A Beard Trimmers Buyers Guide

Is your beard looking untidy, scruffy or a little bit patchy? Or, are you just looking to style your beard differently? A beard trimmer can save you time, money and ensure you get your beard looking exactly how you like it.

With beards becoming increasingly more fashionable in recent years, companies are now offering a variety of beard trimmers boasting various features. A good beard trimmer can get your beard looking exactly how you like it but choose the wrong trimmer for you and you could be left with an untidy, uneven, patchy beard. This buyer’s guide will provide you with all you need to know to help you choose the correct trimmer for your beard.

Why do I need a beard trimmer?

As you may well know already, as beards grow they develop split ends. To ensure your beard grows well and healthily, you need to make sure you trim theses split ends regularly. Split ends slow the growth of the beard so a beard trimmer is definitely the way to help achieve a longer beard. Split ends also cause wiry growth and make a beard look untidy.

Beard trimmers are not just essential for longer beards, maintaining a shorter beard requires frequent trimming and touch-ups to keep the beard under control. You can achieve this with scissors but a beard trimmer will significantly reduce the time you spend doing so.

Using scissors takes time and practise to master, whereas beard trimmers are designed for ease of use and convenience. They also help to achieve a number of styles and can trim the hair from cheeks and necklines rather than having to use a razor.

Only got 5 minutes?

Beards have become increasingly more popular and vary in style and length. However, as a beard grows, split ends tend to develop and affect healthy growth. Therefore, a beard trimmer is the best option to keep your beard looking its best whilst reducing the time and effort needed when using scissors alone.

So, where do we start? When looking to purchase beard trimmers you should ensure you understand the types and features to ensure you make the correct decision to suit your beard.

Corded vs Cordless

Although cordless is obviously more convenient, your decision should be based on how much hair you have to remove.

Cordless does not offer the power that a corded does, therefore, if you have a long, thick beard, the corded trimmer is not for you. A cordless trimmer is better suited to those looking to trim and touch up a short beard or stubble. The corded is also a better choice if you are looking to use the trimmer on your hair also.

Cordless models with a lithium-ion battery offer more power and are more durable than other batteries.

Blade types

Carbon steel blades are definitely the sharpest but also rust easily. Steel offers a stronger blade, which works well with tougher, thicker beards. Titanium coated carbon steel also offers stiffness and durability and is resistant to weathering.

Ceramic blades offer the same durability and resistance but can be somewhat more fragile.

Cutting lengths

Nearly all beard trimmers offer adjustable cutting lengths so all you need to do is check the model supports the length of your beard.

Waterproof or not?

Whether or not you need something that can resist water is also a factor to consider. If you want to shave in the shower, you will obviously need a waterproof beard trimmer. Also, bear in mind that most trimmers only have washable parts and so cannot be used on wet hair or beards.

Accessories

Many models offer a host of accessories, some of which are essential, others may sound good but the likelihood is they will never be used. Basic trimmers should always offer clipper guards, which are particularly good for the more stylised beards.

Cost

Beard trimmers vary in price from around £30 to £100. However, buying the most expensive model is not always the best choice; just ensure that you chose a model with the correct features for you and a known and recommended brand.

Additional things to consider are the Brand, which is important if you need to order parts. As chargers and other attachments can easily be lost. We suggest you also check the maintenance as some are easy to maintain by just washing with water, however, others require the user to lubricate the blades after each use, which many of us do not have the time for. Lastly, check the accessories. Whilst some accessories are unnecessary, a travel case, travel charger and charging stand can be useful.

Why Trust Us?

The internet is full of review sites that claim they have bought and rigorously tested every product so they can give you the best buying advice, Tripadvisor has some fake reviews, who do you trust?

Let us be straight from the off, we provide the following, we get a product category or subject area, find out everything you could possibly want to know about it, find some of the best products for sale in the category and combine it all into a concise buyers guide.

If we were buying something that is exactly what we are looking for, we don’t care much for someone’s opinion, we want facts, the best products based on specifications and reviews and it all presented in one place. That is what we provide in our buyer’s guides.

What to look out for when buying a beard trimmer

Corded vs Cordless

Corded or cordless should be one of the first decisions you make before buying a beard trimmer. Although cordless is obviously more convenient, your decision should be based on how much hair you have to remove.

Cordless does not offer the power that a corded does, therefore, if you have a long, thick beard, the corded trimmer is not for you. The corded is also a better choice if you are looking to use the trimmer on your hair also.

A cordless trimmer is better suited to those looking to trim and touch up a short beard or stubble. Some makes, however, also offer cordless trimmers designed for a medium length beard.

If you decide to go for the corded trimmers, make sure you check they are suitable to travel, as some models are not due to their voltage.

If your decision is cordless, we recommend choosing a model that has a lithium-ion battery, as they offer more power and are more durable than other batteries.

Blade types

When making your decision, consider the blade type to ensure you get one that is comfortable, long lasting and does not cause irritation.

Ceramic blades offer the same durability and resistance but can be somewhat more fragile.

Some models also feature dual-sided blades, which allow for extra precision; however, these do come at a higher price.

Cutting lengths

Nearly all beard trimmers offer adjustable cutting lengths so all you need to do is check the model supports the length of your beard.

It is also worthwhile ensuring the model you chose has a lock-in system for the cutting length to ensure it does not move during use.

Waterproof or not?

Accessories

Some trimmers offer accessories such as detailed blades and nose trimmers, which are worthwhile.

Cost

Beard trimmers vary in price from around £30 to £100. It is important that you do not base your decision on the price. After all, a beard trimmer is an electric machine and so it is important you invest a decent amount of money. That is not to say that you should buy the most expensive model, just ensure that you chose a model with the correct features for you and a known and recommended brand.

Additional considerations

Brand- As previously mentioned, a beard trimmer is an electric device so you will want to ensure you chose a model from a known brand. This is also important for if you need to order parts. Chargers and other attachments can easily be lost and you are more likely to be able to order parts from a larger company than having to throw the whole razor away with a smaller company.
Maintenance- Some beard trimmers are easy to maintain, just needing to be washed with water. However, others require the user to lubricate the blades after each use, which many of us do not have the time for.
Accessories- Whilst some accessories are unnecessary, a travel case, travel charger and charging stand can be useful.

Beard trimmers vs scissors

A beard trimmer comes in all shapes and sizes. They are a great tool to shape and define a beard of any shape or size with minimal time and effort. They are also great at achieving the perfect beard fade and tapering sideburns.

The only downfall to electric trimmers is the amount of hair they can take off in one movement. However, if you take your time and choosing a slightly longer trim setting to begin with whilst you get used to the trimmer, this shouldn’t be a problem in time.

Scissors are a much more precise and refined tool, which allows you to trim the beard little by little, allowing for fewer mistakes. However, this process takes much more skill, time and effort.

Which Beard Trimmer Should I Buy?

We’ve scoured the internet, read the reviews and added that to our own experience and found a number of Beard Trimmers that stand out from the crowd..