The quest for the perfect beard isn’t easy. There are days in which your beard seems in control of you and not the other way around.
As men, however, we have one major advantage:
We have tools.
Tools like a beard trimmer for instance. A beard trimmer is versatile and makes it easier to get exactly the beard you want. And the best ones – like the Philips Norelco Beard & Head Trimmer Series 5100 – will advance your quest even closer to perfection.
In this post will look at what is the best beard trimmer available, as well as others that rate pretty damn close. We’ll also discuss things to look for when buying a beard trimmer, how to use a trimmer and the difference between a beard trimmer and other grooming tools.
Let’s roll up our sleeves and dig in.
Rest assured, you’ll have plenty of options while looking for a beard trimmer. There are many types of trimmers on the market with lots of different features – from corded to cordless, the number and kind of attachments, and different settings.
How do you choose?
Let’s take a look:
Before you go to the store to check out beard trimmers, ask yourself how you intend to use the trimmer? Is it just for your beard, or will you also use it for your hair and other parts of your body?
Multi-use beard trimmers have a wider range of length settings that enable you to trim your beard, head, and body. The Panasonic ER-GB40-S, for example, has 19 length settings and is effective for trimming your chest and other parts of your body (you’ll find it listed in our beard trimmer reviews).
There are advantages to both corded and cordless beard trimmers:
If you choose a cordless trimmer, it’s important to know the length of the battery’s life before it needs to recharge. With a corded trimmer, the length of the cord may be important if you’re seeking maximum maneuverability in your bathroom or another area where you do your trimming.
Cordless trimmers usually come with charging stations, or stands, and you can leave your charger in the stand until its next use to ensure a full charge.
Many trimmers come with attachments that are added to the unit to achieve different lengths and different styles – such as a goatee – or include a stubble guide attachment that helps you achieve the stubble look that is popular among many men.
The length of your beard – medium, short, stubble – is an important factor when choosing a trimmer. Make sure that the one you choose as multiple length settings. Also, some trimmers are best for short hair, others with longer hair – and so on. The bottom line is that the trimmer you choose supports the length of beard you have.
Many of the best trimmers are good for wet and dry use, i.e., you can both use it in the shower and/or with shave gels, lotions, and foams. Waterproof trimmers are usually easier to clean, as well. In most cases, you simply wash them with water from your faucet to remove excess hair trimmings. That kind of convenience is hard to beat.
Stainless steel, chromium, and titanium blades are longer lasting and more comfortable than other types blades. Many beard trimmers, including more expensive ones, have dual-edged blades that provide extra cutting precision (and enable you to fine-tune your beard more efficiently).
The travel-friendliness of your trimmer is something to consider if you’re on the road a lot. Is the trimmer lightweight, compact and easily placed into a carry-on bag or another type of luggage? Portability is an important consideration in any case.
Travel-friendly trimmers should also have a longer battery life while being easily chargeable. In most cases, a cordless trimmer is easier to take with you when you travel, but it needs to have an easy-to-access charging source.
While the information above should help you in choosing a trimmer, here are five products that rise to the top of the list when considering your purchase.
Philips Norelco is a behemoth in the men’s grooming industry and has been for a long time. And it’s true; big doesn’t always mean better.
But Norelco has had more than its share of premium products, including its Series 5100 beard and head trimmer.
The 5100 is the best beard trimmer for men for many reasons, not the least of which it has enough bells and whistles to make an airplane cockpit envious. They’re not just for show, however.
No matter what kind of beard you desire, the 5100 series has you covered.
It even has, on a razor loaded with cool gadgets and attributes, a “gadget” that stand out from the rest, namely its Dynamic Beard Guide System.
Here’s how it works:
That’s not all the 5100 offers, however.
The 5100’s self-sharpening steel blades are also designed to provide as clean of a cut as you’ll find on any trimmer. Norelco double sharpens them to cut more hair with each pass to speed up the process, which is always handy while you’re trying to get out the door in the morning.
Better yet, the blades have rounded tips to prevent skin irritation.
For one, it comes with a zoom wheel that allows you to lock-in on one of 17 built-in precision length settings, all the way from 1/64th of an inch to a half-inch. You’d be hard-pressed not to find the right length for your beard and the look that you’re trying to achieve.
And, not to forget, you’ll have no trouble with finding the right length for your head, whether it’s a more stubbled look or the always beautiful bald look. It’s no wonder that it’s also the best professional beard trimmer.
The Norelco 5100 is good for both corded and cordless use and comes with an advanced lithium-ion battery that lasts up to 70 minutes without a cord when fully-charged. It takes an hour charge to bring your trimmer back to full power once the battery has run down.
It’s also fully waterproof, and you can clean it by simply running the beard trimmer head under the faucet.
The Brio BeardScape is one of the new trimmers on the market and has quickly carved out a spot in a field filled with quality trimmers. Whatever your beard needs – from maintaining an artful 5 o’clock shadow to fine-tuning a beard that’s aged several months – the BeardScape can handle the job.
It’s also a versatile trimmer that’s good for trimming hair and for any manscaping project. There’s just a lot to like about this trimmer, including:
Best for: All beard lengths
Sometimes you need finesses, sometimes you need power.
With the Panasonic ER-GB40-S, you get both.
You’ll also fortify your grooming kit with a beard and hair trimmer you can use anywhere and fits easily into travel bags and other luggage.
Then again, there’s a lot to like about the Panasonic ER-GB40-S, including:
Best for:
The ER-GB40-S works well for beards of all lengths but is especially effective for trimming longer, more unruly whiskers.
There are plenty of reasons why the five beard trimmers reviewed above are on our ‘best of’ list for 2019. We took into account a lot of factors: each trimmer’s versatility, ease of use, the number of (useful) attachments, whether it was good for both wet and dry shaving, and durability.
We also carefully consider the reviews of others, particularly those of customers, as well as personal experience.
The most important factor, of course, is how it did what it’s intended to do, i.e., trim your beard and perhaps touch up other areas of your face. We also look at how much each product costs, and, as with all of our reviews, we want to cover a wide price range. Hopefully, it will help you to pick a trimmer that will serve you well for many years.
With that, we’ll wrap up another review. We always welcome your feedback, whether it’s about the products listed here, a favorite product of yours, or anything related to men’s grooming and beards. We’d love to hear from you.
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