How often should you touch up a skin fade?
Skin grows back in days. Here is when a fade starts to look soft, and what a quick tidy costs (sample).
Skin fades, scissor cuts and hot-towel shaves
Corbett Street Barbers (sample), 9 Corbett Street, Springfield. Four chairs, two kept for walk-ins, open Tuesday to Saturday.
Skin fade $32, about 45 minutes (Example prices)
S
4 cm scissors on top
3
10 mm at the crown edge
2
6 mm at the temple
1
3 mm above the ear
0
1.5 mm no guard
Skin
0 mm foil shaver at the nape
The house mid skin fade (sample), read from the neck up. The blue line is the fade line: where the skin stops.
Who is cutting on Saturday
Walk-in chairs take the next name on the board. Booked chairs keep your time for ten minutes.
Chair 1
Dev
Walk-ins
8:00–16:00
Chair 2
Tomás
Bookings
8:00–14:00
Chair 3
Kwame
Walk-ins
9:00–16:00
Chair 4
Lou
Kids’ cuts until 12:00
8:00–16:00
Cuts, beards and shaves
Every cut ends with a hot-towel neck and a look in the hand mirror. The minutes are the time in the chair.
Chips show what each cut uses: 0 to 8 are clipper guards, S is scissors, R is the open razor. Example prices.
Haircuts
Skin fade
Foil to skin at the nape, faded up through the guards, scissors on top, hot-towel neck finish
Guards used: 0123S
45 min
$32
Taper fade
Tapered at the sideburns and the neckline only, the rest kept longer
Guards used: 12S
40 min
$30
Scissor cut
Cut with scissors over the comb all over, washed and styled
Guards used: S
45 min
$34
Buzz cut
One guard all over, edges lined up with the trimmer
Guards used: 2
15 min
$18
Kids' cut, under 12
Any cut, with a booster seat and no rush
Guards used: 23S
30 min
$20
Beards and shaves
Beard trim and line-up
Shaped with clippers and scissors, cheeks and neckline lined with the razor
Guards used: 12R
20 min
$18
Hot-towel shave
Two hot towels, lather, two passes with the open razor, cold towel and balm
Guards used: R
40 min
$36
Cut and beard
Any haircut with a beard trim and line-up
Guards used: 012SR
60 min
$46
Ask for it by number
The number on a clipper guard is the length it leaves. Tell us yours and you get the same cut whoever is on the chair.
Lengths for standard snap-on guards. No. 0 means no guard, with the lever open. Half sizes sit between 0 and 3.
0
1.5
mm
1
3
mm
2
6
mm
3
10
mm
4
13
mm
5
16
mm
6
19
mm
7
22
mm
8
25
mm
Most asked for at Corbett Street: a 2 on the sides and a 4 on top (sample).
The hot-towel shave
Forty minutes with the open razor, a fresh blade and two towels. Book it on its own or after a cut.
1
Hot towel
Two minutes under a hot towel to soften the beard and open the skin.
2
Pre-shave oil
A few drops worked in against the grain so the razor glides.
3
Lather
Warm lather built up with a brush, then left for a minute.
4
First pass
With the grain, using a fresh blade in the open razor.
5
Second pass
Across the grain where the skin allows, then a cold towel to close it.
6
Balm
Alcohol-free balm, and a look in the mirror before you get up.
Hot-towel shave $36, about 40 minutes (Example prices)
The barbers
Four barbers, each with a chair of their own. Ask for one by name, or take the next free chair.
Dev Malik
Skin fades and sharp line-ups. Ask for him if you know your numbers. (sample)
Tue to Sat
Tomás Reyes
Scissor cuts, longer hair on top and curly hair. (sample)
Tue, Thu, Sat
Kwame Asante
Beards and hot-towel shaves; the calmest hand with a razor. (sample)
Wed to Sat
Lou Brennan
Kids’ cuts on Saturday mornings, tapers and classic short back and sides. (sample)
Thu to Sat
A clean chair, every time
Combs stand in the jar between clients, every shave gets a new blade and every client a fresh cape and neck strip.
- Clippers and guards disinfected after every cut
- Single-use razor blades and neck strips
- Towels washed hot, never reused in a day
- Step-free door and a chair that lowers
Grooming notes
Beard care between trims
Three things that keep a beard in shape until your next line-up (sample).
When is the shop quietest for walk-ins?
Short waits on weekday mornings, longer on Saturdays: the walk-in board at a glance (sample).
Find the shop
Corbett Street Barbers
9 Corbett Street, Springfield (sample)
Tuesday to Friday
9:00–19:00
Thursday late
until 20:00
Saturday
8:00–16:00
Sunday and Monday
Closed
Opening hours (sample). Walk-ins until an hour before closing.
