The Best Beard Trimmers for Showing Your Face

A beard grows about a millimeter every two or three days—an eighth of an inch a week, on average. So testing beard trimmers can take a long time.

In general, we test each beard trimmer once a beard has grown out enough for a good trim—using at least two cutting lengths. Weight and balance matters, and so does the blade’s ability to get to the awkward areas around the neck. We check the trimmer’s ability to function as a shaver, whether for balding or on the neck.

Our testers check how well-made and easy to use any attachments are, and we verify manufacturer claims about battery life and power. We also check in with professional haircutters, especially to verify claims of durability and reliability among brands and models.

Tester Matthew Korfhage has coarse and angry hairs, with a seeming mind of their own. Tester Andrew Williams has a relatively full beard, with straight-growing stubble. We’ve tried to reflect any possible issues—struggling with thick bristles, for instance—in our reviews, so you can be sure of the best possible trim with the least amount of effort. And we might also run a blade into a horsehair broom, to test a motor’s power and its likelihood of bogging down when faced with a thick, full beard.

To select beard trimmers worth testing on the most recent rounds of testing, I consulted a number of barbers in Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon, as well as recommendations from staff at hair supply stores. I consulted a number of guides by other reviewers, including industry publications for barbers as well as other specialized sites devoted to beards and trimmers. And quite simply, some names have earned their good reputation. A new model from Wahl, Philips Norelco, Panasonic, or Andis will almost always merit testing.

Some beard trimmers were sent by manufacturers as review models; others I bought and expensed. Our reviewers keep top-pick beard trimmer models for durability and comparison testing, often over the course of years, and re-test battery life and performance over that time.

Here’s some help on choosing the right features for your facial fuzz.

• Ceramic versus steel blades: Ceramic blades can hold their sharpness better than steel, but the smaller teeth of premium beard trimmer blades tend to be made of stainless steel.
• Barrel control: Some beard trimmers have on-device twist controls. For an easier life, pick one with minimal attachments. But there can be a trade-off in accuracy and added unwieldiness. Such dials also add a failure point to the trimmer guard.
• Ni-MH versus Li-ion: Avoid trimmers with excessively long charge times and those that use old nickel-metal-hydride batteries. They don’t hold their charge as long as lithium-ion.
• Waterproof? Beard trimming in the shower isn’t as precise a process as wet shaving, but a water-resistant design does let you wash your trimmer under the faucet with confidence.
• USB charging: It took far too long, but USB charging cables for beard trimmers have now become fairly standard, often in addition to proprietary charging ports. A major bonus for travel.
• Small versus larger teeth: Larger blade teeth can cut thick, dense hair, but smaller teeth allow for a closer, more precise cut. The latter is exemplified by the Philips OneBlade family.
• Wide versus narrow blade: Hair trimmers have wider blade surfaces than beard trimmers. The narrower style of beard trimmer provides greater control, with minimal time loss for those with shorter facial hair.
• Do blades need to be replaced? Use blade oil (often included) to avoid rusting, and blades should last for years. Trimmer-shaver hybrid Philips OneBlade will need more regular replacements, though.
• Vacuum? Some beard trimmers have a vacuum feature, to avoid getting hair trimmings everywhere. It’s often a gimmick, but it’s a gimmick with a reason: Beard trimmings are the worst. We’ll be adding coverage of beard hair vacuums in future coverage.

OK, you’ve seen it. You’ve lived it. Every beard trimmer’s charger is some different shape, incompatible with all other chargers. Speaking as a reviewer of trimmers, it is maddening—requiring me to keep straight and separate an endless variety of chargers when testing trimmers against each other. Lose a charger, and you’ve got to secure a replacement (or declare it inconvenient to do so, and replace the trimmer.) Corporate conspiracy! Grift!

Well, yes and no. Proprietary charging cables are of course one of the classic ways that manufacturers have used to increase profits and lower convenience, whether by selling multiple cords to the same person or by increasing the likelihood customers will buy a new device. This was the impetus behind a much-ballyhooed European law that forced small electronics manufacturers (including Apple) to standardize charging cables and reduce waste.

But at least in the case of beard trimmers, the manufacturers actually do have good reason to shy away from USB-C. The USB-C format does not like water very much, and small amounts of moisture can cause shorts. While you can mitigate risk with silicone flaps and the like, USB-C ports are still not ideal for things you take into the shower; hence the profusion of two-pin beard trimmer connectors whose ports are carefully insulated from each other.

Could these waterproof connectors also be standardized through European parliamentary action, as laptop and iPhone chargers have been? Sure! Perhaps! But this hasn’t happened. So for the time being, get used to a bunch of funny cord shapes until and unless wireless charging becomes standard. For now, USB-C charging is more often a hallmark of budget trimmers with a short warranty.