A bald fade is a type of haircut where the hair on the sides and back is gradually tapered down to the skin, creating an ultra-clean, sharp contrast between no hair at the bottom and longer hair on top. The defining feature of a bald fade is that it starts literally from bare skin at the lowest part of the fade, giving a bold and striking appearance. This fade uses clippers and sometimes razors or shavers to achieve the skin-level shortness, resulting in a very pronounced transition from bald to longer hair

. The bald fade is often contrasted with the skin fade, which is very similar but typically starts with very short hair rather than completely bare skin, offering a more subtle and gradual transition. Both styles are modern and stylish, but the bald fade is more dramatic and requires more frequent maintenance to keep the sharp lines clean

. In summary:

• Bald fade : Hair fades down to bare skin, creating a high-contrast, bold look.
• Skin fade : Hair fades down to very short hair, not necessarily bare skin, with a softer transition.

Both are popular men's hairstyles that blend hair length from longer on top to very short or skin-level on the sides and back