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  • Men's cut
  • Buzz length
  • Edgy

Shaved head / bald fade

A buzz-length, edgy men's cut with 0–0.1 in (0 cm) on top, finished with a tapered neckline.

Also asked for as: bald fade, shaved head, clean shaven head, skin head, bald fade with beard

Top
0–0.1 in (0 cm)
Best on
1A–4C
Recut
2–3 wks
Styling
2–5 min

Traditionally suggested for

Hairline stages 5–7 and diffuse thinning; pairs well with a beard.

Stylist convention

Who it fits

Hair comes first: these decide whether the shape can hold.

  • Works on every texture, from straight 1A to coily 4C.Hair physics
  • Any density.Hair physics
  • Works at any hairline stage, including advanced hair loss.Barber consensus
  • Scores higher if you have a receding hairline (Norwood 2+).Study
  • Scores higher if you have low-density hair.Hair physics
  • Scores higher if you have a crown whorl.Barber consensus

Who should skip it

Any one of these moves it down your list, or off it.

  • You want to keep your length: from typical medium hair this is a big chop.Your preference
  • Scores lower if you have prominent ears.Barber consensus

Barbers also flag: Shows an irregular skull shape or scars. Trade-off from a US study (Mannes 2013): a shaved head reads as more dominant and about 4 years older, and scored lower on looks than a full head of hair.

What to tell your barber

The catalog spec, in barber terms. Your own card adjusts it: part side from your crown whorl, curl notes for your texture, and a QR code your barber can open.

Read this to your barber

“Bald fade from 0 on sides; top foil or #0.5; blend into beard.”

Clipper guards in this spec (Wahl sizes)

  1. Skin0 mm
  2. #0.51.5 mm
Sides
Bald (foil or razor) at the sides, blended into the beard at the sideburn
Top
0–0.1 in (0 cm)
Neckline
Tapered (fades out naturally)
Technique
Foil shaver or razor; blend into the beard
Product
Daily SPF 30+ on the scalp; light moisturiser
Recut
Every 2–3 weeks

Upkeep and yearly cost

Priced at $30 a cut. Your results use your own local price.

Trim every
2–3 weeks
Per year
17–26 cuts a year, about $510–$780 at $30 a cut
Daily styling
2–5 min a day
Product
Light product
Heat tools
Not needed

Proportions, by face shape

Where the shaved head / bald fade places in our engine’s geometry-only top 10 for a textbook face of each shape. Proportions are the smallest part of a real score; your hair counts for more.

Where the shaved head / bald fade places in the geometry-only top 10 for each face shape
Face shapeOn proportions
Oval#9 of the top 10
RoundNot in the top 10
SquareNot in the top 10
Oblong#6 of the top 10
HeartNot in the top 10
Diamond#5 of the top 10
TriangleNot in the top 10

Related cuts

All haircuts

See the shaved head / bald fade on your own face before you sit down.

Free analysis first. Previews only change your hair, and if one doesn’t look like you, the redo is free.

Check it on my face