Hot take: leaving a gap in the fade is not lazy, and I'm tired of pretending it is
Last Thursday a guy sat in my chair and ran his hand up the back of his head before I even clipped the cape on, then said the last shop left him with a line you could see across the room. I used to buy into the whole "blend it until you can't find it" line too, but after 11 years behind the chair I'll say the opposite. A clean shadow line just above the occipital bone gives a shape that grows out soft instead of looking fuzzy in 4 days, and I've had regulars come back at week 5 still looking sharp. I counted it last month and 17 of my 40 weekly cuts get some kind of defined edge instead of a full fade to skin. What bugs me is how fast newer barbers cave when a client says "make it smooth" and then they spend 25 minutes chasing a line they'll erase anyway. So what do you all do when a client wants that hard line and their hair is fine and straight, do you hold your ground or just fade it out?