd rather they weren't, ask for a low taper or scissor-cut sides.
• Very short guards over bumps or scars: ask the barber to stay longer than a #1 guard on those patches.
• Hard lines with a receding hairline: a sharp line-up along the front hairline, as on an Edgar cut, makes temple recession easier to see. The receding hairline guide covers what holds up at each stage.
• Blunt fringes with a cowlick: a front cowlick splits a short, blunt fringe. Part with the whorl instead; the cowlick guide has the details.
• Wet cutting with curly hair: curls shrink as they dry, so ask for a dry cut, or extra length on top, from a barber who cuts curly hair often.

Say so before you leave, calmly and specifically: “Can you take the sides a bit shorter?” or “Can you soften the line at the back?” Small fixes are quick while you're still in the chair. Length can't go back on, though. If the top is too short, ask what shape it can grow into, and next time start a guard longer and go shorter only if needed.

Not sure which cut to ask for in the first place? The free analysis at Fitcut checks your hair type and hairline and shows your top match with its main reason, and the guide to what haircut to get walks through the same checks by hand. For proportions alone, the face shape detector measures them in your browser.