The Mid Taper Fade: Why It Is the Most Requested Cut in Manhattan

If we counted every order at Deja Vu for a month, the mid taper fade would win by a mile. It is the cut the analyst asks for at 8am, the cut the nurse asks for on Sunday, and the cut the father asks for right after his kid’s. It is popular for a boring reason: it works on nearly every head and nearly every office.

A mid taper fade is a fade that starts around the temple, halfway up the side of the head, and blends down to skin or a very short guard at the sideburn and neckline while leaving the rest of the sides with a short but visible length. It gives you the clean edge of a fade and the manners of a taper. At Deja Vu it is $35, takes about 30 minutes, and ends with a hot towel on the neck.

What a mid taper fade is and where it starts

The mid taper fade starts its blend at the temple, roughly level with the top of the ear or a finger above it, and runs down to the shortest point at the sideburn and the nape. Above the temple the hair stays at one short length, often a 2 or 3 guard, until it meets the top.

Break the name into its parts. Mid tells you the height of the blend: not just above the ear like a low cut, not up at the parietal ridge like a high one. Taper tells you the footprint: the shortest hair lives at the sideburn and the neckline rather than being stripped across the whole side. Fade tells you there is a true gradient, worked with clippers and a comb until no line shows. Put together, you get a cut that looks sharp from the side, quiet from the front, and tidy from the back.

The barber builds it in three passes. The first sets the bottom at skin or a 0.5 guard at the sideburn and nape. The second opens the gradient with a 1 and a 1.5, lever open and closed, up to the temple. The third blends a 2 or 3 above that into whatever length is on top. The whole thing takes about 30 minutes and most of that time is the second pass, which is where a cheap fade and a good one part ways.

Mid taper vs low and high, and vs a skin fade

The only variable between a low, mid and high taper fade is how far up the side the blend climbs. Low stops just above the ear, mid stops at the temple, high climbs to the parietal ridge. The mid version is the compromise, and in a Midtown office the compromise usually wins.

The last row is the one people confuse with the mid taper. A mid skin fade takes the entire side down to skin below the temple. A mid taper fade only goes to skin at the sideburn and the nape and keeps hair on the side in between. Same height, very different amount of scalp. If you want the shape of a fade without a bare side, the taper version is the one to ask for. The full family tree is in our post on the types of fade haircut.

Ten ways to wear a mid taper fade

The sides are fixed; the top is where you choose. These ten combinations cover almost every mid taper fade we cut in a given week, from the two minute crop to the blowout that needs a dryer and a plan.

1. Textured crop. One to two inches on top, cut choppy and pushed forward into a short fringe. The most requested top in the shop, and the one that needs the least styling.
2. Quiff. Two to four inches swept up and back with volume at the front. Needs a blow dryer and a matte product with hold.
3. Side part. Two to three inches combed to one side, with a natural part or a hard part shaved in. The cleanest office version.
4. Slick back. Three inches plus combed straight back with pomade. The classic executive look over a lower, softer blend.
5. Curly top. Two to three inches of natural curl left on top. The gradient against the curl is the sharpest contrast in barbering.
6. Straight hair, cut short. A 4 or 5 guard on top with the mid taper below. Fast, clean, and the one that shows a crisp taper line best.
7. Fringe. Longer at the front, worn down over the forehead, straight or textured. Hides a high forehead or a receding corner. Our guide to the low taper with textured fringe covers the lower version.
8. Blowout. Three to four inches blown up and back for height and movement. Needs a dryer, a brush and ten minutes.
9. Buzz cut. A 1 or 2 across the top with the taper underneath. Nothing to style, and the hairline does all the work.
10. With a beard. Any of the above with the sideburn blended into the beard. Fade plus beard is the Classic Combo at $48.

The tops that need a scissor rather than a guard, such as the quiff, side part, slick back and blowout, are cut the way our classic scissor cuts are: point cut for texture or blunt for weight, depending on what the hair needs.

Choosing by face shape and hair type

The mid taper fade suits most men because the mid height does not exaggerate anything. It does not stretch a long face the way a high fade can, and it does not leave a round face heavy the way a low cut can. Hair type decides the top more than the fade.

Face shape

• Oval: anything on top. This is the face every cut was designed for.
• Round: add height with a quiff or crop. Keep the blend at the temple, not lower.
• Square: side part or slick back; the strong jaw carries a clean side.
• Long: crop or fringe, no tall quiff, and let the barber keep a little weight on the sides.
• Heart: fringe or textured crop to balance a narrow chin.

Hair type

• Straight: shows the taper line cleanly. Crop, side part or short top.
• Wavy: quiff or textured crop; let the wave do the volume.
• Curly: curly top, two to three inches, with a line up on the hairline.
• Thick: any top. Ask for weight taken out with thinning shears if the top sits heavy. Dense straight hair has its own guide, fade haircuts for Asian hair.
• Fine or thinning: crop or short top with a matte product. Keep the blend on the taper, never bare across the side, or the top reads thinner than it is.

What to say to your barber

Say “mid taper fade, skin at the sideburn and neck, leave the sides at a 2, and” then describe the top. That sentence is a complete order and any barber in New York will cut it without guessing.

The phrasebook

• “Mid taper fade, skin at the bottom, 2 on the sides, textured crop on top.”
• “Mid taper, keep it a 1 at the bottom instead of skin, side part on top, natural neckline.”
• “Mid taper fade, blend it into the beard, keep the top the way it is and just take the weight out.”
• “Same as last time but a little higher on the temple.”

Bring a photo if the top is unusual; the sides do not need one. If you are not sure about skin, say “start at a half guard and I will go to skin next time.” The difference in grow out is about four days, and you will know after one cut which you prefer. Our guide to the shadow fade compares it with a skin fade.

Styling at home and the products that hold

Styling a mid taper fade means styling the top; the sides lie flat on their own. One product, chosen by the finish you want and the length you kept, is enough for every top on this page. Most of the men who tell us their hair will not hold are using the wrong texture of product on damp hair that is actually wet.

The routine by top

1. Towel dry until the hair is damp. If water drips, it is too wet for product.
2. Crop or buzz: skip the dryer. Rub a pea of clay between your palms and push the top forward with your fingertips. Thirty seconds.
3. Side part or slick back: comb a fingertip of water based pomade or cream through, part with the comb, then comb the direction you want. One minute.
4. Quiff or blowout: blow dry up and back with a vent brush on medium heat, then work clay or paste from the back forward and shape the front with your fingers. Three to five minutes.
5. Curly top: curl cream on damp hair, scrunch, let it air dry or diffuse. Do not touch it while it dries.
6. Brush the sides down with a soft brush and brush any product left on your hands through them.

Which product

Two things to remember. Matte makes hair look thicker and shine makes it look thinner, so fine hair stays with clay or paste. And half the amount you think you need is the right amount; add a second half only if the first disappears.

Maintenance schedule

A mid taper fade looks new for about ten days and good for about three weeks, which makes it cheaper to maintain than a skin fade and sharper than a scissor cut. Most regulars come every three weeks and add a line up in the middle.

That is $53 every three weeks for a cut that looks new almost the whole time. Skip the line up and come every two weeks instead and it is $70 for the same stretch. Between visits, wash every two or three days rather than daily, brush the sides down after the shower, and leave the clippers in the drawer. The blend was cut from four angles with a mirror behind you, and the bathroom only has one.

The lunch break version near Grand Central

A mid taper fade fits inside a lunch hour from most of Midtown East, including the time to walk here and back. Grand Central to our door is about eight minutes on foot, the cut is about 30 minutes, and the walk back is the same eight.

The arithmetic for a 12pm lunch: leave the office at 12, sit down at about 12:10 if you walk in or booked online for 12:10, stand up at about 12:40, back at the desk by 12:50 with a hot towel finish and ten minutes to spare. From the 6 train at 33rd Street and Park it is about two minutes. The M34 and M34A Select Bus stop at East 34th and Park, and the M101, M102 and M103 stop at Lexington and 34th, so the Upper East Side and the hospitals on the East Side are a straight ride. Walk ins are always welcome, and the shop opens at 8am on weekdays for the man who would rather get it done before the first meeting. Every level of the cut is on our fade haircuts page.

Get a mid taper fade at Deja Vu Barbershop

The mid taper fade is $35 at Deja Vu, cut by New York State licensed barbers with 15 plus years of experience on the team, and every haircut includes the hot towel neck finish. Add a beard trim and it is the Classic Combo at $48.

Find us at 101 E 34th St between Park and Lexington in Murray Hill, two minutes from the 6 at 33rd Street and about eight from Grand Central. Hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm and Sunday 10am to 5pm, closed Saturday. Walk ins are always welcome, or book online. Call (212) 576-1062 with questions.

Questions readers ask

Read next

• The Shadow Fade: The Subtle Fade for Conservative Offices
• Low Taper Fade With Textured Fringe: The Cut Taking Over Midtown
• Fade Haircuts for Asian Hair: Density, Growth Patterns and the Right Taper