Fade Fohawk: 14 Faux Hawk Fades and How to Pick Yours

A fade fohawk is a faux hawk with faded sides: the top is left about 2.5 to 3.5 inches long and pushed in toward a soft ridge down the middle, while the back and sides are clipped short and blended. The fade does most of the work, because the height of that fade decides whether the cut reads as a sharp office haircut or as a mohawk without the commitment.

That is the one thing most fohawk lists skip. They show you 40 photos of ridges and never tell you that the ridge is the easy part. The ridge is a styling choice you make every morning with a bit of clay. The fade is the part you live with for three weeks. So pick the fade first, and the rest of this guide is built around that choice.

What is a fade fohawk?

A fade fohawk is a haircut where the sides and back are faded with clippers and the longer hair on top is styled up into a centre ridge that runs from the front hairline toward the crown. Nothing is shaved bald in a strip, and the sides blend into the top with no gap.

The name is a contraction of "faux hawk". It copies the outline of a mohawk without shaving the sides of the head, a style that, as Wikipedia's mohawk article notes, came back in the 2000s and was called the "Hoxton fin" in London in the 1990s. Adding a modern fade is what turned it from a 2005 throwback into something barbers still cut every week.

What makes it a fohawk and not just a long top with a fade:

• The top is longer in the middle than at the edges. Your barber leaves the centre strip longest and point cuts the hair at the edges of the top a little shorter, so it falls toward the middle.
• The ridge peaks at the front-middle. Not at the very front like a quiff, and not at the crown.
• The sides are short enough to make the ridge look taller. This is the fade's job.

Want to see it first? Try a fade haircut on your own photo.

Fohawk vs mohawk: the difference in one line

A mohawk shaves the sides to skin in two hard stripes and leaves a strip of long hair that you can see the scalp beside. A fohawk keeps hair on the sides, fades it, and blends it into the top, so when you comb the ridge down it becomes an ordinary haircut. That is the real selling point: you can flatten a fohawk for a funeral or a job interview, and you cannot do that with a mohawk.

Fade fohawk ideas: 14 versions side by side

Every photo below is the same cut: a 2.5 to 3.5 inch top pushed toward the same centre ridge. The one thing that changes is the fade under it, from low to high and with or without bare skin, shown first on straight hair and then on curls. Look at how much taller the ridge reads once the sides go to skin, even though the top is the same length.

Gallery14 photos · tap to enlarge

Would this suit me?

Would this suit me?

Would this suit me?

Would this suit me?

Would this suit me?

Would this suit me?

Would this suit me?

Would this suit me?

Would this suit me?

Would this suit me?

Would this suit me?

Would this suit me?

Would this suit me?

Would this suit me?

The pattern to take away: the lower the fade and the less skin it shows, the quieter the cut. Mid fades are the all-rounders, and high skin fades are the ones people notice from across the street.

Which fade fohawk suits you?

Pick by your situation, not by the photo you liked best on Pinterest. The same fade can look great on someone with thick hair and a long face and wrong on you.

Low taper fohawk: the version you can wear to work

Would this suit me?

A low taper only touches the sideburns and the neckline. The rest of the sides stay at about half an inch, so from the front the cut looks almost like a regular short haircut with some lift. This is the one to get if you are trying a fohawk for the first time, because the worst case is that you comb the top to the side and nobody knows. If you like the clean edges but want a little more contrast, read how a low taper fade is graded before you sit down.

High skin fade fohawk: the loud one

Would this suit me?

A high skin fade takes the sides to bare skin at the bottom and keeps the fade climbing up to the corner of the head. The contrast between pale skin and the textured ridge is what makes this the most mohawk-like version, without the stripes. It needs a touch-up every two weeks, because skin fades grow out fast and the contrast is the whole look. If you want to go all the way down, our bald fade guide shows how short the bottom can go.

Burst fade fohawk: the best fade for curly hair

Would this suit me?

A burst fade curves in a half circle around the ear and leaves the back of the head longer. On curls, that is exactly what you want: the curls at the back keep their weight and lead the eye up into the ridge, so the cut looks like one shape instead of a curly patch sitting on a shaved head. The burst fade guide covers the fade itself in more depth. If your curls are in the 3a range, skip the clay and use a curl cream so the ridge does not frizz.

Mid fade fohawk for a round face

Would this suit me?

A round face is the shape a fohawk flatters most, because the cut is all height and no width. Take the fade to the temple line (a mid fade) so the sides stay tight, then keep 3 inches of lift at the front of the ridge. That vertical line makes the face read longer. If you are not sure which shape you have, measure it here before you pick a fade, or read the full face shape guide.

How to ask your barber for a fade fohawk

Say the fade height, the top length and the word "faux hawk" in that order. Bring a photo of the fade you want from the gallery above, because "fohawk" alone means different lengths to different barbers.

Three things to add if they apply:

• "No hard part" if you do not want a razor line. Most barbers add one to a fohawk by default.
• "Leave the back longer" if you have curls and want a burst fade.
• "Don't take it to skin" if you want the low taper, office safe version.

Growing in from a short cut? You need about 2.5 inches on top before a fohawk holds, which is roughly two to three months of growth from a textured crop, since hair grows about half an inch a month.

How to style a fade fohawk at home

The ridge takes about four minutes once your hair is cut right. Matte clay or paste gives the soft, touchable ridge in the photos. Strong gel gives the stiff 2005 spikes, so skip it unless that is the look.

Fade fohawk mistakes that cost you three weeks

• Leaving too little on top. Under 2.5 inches, the hair cannot stand up, and you end up with a crew cut that has a hump. Ask for length, you can always take more off next time.
• A ridge as wide as your forehead. The ridge should be 2 to 3 inches wide. Wider than that and it stops reading as a hawk and becomes a pompadour with faded sides.
• A high skin fade on fine hair. All that bare skin next to a thin top makes the top look thinner. Go low or mid instead.
• Gel and comb spikes. Glossy, separated spikes date the cut instantly. Use matte product and your fingers.
• Skipping the fade touch-up. The ridge still looks fine at week four, but the fade has grown into a fuzzy outline and the contrast is gone. Book the next cut when you leave the shop.

Try a fade fohawk on your face first

Everything above works: pick your fade from the table, show the barber the gallery photo, say the brief. The one thing it cannot tell you is how a ridge looks on your face shape and with your hairline. A high skin fade can look sharp on a model and harsh on you, and you only find out when the clippers have already gone up the side.

That is the wall a photo hits, and it is what our try-on fixes. Upload a selfie and see the fade fohawk on your own face, with your own hair colour, before you book. If you want to compare it against other cuts first, here is how trying a haircut on your face works.

A fade fohawk is one cut with one big decision. The ridge you style every morning, but the fade you wear for weeks, so choose it by your situation: a low taper if you need to blend in at work, a burst fade if you have curls, a mid fade for a round face, and a high skin fade if you want the loud version. Get at least 2.5 inches on top, use matte clay, and preview it on your own face before you commit.