A temple fade tapers only the hair around your temples and sideburns down to skin or a low guard, leaving the rest of the head untouched. It’s the detail that makes a haircut look intentional rather than just “cut.” Suits round, square, and oval faces; works on straight, curly, and afro hair; and costs roughly £15–£55+ in the UK depending on location and shop tier. Most people refresh it every 2–3 weeks, though sharper skin/bald versions often need a touch-up closer to 10–14 days.
Quick Answer
- What is it? A localized fade that tapers the hairline just around the temples and sideburns, not the whole side of the head.
- Who is it for? Round and square faces wanting a sharper jaw; works on straight, wavy, curly, and afro (3C to 4C) hair alike.
- Cost: Roughly £15–£55+ across UK barbershops — £15–£38 is typical for standard barbering, with central London and premium shops running higher.
- Maintenance: Most people refresh every 2–3 weeks; sharper skin/bald versions often need a touch-up closer to 10–14 days.
What Is a Temple Fade, Exactly?
Skip the “a fade is a haircut where” definitions; here’s the version a barber would actually give you at the chair.
Sometimes you notice it a week after a normal cut: the sides have grown out just enough to look heavier around the ears, while the rest of the haircut still looks fine. That’s usually the temples; a sharp haircut and an average one often differ by exactly this much: how clean the edge is right where your hairline meets your ear.
Most fades, skin fades, high fades, and low taper fades commit the entire side of the head to a gradient. A temple fade doesn’t. It stays contained to a small triangle: the point where your hairline meets your temple, running down past the ear, sometimes curving into the nape. Everywhere else on the sides keeps its length.
That’s the whole appeal. It’s the detail, not the haircut. You can drop a temple fade into a quiff, a curly crop, a slicked-back side part, or an afro, and it reads as “this person’s barber pays attention” without touching the rest of the style.
One thing worth being upfront about: a temple fade is not a standalone haircut in the way a low drop fade or a shadow fade is. It’s a finishing technique added to whatever you’re already growing on top. If your barber suggests it as “just cleaning the temples,” that’s the correct read, not a scalping.
Temple Fade Guard Sizes: 6 Common Lengths
Barbers often work the temple zone in half-guard steps rather than whole numbers, since the area is small enough that jumping straight from a 2 to skin can leave a visible line. Exact technique varies by barber and clipper system.
| Guard | Approx. length | Where it’s used |
|---|---|---|
| Skin / 0 (no guard) | 0mm | Skin temple fade, sharpest, shows scalp |
| 0.5 | ~1.5mm | Bald-blend temple, softer than skin |
| 1 | 3mm | Low-temp fade base |
| 1.5 | ~4.5mm | Blending line between skin and #2 |
| 2 | 6mm | Mid-temp fade base |
| 3 | 10mm | High-temp fade base, blends into longer top |
These are six commonly used lengths, not the only guards a barber might reach for. Approximate lengths vary between clipper brands and blade systems; the figures above roughly follow the Wahl UK guide comb chart, where a #1 leaves roughly 3 mm and a #4 around 13 mm. If your barber’s numbers look slightly different, that’s normal; Wahl, Andis, and BaByliss guards aren’t identical between brands, so ask them to confirm before they start clipping if you’re chasing a specific look.
A trained eye can often tell a temple fade apart from a regular taper at exactly this stage: the transition between guards typically happens over about 1–1.5cm of vertical space, not the 4 to 5cm a full side fade gets. Barbers may use half-guards and small lever adjustments to smooth that tighter transition; the exact sequence varies by clipper, guard system, and individual technique.
James Carter’s take: If you’re getting a temple fade for the first time, ask for a 1 or 1.5, not skin. Skin looks sharpest in a photo, but it also grows out the fastest and shows the most contrast when it does. A 1 gives you nearly the same effect with a longer window before it needs a redo — that’s the version I’d actually book.
Who a Temple Fade Actually Suits
If you’ve ever avoided asking a barber for something specific because you weren’t sure it would suit you, this is a low-risk way to test the waters, small enough to not regret and sharp enough to actually notice in the mirror.
Face Shape
- Round faces: the fade removes bulk right where the face is widest, adding a visible angle at the jaw.
- Square faces: sharpens what’s already there; works especially well left low rather than climbing high.
- Oval faces: closest thing to a safe default; almost any temple fade height works.
- Long/rectangular faces: keep it low and subtle. A high-temp fade adds vertical length you don’t need.
Not sure which category you’re in, our face shape tool gives a faster read than guessing in a mirror.
Hair Type
A temple fade genuinely doesn’t discriminate by texture, which is rare for a fade style — worth knowing if you’ve been told before that “your hair doesn’t really do fades”:
- Straight hair, cleanest line, fastest to maintain, shows regrowth quickest.
- Curly (2A–3C), the fade contrasts nicely against curl volume on top; the barber needs to cut it slightly drier to see true curl shrinkage.
- Coily / afro (4A–4C) needs more frequent shape-ups (10 to 14 days) because coily hair regrows visibly denser at the hairline first.
- Locs / dreads, works as a clean border technique; barber fades around the loc line rather than through it.
Temple Fade Pricing Across the UK
As a practical guide, expect roughly £15 to £55+ for a haircut that includes a temple fade, cheaper independent barbers can come in below that, and premium London shops above it. Prices vary heavily by location and by whether the temple fade is priced into the main cut or treated as an add-on.
| Area | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Small towns / traditional barbers | £12–£20 |
| Mid-sized cities outside London | £15–£28 |
| Major cities (Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds) | £18–£32 |
| Central/premium London | £30–£55+ |
These are broad market ranges, not a national survey — individual barbers set their own prices, and they can vary within the same city depending on the shop. Always confirm on the day, and ask whether the temple fade is included in the price of the cut.
James Carter’s take: The shops that quietly do the best temple fades are rarely the flashiest ones. I’d rather book with a barber who’s been doing the same chair for five years at a modest local shop than gamble on somewhere new just because the price is higher. Ask to see recent work on someone with your hair type before you sit down — a five-minute look through a barber’s Instagram tells you more than the price on the board.
The 3 Ways to Wear It
The key difference from a full fade is placement: a temple fade stays concentrated around the temple and sideburn, while a low taper fade generally extends the taper further around the sides and into the neckline. Within the temple fade itself, height is the main thing that changes:
Low Temp Fade
Sits just above the ear, barely climbing past the sideburn. The most versatile version — pairs with longer tops, French crops, curly fringes. Lowest maintenance of the three since less regrowth is visible against the skin.
Mid Temp Fade
Follows the natural curve around the ear and temple, blending a guard or two higher than the low version. The middle ground, noticeable without demanding attention. Works well with textured crops and modern quiffs.
High Temp Fade
Starts higher on the temple and curves back, creating real contrast against the top. Needs some volume on top to balance it; a very short top with a high-temp fade can look unfinished. Tends to show regrowth soonest of the three, so budget for a check-in closer to two weeks.
Temple Fade Combinations
With a beard, the temple fade should connect into the sideburn-to-beard line cleanly. Ask your barber to “blend the temple into the beard fade” as one continuous line, not two separate jobs; mismatched blend heights here are a common complaint.
With curly or afro hair, many barbers cut the fade first on dry hair to judge true shrinkage, then shape the top. Cutting curly hair wet can make the fade look more aggressive once hair dries and shrinks, so it’s worth asking your barber how they prefer to work it.
With locs, the fade acts as a clean border around the hairline rather than blending into the locs themselves. If you have afro, coily, or loc’d hair, look for a barber whose portfolio shows recent work on your specific texture, a good temple fade depends more on the barber’s experience with your hair type than on which shop or area you’re in.
With a slick-back, the temple fade is what makes a slick-back look barbered rather than just combed. Low or mid height works best; a high-temp fade under a slick-back can look disconnected from the rest of the style.
Ask Your Barber: The Temple Fade Script
Everyone’s had the moment of sitting in the chair, the barber asking, “What are we doing today?” and going blank. Here’s the line to use so you don’t have to improvise:
“Can you do a [low/mid/high] temple fade, just fade the temple and sideburn area down to a [skin/0.5/1], and leave the rest of the sides as they are. I want the blend to sit [above my ear / just past my ear].”
If you want it paired with a beard, add “and connect the fade into my beard line so it’s one blend, not two.”
Our barber script generator builds a version of this tailored to your current length and hair type if you want it written out in full before you go in.
Grow-Out Timeline
| Time | What you’ll usually notice |
|---|---|
| Day 1–4 | Sharpest and cleanest point |
| Day 5–9 | Still looks fresh, but the contrast softens |
| Day 10–14 | Regrowth becomes more noticeable, especially on coily hair |
| Day 15–21 | Definitions start to drop |
| 3+ weeks | Many people are ready for another cleanup. |
Because the temple fade zone is small, regrowth becomes noticeable fairly quickly even though the hair itself isn’t growing any faster than usual; there’s simply less length around the faded area to disguise new growth.
Product Note
You don’t need special products for the fade itself; that’s the barber’s job with clippers, not something you style afterwards. Two things worth having, if you want them:
A trimmer with fine guide-comb increments for light touch-ups on the sideburn edge between visits, the Wahl Beard Trimmer with Integrated Combs is a reasonable option. Even then, the actual temple blend is easy to mess up at home — leave that part to a barber every 2–3 weeks and use the trimmer for edge maintenance only.
For styling the length on top over a low- or mid-temp fade, a midweight molding product such as Bumble & bumble Sumotech (Boots UK) works on most textures, it needs to be warmed between palms first, or it sits on top of curls rather than through them.
Temple Fade vs Other Fades
| Temple Fade | Low Taper Fade | Skin Fade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area covered | Temples/sideburns only | Full side, low blend point | Full side, down to skin |
| Best for | Adding detail to an existing style | Subtle, workplace-safe | Maximum contrast |
| Noticeable regrowth from | ~10–14 days | ~2–3 weeks | ~10–14 days |
| Suits every hair type? | Yes | Yes | Better on straight/wavy |
| See also | — | Low Taper Fade guide | Skin Fade guide |
Not sure a temple fade is what you actually want versus a full taper fade? The difference comes down to how much of the side you’re willing to commit — temple fade is the low-commitment version, which is a fine reason to start there. If you’re weighing it against a low taper specifically, our low taper vs low fade breakdown covers the closest comparison.
FAQs
Is a temple fade the same as a taper fade?
Related but not identical, a taper fade blends the whole side gradually, while a temple fade only touches the temple and sideburn zone. Think of a temple fade as a taper fade’s more targeted cousin.
Can I get a temple fade with long hair on top?
Yes, and it’s one of the better combinations; the contrast between clean temples and length on top is the whole point. Just tell your barber you want the fade kept low so it doesn’t compete with the length.
Does a temple fade work on afro hair?
Very well, though it needs tighter upkeep, closer to 10 to 14 days than 3 weeks, because coily regrowth shows at the hairline before it shows anywhere else.
How do I ask for it without sounding unsure?
Use “fade the temple and sideburn only; leave the rest.” That phrase alone tells most UK barbers exactly what you mean without needing a photo.
Will a temple fade suit a receding hairline?
Often, yes, it can soften a receding line rather than draw attention to it, since the fade blurs the exact edge of the hairline. Worth flagging to your barber so they blend slightly wider than usual.
Can I maintain it myself between barber visits?
Only the very edge, a light touch-up with a trimmer on the sideburn line. The temple blend itself is easy to mess up at home; leave the actual fade to a barber every 2 to 3 weeks.