What a Blowout Taper Is and Who It Suits
The blowout taper is two things stacked on top of each other: a taper at the edges and a blowout on top. Men ask for it by name now, and the name confuses barbers who learned blowout to mean something else, so it is worth being exact about what you are asking for.
The direct answer: a blowout taper is a low or mid taper at the sideburns and neckline, usually blended from skin or a 0 guard up to a 2 or 3, under a top that is blow dried up and away from the face for height and volume. The taper is the cut and the blowout is the styling, and both are needed for the look. At Lilacroix Barbers in Laurelton it is cut as a taper at $25 or a fade at $30 depending on how far the blend goes. Here is what each part does, how it differs from the cuts it gets confused with, who it suits and how to style it at home.
What a blowout taper is: the taper and the blowout
A blowout taper is a tapered haircut styled with a blow dryer so the top stands up and flows back. Take away the blow dryer and you have a taper with a full top. Take away the taper and you have a blowout on a shaggy head. Together they are a cut where the edges are tight and the top is big.
The taper
The taper is the clipper work at the perimeter. It starts at skin or a 0 guard at the sideburns and the nape and blends up an inch or two into the longer hair, finishing at a 2 or a 3. The sides above the blend keep length, usually an inch or more, so the top can flow into them. Most blowout tapers are low tapers, because the look depends on having hair on the sides to blow back; a high taper leaves less to work with.
The blowout
The blowout is the top blow dried from the roots up and back, so it stands with volume and flows away from the forehead. On coily hair, the dryer and a pick stretch the coils out so the top gets bigger and looser, which is the older meaning of blowout in Black barbershops. On curly and wavy hair the dryer lifts the roots and pushes the curls back so they sit high and loose. On straight hair it is a brushed back, lifted top. The barber does the first blowout in the chair and you repeat it at home.
The top is scissor work, not clipper work, because the blowout needs length and weight that a guard would remove. A scissor cut on top with a taper at the edges is the usual order.
Blowout taper vs blowout fade vs low taper fade
The names overlap, so here is how they differ in the chair. The blowout taper keeps the sides. The blowout fade removes them. The low taper fade is the blowout taper without the blow dryer.
| Cut | Sides | Top | Styling needed | Looks sharp for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blowout taper | Kept, tapered at the sideburn and nape | Long, blown up and back | Blow dryer daily or most days | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Blowout fade | Faded short all the way around | Long, blown up and back | Blow dryer daily | About 2 weeks |
| Low taper fade | Kept, tapered at the sideburn and nape | Any length, worn natural | Little or none | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Temp fade blowout | Temples faded, back kept | Afro, blown out with a pick | Pick and dryer | 2 weeks |
| Zero to two fade | Skin to a 2 guard all around | Whatever you ask for | Depends on top | About 2 weeks |
The last row matters because men sometimes ask for a blowout taper using clipper numbers, like zero to two, and get a fade all the way around. Clipper numbers describe the sides. Blowout describes the top. If you say both, the barber knows exactly what to do. For the cut without the styling, our guide to the low taper fade covers the same edges on a natural top.
Blowout taper variations
The blowout taper changes with where the taper sits and what texture is being blown out.
By taper height
- Low blowout taper: the blend ends about an inch above the ear. The most hair kept on the sides, so the blown back top flows into them. The standard version.
- Mid blowout taper: the blend reaches the top of the ear. More contrast, and the top looks taller because the sides are shorter.
- High blowout taper: the blend reaches the temple. Sharp, bold, and closer to a blowout fade; it needs the top to carry the whole look.
By texture
- Coily, 4A to 4C: the top is stretched with a dryer and a pick into a bigger, looser afro shape, then shaped with shears. The old school blowout. Dense coils hold the height all day without product.
- Curly, 3A to 3C: the roots are lifted with the dryer and the curls pushed back, so they sit high and loose. A light cream keeps them from frizzing. This is the version that took off on social feeds.
- Wavy: blown back with a vent brush for a loose, lifted top. The easiest texture to blow out and the one that needs the most product to hold.
- Straight: blown up and back with a round brush, held with a paste or spray. Falls flat fastest without hold.
For curly hair specifically, including the sponge and natural alternatives to blowing it out, see our guide to the low taper fade for curly hair.
Who the blowout taper suits
The blowout taper suits men with enough hair on top to lift, a face that wants height, and a morning routine that has five minutes for a dryer. If any of those three is missing, a different cut will serve you better.
Hair type
Dense coily and curly hair is the best match, because it holds height without product and the taper gives it a clean edge. Wavy and straight hair work with product. Fine or thinning hair on top is the one case to think twice, because the blowout needs volume to lift and a thin top blown out shows the scalp.
Face shape
- Round: the best face for it. Height on top and a low taper make the face read longer.
- Square: works well; the softness of a blown out top balances a strong jaw.
- Oval: anything works, including the high version.
- Long: be careful. A tall blowout on a long face makes it longer. Keep the height modest and the taper low.
- Heart or diamond: a low taper keeps fullness at the temples, which this face needs; keep the top lower and wider rather than tall.
Lifestyle and hair health
This is a cut you style, not a cut you wake up with. If you have the five minutes most mornings, it rewards you. If you do not, a low taper with a natural top gives you the same edges with no dryer. Hair health matters too: daily heat on dry coils or curls causes breakage over time, so the blowout taper suits hair that is well moisturized and a man who uses the dryer on low or medium with a heat protectant.
How to ask your barber for a blowout taper
Say blowout taper, then say what you mean by each half: where the taper ends, what guard it finishes at, and how much length and height you want on top. Then ask the barber to blow it out in the chair so you can see the finished look before you leave.
- The taper: low, mid or high, and skin, a 0 or a 0.5 at the bottom. If you get razor bumps, ask for a 0 guard and no razor at the nape.
- The top of the blend: a 2 on coils, a 3 on looser curls or waves.
- The top: keep the length, or take off half an inch, and shears only.
- The style: blown up and back, blown out with a pick, or lifted at the roots and pushed back.
- The line up: natural or squared, and leave the hairline where it is.
Useful phrases: low taper, keep the sides, blow the top back. Or, for coily hair: low taper, blow it out with the pick, shape it round. If you bring a photo, show one from the side, because that is where the taper and the volume meet. The mistakes we see are asking for a blowout and getting a 2000s spiky blowout fade, asking for clipper numbers that fade the whole side, and letting the barber take the top down to a length that cannot be blown out.
How to style a blowout taper at home
The home version takes about five minutes with a dryer, a brush or a pick, and a light product. The taper needs nothing; the top needs lift at the roots and direction.
- Start with damp hair, towel dried, not dripping.
- Work in a heat protectant or a light leave in conditioner.
- Set the dryer to low or medium heat.
- Coily hair: fit the pick attachment and dry from the roots outward, lifting as you go, until the coils are stretched and the top is full. Then shape with your palms.
- Curly or wavy hair: aim the dryer at the roots while you push the hair up and back with your fingers or a vent brush, section by section, front to crown.
- Straight hair: dry with a round brush, lifting at the roots and rolling back.
- Finish with a small amount of cream, paste or light pomade worked through the ends for hold, and a drop of oil on the taper so it does not look ashy.
Hit the hair with the cool setting for a few seconds at the end and the shape holds longer. On the second and third day a spray of water and a quick blast at the roots brings it back without a full restyle.
Products that work for a blowout taper
The product list depends on texture, but the principle is the same for all of them: light hold that does not weigh the top down, and moisture so the heat does not dry the hair out.
- Heat protectant for any hair that sees a dryer most days.
- Leave in conditioner or curl cream for coily and curly tops, applied before the dryer.
- Light oil to seal moisture on coils and to keep the taper from looking gray on dark skin.
- Water based pomade or styling cream for hold on coily and curly hair without flaking.
- Paste or clay for wavy and straight hair, where a matte hold keeps the lift.
- Sea salt or texture spray for fine straight or wavy hair that needs grip before the dryer.
- Sulfate free shampoo and a weekly deep conditioner so the heat does not leave the hair brittle.
Skip heavy waxes and petroleum pomades on coily and curly tops; they clump, flake white into the taper and block the moisture the hair needs under the dryer.
Maintenance, upkeep and the mistakes to avoid
The taper needs the chair every two to three weeks, and the top needs a shear trim every four to six weeks so the blowout keeps its shape. Daily upkeep is the dryer routine above and a durag or satin cap at night.
| Service | How often | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Taper with the top shaped | Every 2 to 3 weeks | $25 |
| Fade, if the blend goes higher | Every 2 weeks | $30 |
| Line up between cuts | Week 1 or 2 after the cut | $16 |
| Scissor cut on the top only | Every 4 to 6 weeks | $25 |
| Shampoo and conditioning in the chair | With the cut, as wanted | Call for pricing |
To preserve volume between visits, sleep in a loose satin cap rather than a tight durag, which flattens the top, and refresh with water and a quick blast at the roots in the morning instead of restyling from wet every day.
Mistakes that ruin a blowout taper
- Taking the taper too high, which leaves nothing on the sides for the top to flow into.
- Leaving too much bulk on the sides above the taper, so the head looks wide instead of tall.
- Cutting the top with a guard, which removes the weight the blowout needs.
- High heat every morning on dry hair, which breaks coils and curls over time.
- Heavy product, which collapses the lift within an hour.
- Skipping the trim, so the top gets too long to stand and falls to one side.
All of these are easy to avoid with the right words in the chair. The taper, the fade and the scissor cut are listed on our services page.
Get a blowout taper at Lilacroix Barbers in Laurelton
Lilacroix Barbers is at 232-12 Merrick Blvd in Laurelton, Queens, and we will blow the top out in the chair so you leave with the finished look. Walk ins are welcome seven days a week, and you can call (718) 749-5800 to check the wait. Hours are Monday to Thursday 7:30 AM to 7 PM, Friday and Saturday 7 AM to 7 PM, and Sunday 7 AM to 5 PM.
The Q5, Q86 and Q87 stop at Merrick Boulevard and 233rd Street outside, and the QM63 and QM65 express buses stop there too. The taper is $25, the fade $30 and the line up $16; the full list is on our services page.
Questions readers ask
Is a blowout taper a haircut or a hairstyle?
Both. The taper is the haircut at the sideburns and neckline, and the blowout is the way the top is styled with a dryer. You need the cut to get the look and the dryer to keep it.
Can I get a blowout taper on 4C hair?
Yes. On coily hair the top is stretched out with a dryer and a pick into a bigger, looser shape over a low taper, which is the original barbershop blowout.
How much hair do I need on top for a blowout taper?
At least two inches on coily hair and two to three inches on curly or straight hair, so there is enough length to lift at the roots and push back.
How often do I need a dryer with a blowout taper?
Most days for curly, wavy and straight hair, and every two or three days on dense coils, which hold the height longer. A spray of water and a quick blast at the roots refreshes it between full styles.
Does a blowout taper work with a beard?
Yes. The sideburn taper runs down into the beard, and the height on top balances a full beard. The beard trim and sculpt is a separate service.