Why does nobody talk about the fade guilt after you rush the blend line?
I was in my chair doing a skin fade on a regular, guy comes in every two weeks like clockwork, and I heard two younger barbers at the station behind me laughing about how fast they can push out a fade, one of them said 12 minutes flat. I laughed too, but then I started watching how their blends came out and man, you could see the line from across the room. It got me thinking about when I first started cutting, I used to chase speed so hard that I would leave a shadow line right at the parietal and just pray the client did not look in the mirror too close. I have been cutting for 11 years now and I still spend a solid 20 minutes on a skin fade, sometimes 25 if the hair is thick and dark, and I used to feel bad about that until a guy told me he drives 40 minutes from Mesquite just for my fades. That comment stuck with me more than any speed tip ever did. The young guys can have their 12 minute fades, I would rather take my time and not have a guy walking around with a ridge on his head for two weeks. So my question is, how long do yall actually spend on a full skin fade, and do you ever feel pressure to rush it?
Buddy of mine runs a shop over in Garland and he had this kid straight out of school who was bragging about 10 minute fades too. One Saturday the kid rushed a dude's fade before his own wedding, left a hard line so bad the guy had to come back Sunday morning to get it fixed. My buddy said the kid quit like a month later because nobody would sit in his chair anymore. Speed means nothing if the cut looks bad in two days, plain and simple. I take 20 to 30 on a skin fade depending on the hair and I sleep just fine at night.