Curly Hair Fade — Cutting Curls Near You in Franklin Square
Why cutting curly and textured hair is a different job, which fades work with curls, and whether to have it cut wet or dry.
Walk-ins welcome · Mon–Sat 9–7, Sun 10–3 · (516) 328-0724
Cutting curly hair is a different job
Curly hair has to be cut for the length it will be when it dries, not the length it is when it is wet — and on tight curl patterns that is a difference of two to three times. A curl that hangs at 15 cm wet can sit at 5 cm dry. That ratio is what barbers mean by "spring factor", and it varies curl by curl on the same head.
Three consequences follow, and they are why the same haircut takes longer:
- Judge it dry, cut it dry. A wet cut on tight curl is a guess about how far each section will retract. Cutting dry, section by section, removes the guess.
- Cut with the curl, not across it. Hair cut square across a curl leaves a blunt end that sticks out of the coil instead of sitting inside it. Cut at an angle, following the curl's direction, and the end disappears into the spiral.
- Thinning shears are the wrong tool. Used mid-length in curly hair they leave short broken ends that spring out of the bulk as frizz. Weight comes out by removing whole curls, not by shredding them.
Which fade works with curls
A drop fade and a burst fade work better on curly hair than a straight fade line, because both follow the direction the hair already falls behind the ear. A straight horizontal line through curl creates a visible step: every curl retracts a different amount, and a hard level edge exaggerates the differences instead of hiding them.
- drop fade — the line dips behind the ear and wraps the skull. The safest fade to ask for on any curl pattern.
- burst fade — the arc around the ear follows the curl's fall exactly, and the length left at the nape keeps the bulk that curly hair needs to hold its shape.
- A low taper keeps width, which most curl patterns want.
- A high skin fade can work, but see the razor-bump note below.
What to ask for
Ask for one guard longer than you would on straight hair. The same guard reads shorter on curly hair because you see scalp between the coils — a #2 on coily hair looks closer to a #1 on straight hair.
"Curly fade please — dry cut, and judge the length dry. Drop fade on the sides, start it mid and let it drop behind the ear. Take the sides down to a one at the bottom, blend up to a three. Don't thin the top — take the weight out by removing whole curls. Keep the length on top, I want the curl to sit."
| Decision | Note |
|---|---|
| Dry cut or wet cut | say "dry cut" if your pattern is type 3 or 4 |
| Guard at the bottom | one longer than you would pick on straight hair |
| Top | weight removed by taking out whole curls, not by thinning |
| Fringe | curls at the front shrink most — say if you want them to reach your forehead |
| Line-up | say whether you want a razored front line or a natural hairline |
Razor bumps. On coarse, tightly curled hair, taking the nape and the sides to true skin invites ingrown hairs, because a cut curl can re-enter the skin as it grows. Ask for a 0.5 mm shadow instead of bare skin — it reads as skin from a metre away and removes the problem.
Dry cut or wet cut
A dry cut is the default for type 3 and type 4 curl, because it is the only way to see where each curl actually sits. A wet cut is reasonable on type 2 waves, where shrinkage is closer to 1.2 : 1 than 3 : 1.
Curl types, as barbers use them:
- Type 2 — waves. An S-shape with no spiral. Shrinkage of roughly 10–20%.
- Type 3 — curls. A defined spiral, from loose to tight. Shrinkage of 30–50%.
- Type 4 — coils. A tight zigzag or a very small spiral, often with no visible S at all. Shrinkage of 50–75%, which is where the "three times shorter dry" figure comes from.
Most heads are two types at once — looser at the crown, tighter at the nape — and that is normal rather than a problem to correct.
How often it needs redoing
Three to five weeks. Curly hair hides regrowth better than a straight fade does — the coils sit over the blend — so a curly fade holds its shape about a week longer than the same fade on straight hair. The shape-up is what goes first, not the fade.
A shape-up at $15 between cuts resets the front line without touching the length.
Price and who cuts it
Booked as a fade haircut — $30, the same as any men's haircut.
Curly Hair Fades we have cut
Every photograph here is a cut from our chairs. A style is missing only because we have not photographed it yet.
Visit us in Franklin Square
Franklin Square, NY 11010
(516) 328-0724
- Monday – Saturday
- 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Sunday
- 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Walk-ins are welcome during all opening hours, and appointments can be made by phone.
