Sports and entertainment tend to have a massive influence on our society’s grasp of style. Some of the best trends can be attributed to our favorite actors, musicians, and athletic heroes sporting the looks we love. Miles Teller and Henry Cavil can be directly thanked for their contributions to the return of the mustache. Marlon Brando and James Dean found ways to take functional garments like the leather jacket and the everlasting denim jeans to rebellious casual. And, of course, nobody can take more credit for the aviator sunglasses trend than Tom Cruise.
Our hairstyles are also often copied from the uber-famous, and NFL superstar Travis Kelce is doing his part to contribute, as he sports a very specific look. Here’s how to achieve and rock the Travis Kelce haircut.
What haircut does Travis Kelce wear?
While we may call this the Travis Kelce haircut, it’s far from new. He didn’t go to his barber and tell him to go ahead and innovate something completely different and then walk into the limelight with something no one has seen before. No, he went into his barber, sat down, and said, “Gimme a skin fade.” We weren’t there; we don’t know that for sure, but what we do know is that when he walked onto the field without a helmet, the skin fade is what we saw.
Which skin fade is a little bit of a different question. There are three main skin fades. The first is a low skin fade, which is where the longer hair of the fade begins about an inch above the ear. The best use of this one is to keep your long hairstyle but also keep the hair off your ears. The high skin fade is where the hair is cut down to the skin and the fade doesn’t start until above the natural hairline. That keeps your hair high and tight, perfect for a look under the football helmet. The third is about halfway in between, aptly called the mid fade. Kelce sports the high skin fade and sports it well.
How do I get the Travis Kelce haircut?
First things first: Let’s dispense with a pretty big misconception or confusion in the men’s hairstyle world. The difference between a fade and a taper. While many of us have been guilty of using these two terms interchangeably in the past, they are very different. A taper is when you go from short hair length to long hair length, starting at the natural hairline. There is visible hair from the crown to the ears. The fade is one that starts out all the way down to the skin and has a more drastic progression into the longer hair at one point on the head. Now that we have that out of the way …
The Travis Kelce high fade is achieved by cutting the hair down to the skin, starting just above the temples and going around the head, oftentimes just below the crown at the back. Above the line you cut there, the hair is often not much longer, most of the time less than half an inch over the top. If you have a beard like Kelce does, it’s often the same length as your beard, although you can go much longer on the chin the way his brother, Jason, does.
How do I maintain the Travis Kelce haircut?
Are you best friends with your barber? You might be if you decide to sport the high skin fade this fall. The best way to maintain this haircut so that it’s always looking great is to keep it fresh. You’ll need to be in the barbershop on a regular basis to keep the skin part of the fade as skin-y as possible. Every two weeks is likely going to be most guys’ frequency, so they can keep it fresh. Your barber will know the specific amount of time you need to be in his chair. Trust him and do what he says. Assuming you know the guy.
Now, since the pandemic in 2020, we know a lot of guys who got really good at cutting their own hair. Outside the buzz cut, this may be the easiest cut to do at home. The trick is to use high-quality clippers and get the number 1 and 2 guards. Buzz your whole head with the 2 guards, then use the 1 guard to create the fade at the bend of your head, and ditch the guards altogether to skin fade it down to your ears. If you’re brave and talented (more talented than us), then go for it. But … we suggest going to the barber and having him do it. That is likely one of the ways he landed Taylor Swift. Doubtful that she went for a guy with a butchered home cut.
