Fade haircuts are characterized by a chic finish of gradual hair length tapering. It’s a skillful and laborious job but the result is truly impressive.
No other haircuts can give that fantastic fresh and clean feel that fades do. Besides, fade haircuts offer varied lengths for hair on the top.
That’s why every new fade can look different and creative. The gallery below confirms that with vivid examples. Take a minute to check them all.
#1: Fade With Cool Afro On Top
Usher looks playful and irresistibly sexy with his fade haircut that lets him reveal his cool Afro texture on top and provide super neat and clean sides and back. The length gradient is unquestionably the “wow” factor of this stylish men’s cut.

#2: Well-Polished Fade
Will Smith sported a super chic male look at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party. His fade stood out thanks to the accuracy of its contours and a flawless gradation of length on the sides for an ultra polished finish that distinguishes any quality fade.
#3: Simple Fade That Suits
Cuba Gooding Jr doesn’t intend to amaze everyone around with geometric angles, shaved in pieces or any other modern fade quirks. His nice haircut meanwhile is pretty simple as well as unpretentious, and, what’s the most important, it does suit him.
#4: Closely Cut Temple Fade
Anthony Mackie showed off his smooth temple fade in the captain America interview video, and we couldn’t help loving both – the talented actor and his extra short polished haircut.
#5: Extra Short Fade
Idris Elba appeared at the 45th NAACP Image Awards ceremony dressed formally, cut closely and looking breathtaking. How does he manage? A quality fade haircut will surely add style points to your look.
#6: Artsy Fade
Male haircuts do not have to be unpretentious. If you can pull off the look like Miguel’s, I bet you’ll have total success among women. His haircut is not a complete fade, but the principle of length reduction is the same there. The curly top and the dividers on each side are really cool.
#7: Neat Temple Fade
Chris Brown doesn’t shy away the “fade club” either. His neat short haircut features fade only at the temple sections, while his top hair remains one length with a slightly shortened back.
#8: Accurate Fade With Waves On Top
Martin Lawrence also appreciates all the benefits of fade haircut for black hair. He pairs the fade on the sides with vague waves on top achieving a statement short style with distinct contours and great texture.
#9: Extra Short High Fade
Arsenio Hall believes the less hair he has the easier it is to manage, and we have nothing to object to. This extra short high fade haircut will be interesting to those who are seeking hairstyles with no maintenance at all.
#10: Square Forehead Fade Haircut
Square face is as ideal for a man as oval is for a woman. Jamie Foxx accentuates his face shape with a square forehead fade haircut, square shades and horizontally trimmed facial hair. A super stylish men’s look!
#11: Clean Low Fade
Terrence Howard’s hair is neatly trimmed and tapered on the sides. His fade, besides, starts no higher than the temple level. As a result, his haircut looks quite classic, well-balanced and clean.
#12: Extra Short High Fade
Shemar Moore’s hair is not as thick and dense as it used to be, that’s why an extra short haircut is the best solution for him. Lately Shemar has been alternating complete baldness with nice high fades like this one.
#13: Cute Temple Fade
Chadwick Boseman rocks a really cool temple fade that starts pretty high – at his forehead corners. His hair on top remains long enough to let the fun Afro texture reveal, and his back is neatly tapered towards the nape.
#14: Extra Short ‘Fro With Fade On The Temples
Oh, well, not much of a haircut to examine here but Trey Songz’ perfect body. Meanwhile, we know that his cut is flawless as well: afro texture and faded temples create an optimal clean look that suits most African American guys.
#15: Short Cut With Faded Temples
Ryan Coogler opts for the most conservative version of fade haircut with tapered temples. It’s a nice upgrade for your favorite buzz haircut. A new light touch to your usual style is always a welcome change.
#16: Kinky Coils On Top With Extra Short Sides
Luke James presents an extraordinary high fade haircut that is easy to maintain and cool to wear. Luke’s top features quite long coils, while his hair on the sides and back is clipped close to the skin.
#17: Smart Fade On The Temples
Columbus Short believes that men’s haircuts should be simple and neat. Thus, he goes for a cute short buzz with temple fade for a clean classy look, preferred by many contemporary black guys.
#18: High Fade With A Polished Finish
Damon Wayans Jr. rocks a high polished fade with extra short top and minimal length on the sides and back. This haircut needs no particular maintenance but frequent trimmings to keep it perfect.
#19: Extra Short Buzz With Temple Fade
Frank Ocean’s extra short buzz haircut blends with his facial hairstyle through the temple fade. Special attention is given to the accuracy of contours, and we see that the result is superb.
#20: Clean Temple Fade
If you don’t feel like looking completely bald on the sides, decide on a clean temple fade like Michael B Jordan’s. It offers you a super neat low-maintenance look for every day wear and special occasions.
#21: Volume On Top & Clean Sides
If you do not want to go completely short, Bruno Mars has an interesting variation of fade haircut to share. The tapered silhouette of Bruno’s cut features statement volume on top and clean temples. Although it’s not actually a classic fade, this style may easily become an acceptable alternative to it.
#22: Common Fade
Duane Martin is mentioned here to show off a common fade that we are used to. It doesn’t involve any particular quirks, just neatness, simplicity and gradual reduction of length on the sides.
#23: Contour Fade
At first sight you may not notice that it’s a fade, as the length is tapered only on the temple area. Terrence J wears an extra short haircut with polished temples that gives an effect of fade only for the contours.
#24: Shapely Fade
Not too many men opt to grow out a longer top with a fade haircut, but Fabolous is an exception, and his shapely top suits him. This is his look from the “Think Like A Man Too” premiere where, by the way, we have sported so many classy fades.
#25: Sharp Fade
Christian Keyes offers an example of fade where the length on the sides suddenly comes short. This trick adds a bit of drama to the look that can harmoniously fit into the smart casual style. That is what we actually see on the photo.
#26: Ultra Short Fade
A fresh photo of Nas shows us that fade is still in trend as well as heavy men’s chains and pendants. Nas opts for an ultra short fade version where the temples look chicly shaded.
#27: Cool Afro With Fade Along The Temples
Trevor Jackson looks pretty cool with his well-trimmed afro. No need to go any shorter for him, and the fade along the temples is a modern twist that has helped Trevor to highlight his individual style. We love!
#28: Smooth Fade
Kevin Hart doesn’t imagine his style without a nice short fade either. His haircut is special thanks to this very smooth fade effect on the temple area and ideal outlines.
#29: Ideal High Fade
Devon Franklin and Meagan Good attended the “Think Like A Man Too” premiere, dressed and styled to win the title of the most elegant couple of the event. Devon’s high fade and the merging facial hairstyle feature ideal lines and classy pattern.
#30: Only The Corners
Michael Ealy is loved by women not only for his talent, but his amazing blue eyes, special style and charm. His short afro, being a part of his style, flatters him absolutely, so he doesn’t actually need a fade, but shearing off the corners is an interesting nuance.
#31: Vague Fade
The same detail is observed on Ludacris’s haircut. Well, more and more men go for short haircuts, vaguely reminiscent of fades but rather authentic. That’ a cool tendency, indeed!
#32: Temple Fade Merging Into Facial Hairstyle
A classy example of the temple fade from Rob Hardy is beyond praise. I love the blurred effect on the temple area and how the cut merges with Rob’s facial hairstyle, that is a pretty good job too.
#33: Classy Fade With Geometric Outlines
The stylish look of R. Kelly is built on the base of the geometric accuracy and angled contours of his haircut. Every detail here is weighty and can’t be omitted. The barely visible temple fade is one of them.
#34: Parting & Abrupt Fade Line
Sean Combs is often mentioned in lists with the coolest men’s fades. I’m not going to leave him out either, because his fade has its character and recognizable signs – distinct parting and the abrupt fade line.
#35: Cool High Fade
Danny Welbeck has experimented with fades enough to try on the high version. As we see, it flatters him much. The length tapering is performed flawlessly, and this is 90% of success for a quality fade haircut.
#36: Blurred Temples
Ryan Coogler ‘s haircut demonstrates tapering of length towards the temples, whereas they are getting a blurred effect. It is combined with the classy square forehead line.
#37: Statement Fade
The essence of men’s style is in simplicity of shapes and lines along with the thoughtful choice of colors and textures. Laz Alonso fits into this formula with his exclusive fade haircut and outfit choice.
#38: Fade & Mohawk
Tyson Beckford leaves too little hair on his head and prefers to keep it really short. His high fade and Mohawk have much in common but give a feel of two different styles. Which one do you like more?
#39: Short, Clean & Classy
Damon Wayans chooses the extra short length and high fade that looks awesome on men with a nice skull and head shape. This type of haircut won’t burden you with maintenance routines and save your precious time.
#40: Almost Complete Baldness
T.I. prefers extra short haircuts bordering with complete baldness. Anyway, an extra short fade is a good choice for an African American guy on the go. You only need to choose the preferable length and type of fade – high, classic or low.
#41: Fade Haircut For Low Hairline
Pooch Hall has a low hairline that he can accentuate with a fade haircut. The length reduction on the temples visually makes his face appear wider and gives him an interesting stylish twist.
#42: Fade Mohawk
Hosea Chanchez stakes on the hybrid of two styles – fade and Mohawk, and it’s evident that he can pull off this look. This way he’s getting the best of both styles – cool texture and neatness.
#43: 360 Waves Fade
If you like 360s or “spinnas”, once introduced into the hair fashion by the rapper Nelly, you can easily merge them with a fade haircut. RonReaco Lee has already brought this idea to life. Looks pretty cool, I’d say.
#44: Smooth Temple Fade
And now it’s time for Nelly, mentioned above, to show off his classy fade. Being free of any extravagant quirks, it looks neat and classy. The best impression of men’s hairstyles is always received from such accurate and unpretentious haircuts.
#45: High-To-Medium Fade For Extra Short Length
With the abundance of tattoos and accessories Shad Moss is wearing, his haircut and hairstyle should be maximally discreet yet stylish. With the high-to-medium fade haircut this purpose is easy to achieve.
#46: Conservative Fade
The stronger side of the conservative fade haircut is that it can blend harmoniously into anything between office style and rapper’s gaudy looks. Nick Cannon is the best person to illustrate the example.
#47: High Fade With Longer Top
Ginuwine lets the curly texture of his hair reveal on top but tames his curls with a high fade. This way he achieves the dramatic effect of length tapering from relatively long on the crown to practically complete baldness at the temples.
#48: Mohawk With Tapered Sides
Marlon Wayans conveys an edge to his look, choosing the Mohawk type of the cut where the sides remain short and clean thanks to the tapering that is done according to the principle used in fade haircuts.
#49: Fade With V-Shaped Forehead
Kids’ Choice Sports Awards has witnessed a new haircut of Mario Barrett. It’s this ideally polished fade with V-shaped hairline and longer hair on top. Flawless lines and smooth finish are its strongest points.
#50: Curls & Fade
Bobby V rocks his adorable afro curls combined with neat tapered sides. This is a universal type of haircut that works for most African American guys who love their kinks but prefer short clean looks.