Dreads With Fade Styling Guide + 12 Locs Styles Inspiration (2024)

Dreads by themselves look incredibly impressive and command a lot of attention.

But if you want to take your dreads to the next level, you might want to combine dreads with fade. Cutting the rest of your hair short will highlight your dreadlocks and make it easier to maintain.

You may like to read the following related to this article:

• 8 Best Starter Locs For Men Methods + Styling Tips
• 10 Best Loc Styles For Short Hair (Short Dreads For Men)

In general, you can use three types of fades with your dreads: the high fade, the medium fade, and thelow fade.

Each of these different fades differs in where they start.High fades,as their name implies, start pretty high up in your hairline. Most fade start around your ears, but high fades usually begin at around temple level.

Medium fadesbegin slightly above the ears, whilelow fadesbegin at the ears. Each of these cuts gives off a different vibe, and I strongly recommend looking at previews of each so you can envision how your dreads will look when coupled with each height of fade.

Once you know which fade height you want, you can move on to the shaving style. There are roughly five of these: temple fades, burst fades, drop fades, skin fades, and shadow fades. It’s important to note that you can mix and match a fade design with a fade height.

If that sounds too much of a commitment, you can opt for a shadow fade. This fade is almost similar to the skin fade, with the key difference of not cutting the hair down. This leaves your scalp with short, fine hair – perfect for highlighting your dreads without exposing sensitive skin.

Temple fades (temp or Brooklyn fades) are for those who want to create a fine, precise line between dreads and fades. By carefully shaving the hair at the temple level, the temple fade gradually shortens.

These fades are especially popular for men with beards and for a good reason. The stark contrast between the gradation of hair lengths and sideburns creates a classy, well-groomed appearance. But it’s not just bearded that are great with temple fades – dreads, too, greatly benefit from their rigid and structured appearance.

Burst fades get their name from their appearance, where they “burst” around your ear. The fade uses your ears as a center point and gradually expands outwards from them.

The drop fade gets its name from the drop behind your ears. This fade proceeds from the front of your head towards your ears. It arcs downwards in a smooth curve and creates a rounded appearance at the back of your head.

Now that you know the different kinds of fade you can go for with other dreadlock styles, here’s a styling guide and some tips to get you started!

For those who want to rock short locs with a fade, I suggest styling your dreads first, as it’s easier to select a fade once you’ve fixed your locs. High-tied dreads like this one benefit from a high fade, but if you’re thinking of hanging loose, you can opt for a medium or even a low fade. If your short dreadlocks are loose, you can also combine these with braid accessories, such asdreads with beadsor shells.

As this is a pretty simple style, creating these shorter dreads with a fade hairstyle on your own is possible. You’ll need a steady hand and a good pair of clippers to get the ball rolling, especially if you’re blessed withtype 4 hair! If you’re not confident in your styling skill, your barber or stylist will gladly help you.

Medium-length locs require a bigger canvas to make a statement, so I suggest a high temple or drop fade to go along with this. You can start this look with a square grid pattern locs starter.

Additionally, you can pair this edgy look with designs on your fade by coupling it with short, well-groomed facial hair, such as a goatee or a soul patch. You can opt for a high ponytail style for a neater appearance if you have long dreadlocks.

Dreads with a high fade are all about accentuating the locs. In this case, your best choice is to go for a low ponytail. Whether you want people to focus on your dreads or your fade, you can accessorize or dye your locs or go for a shadow fade with designs.

This dreads with fade style is highly dependent on your face’s shape. Before fully committing to it, I suggest you try this combo first with simple comb coils. Alternately, you can opt to wear this particular hairstyle with some facial hair – though, in that case, you may want a temple fade to go along with it.

Long dreads are tricky to take care of, but they’re one of the most striking dreadlock hairstyles. And while they’re plenty good on their own, they shine when combined with a well-done high fade (especially a temple fade) and a beard.

If you’d like to give extra distinction to yourwick dreads, you can combine them with accessories like beads or shells. If you have naturally blonde or dark blonde hair, this dreads with fade hairstyle works great with those tones. And if you don’t, you can always use dye!

I get it; long dreads with fade are gorgeous. But there are days when you need your hair to, well, stay out of your hair. For those days, you’ll want to style your long dreads, and you may find your new favorite look!

If a ponytail isn’t an option, I suggest learning to style your dreads in a man bun. All you need for this is ahair tie, with elastic being the best, as dreads are pretty strong. Take your locs in hand, twist until you’re satisfied, then secure them with your hair tie.

There’s a lot of freedom in this style, too. You can dye the tips of your locs for a more modern look or combine them with an intricate design on a high shadow fade.

Braiding your dreads is a long and involved process, so you’ll naturally want them to be the star of the show. Pair them with a simple high fade if you’re rocking braided dreads. You can go for a burst fade if you’d like to direct attention to the braids nearest your ears. Or a regular skin fade if you want to accentuate all of your dreads.

Braided dreads are great, but they shine when they show beautiful and intricate patterns. And if you want to achieve the dread and fade combination above, I’d highly recommend you go to a veteran stylist or loctician.

Men can also leverage the advantage of longer hair to create even more dazzling displays in dreads with fade hairstyles. Utilizing the power of long dreads and powerful colors such as platinum white or silver, long-dyed dreadlocks have a special something to them that just can’t be beaten.

If you’re using thisdyed dreads style, you might want to opt for a low fade. That’s because very long dreads are visually more impressive when stemming from a healthy hair base. In addition, you’ll probably need all that hair for your locs, and the higher your fade, the less potential hair you’ll have to work with!

When using skin fade to accentuate your dreads, you have many options. You can for a half up, half down style to create a careful blend of professional and carefree.

You can dye your hair – again, blonde is a good starting point for those with black hair – or accessorize it with beads and shells if you’d like a more tribal look.

This style works best with medium-length hair, where you’ll have a healthy mix of locs and hair to work with. Depending on your hair length, you can pair this with a thick beard to complete your look.

While fades may seem like a simple hairstyle, they require a careful hand and a trained eye to ensure they’re even on both sides of your head. If it’s your first time getting a fade, I strongly suggest you get one at your local barber or stylist.

If you feel confident in your ability to cut cleanly and evenly, you’ll need a good set of clippers with just the right guard length to create your fade. That’s all you need! However, it’s possible that you won’t get the right length of the fade. In particular, skin fades are challenging to do on your own.

Do note that if you’re planning to zero fades, however, I strongly suggest you go to a barber, as it’s possible to injure yourself with zero-gapped clippers.

Should I go for a fade or an undercut with my dreads?

That depends entirely on you. Undercuts provide a more striking appearance than fades as there’s a clear separation between the scalp (and locs) and the rest of your hair, but they tend to be higher maintenance. In contrast, fades still connect to your scalp via gradation and are low maintenance.

How long do fades last?

It heavily depends on the fade you get. Precise cuts require a touch-up every two to three weeks, while more moderate styles can get away with maintenance every four to six weeks.

How do I protect my dreads when I sleep?

You can use a bonnet or a durag to maintain the form of your dreads when you go to sleep.

Are dreads with undercuts the same as dreads with fade?

Let’s get this out of the way – undercuts and fades are technically different hairstyles. Where fades deal more with the sides of the head, undercuts are better geared for the back of the head. That said, they’re very similar in giving additional attention to your dreads.

Can women sport dreads with fade locs style?

Dreads and fades aren’t just for men – the ladies can also rock them. And when it comes to dreads with fades for women, high skin fades are unmatched in creating contrast.

Women arguably benefit more from this contrast than men. Aside from being able to add accessories for hair, a high fade with dreads can also serve to emphasize one’s ears and neck.

Dreads with Fade: Two Styles Combined

Adding a fade to your dreadlocks hairstyle is a great way to add a unique style to your dreads. And while both hairstyles are great on their own, they’re a lot more than the sum of their parts when put together!