5 Expert-Approved Trimmers for a Perfectly Shaped Beard

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THE FIRST STEP to a righteous beard? Grow one. Like, don’t touch your facial hair at all for several months. The second step—once you have enough length—trim it up. The first step is definitely the hardest, but the second comes with its own unique challenges. Whether you want a long, flowing beard or something shorter and cleaner, keeping your beard style in shape ensures that it not only looks great, but your whiskers stay strong and healthy, too.

I’m going to level with you here. It’s hard for me to make it past the first step. When I grow out my facial hair, it’s an exercise in patience and fortitude. These days, I stick with a mustache (which in itself has its own set up issues) but when I do grow out my full beard, I like to keep it trimmed and groomed. In order to do that, I’ve found that it’s really all about having the right tools in your arsenal. Namely, a beard trimmer. Most beard trimmers include multiple length attachments to allow you to easily cut your beard to the exact length you want and shape it however you desire. It’s easy to think that if you have a longer beard, you don’t need a trimmer, but in reality, a good beard trimmer is essential for beards of all lengths. Nothing else can give you a uniform cut or easily shape or fade a beard the way a trimmer can.

Best Beard Trimmers

Length possibilities are the most important part of choosing the right beard trimmer, but trust me, there are other things to consider as well. Like how coarse your beard is—if it’s very thick, you’ll need a more powerful trimmer. If you’re new to growing a beard, you might want to go on the simpler side to make sure you get the hang of beard trimming before you invest. And if you’re a beard veteran, you may want to go with something more professional-grade and fly without the protection of guards.

After extensive testing every beard trimmer we could get our hands on, I was able to get it down to my favorite five trimmers. Whether you’re buying your first beard trimmer or looking to upgrade, these are the ones worth investing in.

What To Consider

Of course, there is no one best beard trimmer to rule them all (which is why this list has five trimmers, not just one). It’s all about what’s best for you. But there are a few things we look for that we consider important for any beard trimmer, no matter what sort of beard you're caring for. Here’s the low-down on how to shop for the best beard trimmers this year.

Motor

You want a strong motor with enough juice to shave or cut to the right length cleanly, smoothly, and with a minimal number of passes (more passes make for more skin irritation). In most cases, you get what you pay for here. The most budget-friendly beard trimmers in our roundup (those under $50) all do a decent job, but they often can’t match the raw power of a more premium, $100+ model.

Blades

Much like the motor, the blades of a trimmer will dictate how quickly and effectively it cuts through hair. Typically you want to look for blades made of durable material like stainless steel that stay sharp for a long time (many trimmers will even have self-sharpening blades, which is a plus for longevity). You will eventually need to replace the blades, so choosing one with replaceable blades will always be helpful, but blades made from strong materials will last longer.

Corded or Cordless

Cordless trimmers are great for a lot of reasons, which makes them the preferred choice for most bearded gents. But they can’t match the sheer power of traditional, corded models. If you’re opting for the latter, consider models with a long, flexible power cord. This makes them both easier to store and to maneuver around your face with better precision.

Battery Life

If you’re opting for a cordless model, it’s important to keep its battery life in mind. Knowing how often you’ll need to charge it can mean never needing to stop in the middle of a trim to recharge (believe us, it happens way more often than you’d think). If you can remember to charge your trimmer often, then battery life may not be super important to you, but if you can’t or you just don’t want to hassle or you travel a lot, opting for one with a long battery life is important.

Attachments

Of course, length attachments are important in a beard trimmer as they allow you freedom to customize the length of your beard with ease (and ensure an even cut). Some beard trimmers include only the most essential tools and attachments, which is fine if you’re a beginner or just need the basics. But other, more comprehensive kits are made more versatile with the addition of things like guide combs, extra trimmer heads, nose trimmer attachments, and more. Not having these isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker; again, it’s all about what’s right for you.

How We Selected

For the past two years, we consulted with Men's Health's Grooming editors and writers on the best performing beard trimmers for men. Experts, including our Grooming Editor Garrett Munce, put a number of beard trimmers to the test and evaluated their effectiveness, durability, price point, and ease-of-use. We also considered top-reviewed beard trimmers that had over 100 five-star ratings on e-commerce websites we trust. The final list above represents our honest picks of the five best beard trimmers worth buying in 2023.

Beard Trimmer for Men Cordless Precision Power

The reason we love this Men’s Health Grooming Award-winning trimmer so much is because it’s just so freaking easy to use. The adjustable dial allows you to toggle between a whopping 19 different length settings without switching attachments, allowing for a truly customized beard trimming experience. No matter what beard length of style you're going for, this is your one-stop tool. The powerful motor powers 9,800 cuts per minute and the stainless steel blades slice through even the thickest whiskers like their butter.

What Else To Consider: The design of this trimmer is pretty genius. It takes away the need to switch out attachments frequently (and the need to somehow store multiple attachments). The rotary dial is convenient and ideal for beginners or people who have a pretty straightforward beard shape that doesn’t need a lot of finessing. Experienced users who are used to using more traditional attachments may find there is a learning curve to using this razor and may take a bit of time to understand how the numbers on the dials correspond to different lengths. We, personally, like the ease of use and the innovation, but keep in mind that it may take some getting used to.

Why We Chose It: This trimmer received high marks in our testing process for almost every factor. The motor is one of the most powerful we tried and it worked well on all types of beards, from thick to thinner and especially short to medium-length styles. We found that the battery life is long and we needed to recharge it with less frequency than other models. The single attachment seemed odd at first, but paired with the rotary dial it is innovative and easy to use - especially if you frequently switch between lengths. The one downside we found is that, while the trimmer itself is well-designed and easy to hold, it is slightly too large to comfortably fit in our dopp kits, making it a little hard to travel with if you’re concerned about saving space.

Long Term Results: As we’ve continued to use this trimmer, it just keeps getting easier. Once you get over any learning curve that could come from adjusting to the rotary dial instead of traditional length attachments, the single length attachment is convenient and very fast to use. Even though we’ve been using this for months consistently, the battery life has not waned and the motor and blades still feel as strong as they did when we first used it. Overall, we’re happy with the investment.

Read more: Best Nose Trimmers

Cordless Beard Trimmer

This trimmer is the new updated version of one of our favorite budget-friendly beard trimmers. It also features an easy to use rotary dial that allows you to switch quickly between lengths and has two different length attachments - one for short styles and one for medium to longer styles. Between the attachments and the wheel, you get an incredible 40 possible lengths to chooser from at 0.5 mm increments which means you can potentially get lengths that not many other trimmers can deliver, allowing you a true customizable experience.

The trimmer itself, while the brand doesn’t disclose the strength of the motor or the type of metal the blades are made from, feels substantial and we found that it’s powerful enough to deliver a good trim on pretty much any beard - especially at this price point.

What Else To Consider: Apart from the 40 different lengths you can get with this trimmer, there aren’t a lot of other bells and whistles to speak of. It is rechargeable (with the included power cord) and does deliver a long battery life (45 days) with a single charge, but a full charge takes several hours, so if you’re going to travel with it, make sure it’s charged completely before you pack it. We did find that the plastic attachments can feel a little flimsy, but they still get the job done once they are attached to the trimmer. It also includes a storage bag, which we found handy for both storage and travel.

Why We Chose It: Out of all the trimmers we tried at this price point, this one had the best performance full stop. Also, you can’t argue with the transparent amount of possible length settings, which blows all the other similarly priced options out of the water. The motor and blades aren’t quite as powerful as higher-priced models, but it still performs well, making it a good option for beard newbies and experienced beard trimmers alike.

Long Term Results: After a few months of use, we haven’t noticed any wane in actual performance of the trimmer when it comes to, you know, trimming. We will say the battery seems to need charging more often as time goes on, but it still holds up well even if you use this every day. We can’t say we use all 40 length options, well, ever but they’re good to have if we ever want to experiment a bit. Mostly we just keep it on the same length all the time and that’s totally fine by us.

Beard Trimmer

If you’re an experienced beard groomer or have a longer beard that you don’t need attachments to trim, this trimmer is for you. It’s really a professional-grade clipper designed for at-home use, so don’t expect length guards. However, in the right hands, this trimmer is a fine, precision tool that does it all. It can cut through thick whiskers to shape up a beard, shave in sharp lines and edges, and fade sideburns with ease.

It's pricey at north of $150 on sale (and closer to $180 retail), but, again it's basically a commercial barber-quality trimmer for the everyman. We love the sleek, ultra-modern design that's rare to find in most beard trimmers. It makes for a cool statement piece on any master vanity.

What Else To Consider: If you’re a beard newbie or have a short beard, keep on moving. This isn’t technically a beard trimmer - it’s more the kind of trimmer your barber uses to shape up your hairline and those sorts of things. But, the reason it’s on this list is because if you have a long beard, many beard trimmer attachments won’t work for you, even the longest ones. Especially long beards often need to be shaped freehand with a tool like this.

It can feel daunting, but chances are if you have a long beard, you’re not new to the beard trimming game. This is a professional-style device so, again, there aren’t any guards or attachments to help guide your way, but if you’re comfortable with that, it’s one of the best we’ve found.

Why We Chose It: Long beards need tools, too! Plus, it’s great at creating crisp, clean lines for your beard, which many trimmers neglect in favor of cutting the body of the beard itself. This powerful trimmer can be used as a detailer as well and is great at line work. Even without attachments, it’s a good tool to have on hand if you like very crisp lines to your beard or if you have a long beard that a typical beard trimmer can’t support.

Long Term Results: We’re going to be honest, our beards typically aren’t long enough to use this much as a beard trimmer, though we would if we could. The motor stays powerful and the blade stays sharp even after months of use. What we do use it for often is as a detailer. It’s a barber-level tool that creates sharp, crisp lines on our necks and cheeks and we’ve found that even if we use a different trimmer to cut and shape our beards, we reach for this to clean up the edges and make sure they’re extra crisp.

OneBlade Hybrid Electric Trimmer and Shaver

This handy trimmer is the one tool every guy should own, according to celebrity groomer Amy Komorowski. That’s because it can do it all—shave, trim, detail, and more. Use the length guards to clean up short beards or perma-stubble looks. The innovative non-irritating shaver can also detail neck and check lines, clean up sideburns, and pretty much anything else you could think of doing.

The compact, lightweight design is super travel-friendly—just toss it into your Dopp kit or toiletry bag and forget about it. With a 45-minute rechargeable battery, you might even be able to leave the cord at home. It's completely waterproof so it's safe for shower use, and each blade lasts up to four months. The best part though? It's less than $40. Long beard aficionados may want to look elsewhere. But, for guys who like to keep their beard, mustache, or stubble game tight, this is a damn-near-perfect solution.

What Else To Consider: Keep in mind that the OneBlade is a do-it-all device. Yes, it can trim your (shorter) beard, but it can also shave and you can even use it all over your body. If you do choose to take it below the neck, this is where the extra blade can come in handy. You don’t want to use the same blades on your body as you do on your face, especially if you use it on your body first. Doing so could run the risk of bacterial cross-contamination and no one wants something like jock itch on their face (it happens!).

Why We Chose It: In terms of transparent versatility, we really stand behind the OneBlade. Okay, so it’s not the best for guys with longer beards, but for the vast majority of guys out there, especially if you rock the perma-stubble or a short beard look, it’s hard to beat (not to mention it also really shaves). The blades are also multi-directional, meaning they cut on both ends instead of just one like a traditional trimmer, making it easy to use even if you’ve never used an electric shaver or trimmer before. The sleek, simple design is both easy to hold and easy to travel with, which is always a plus for us.

Long Term Results: We’ve been using the OneBlade for years (really) and it stays one of our go-to grooming gadgets. We will say that you really do need to replace the blades every so often (the brand recommends every 4 months though we’ve found they can last a bit longer) but luckily they’re much easier to replace than your typical trimmer or shaver. Other than replacing the blades, our OneBlades work just the same as they did right out of the box - even years later.

The Beard Hedger

What’s great about this trimmer is that it’s deceptively simple. It’s a sleek, well-designed package that feels tightly edited and thoughtful to how you actually want to use a trimmer. But inside the casing is a powerhouse that plows through hair, even thick beards, easily thanks to the 7,200 rpm motor and a specially angled blade that helps to lift up hairs and make it easier to cut them.

There’s only one attachment, but combined with the integrated rotary dial you get 20 possible cutting lengths, allowing you freedom to customize your look, even if your beard is on the longer side.

What Else To Consider: This trimmer does have a good amount of bells and whistles, but nothing that feels extraneous. It uses a standard USB-C cord to charge up, so you don’t have to worry about losing a special cord. That’s a subtle LED indicator to let you know when your charge is getting low and the charge speed is fast. There’s a full 60 minutes of run time with a single charge, so depending on how long it takes you to trim your beard, it can last you a while. We also appreciate that it comes with a travel case included and since this is our favorite trimmer to travel with, it gets a lot of use.

Why We Chose It: Did we mention this is our favorite trimmer to travel with? That’s because it’s sleek and simple and you don’t need to pack a bunch of extra attachments in the included travel case. Plus, with the USB-C cord to charge, we can use the one we’re already packing if we need it (but we usually don’t because the battery life is good). It feels much more expensive than it actually is, which is always a plus in our book.

Long Term Results: This trimmer hasn’t been out for years, but in the months we’ve been using it, we’re still impressed by it. It really has become our go-to travel trimmer because of its simplicity paired with power. We haven’t noticed any dip in battery power or cutting prowess so far.

More Beard Trimmers That We've Tested

We personally researched, compared, and tested dozens of beard trimmers over the last two years. Not every model made the cut, of course. Here are a few that we considered that weren’t quite up to our standards but might still be worth a look in 2024.

Braun’s Series BT5070 is a decent beard trimmer. But with a less-than-ergonomic design, mediocre buyer reviews, and a $90 price tag, we ultimately skipped it.

A decent option for budget-conscious shoppers, the Braun BT5265 is an affordable beard trimmer with all the most essential attachments. It’s well-reviewed and well-priced at under $50, but it’s not great for tackling longer beards.

We’ve had mixed experiences with Conair’s grooming tools for men, and the brand’s i-Stubble Cordless Ultimate Flexhead Beard Trimmer is no exception. It relies on a unique “floating” trimmer head that works better in theory than in practice.

Oster’s Classic 76 Universal Motor Clipper is a long-time fan favorite thanks to its bulletproof, pro-quality design. But, it’s also heavy, pricey, and doesn’t include any guide combs (though you can buy them separately), which hampers its versatility.

Panasonic’s ER2403K Moustache & Beard Trimmer is one of the few AAA-battery-powered beard trimmers on the market (most modern cordless models use rechargeable batteries). The weak motor was enough for us to leave off this year’s round-up, but it’s worth considering if you need an option that relies on old-school power.

For a seriously full-featured kit, the Panasonic ER-GB60-K includes a roundup-leading 39 length settings (more than any other we’ve seen). If the transparent number of length options is most important to you, this is your man. But many reviewers note that it doesn’t glide as smoothly as others we’ve tested.

Lastly, if you hate post-shaving clean-up (and who doesn’t, really?), the Remington MB6850 Vacuum Beard Trimmer is designed to simultaneously shave and suck up all your facial hair in one fell swoop. It sounds great in theory, but it’s loud and tends to miss too many hairs for our liking.

Who Is This Beard Trimmer Guide For?

Any guy who’s looking for professional quality (or at least near pro-quality) facial hair maintenance at home needs a good, reliable beard trimmer. For this guide, we specifically focused on a mix of corded and cordless (i.e., battery-powered) beard trimmers designed to cut, trim, and shave your facial hair like a champ. Most of our picks work well on a wide variety of facial hair types (from fine to coarse) and lengths from “perpetual” stubble to longer beards (say, six inches or more).

What To Look For In A Beard Straightener

Is your beard out-of-control? Have you wondered whether a specialized tool exist to comb out those whiskers in your beard? Well, you can stop speculating—the answer is yes. Thanks to the latest and greatest in grooming technology, you can use a beard straightener to style and tame those tangled curls. But, before you go buying your "miracle brush", there’s a few things to keep any eye out for.

Heat and damage

It's important to understand how heat can affect your hair. According to Beardbrand, 185 degrees Celsius (385 degrees Fahrenheit) is the "sweet spot" when applying heat to your beard. Anything above this number can cause damage.

Hair drying brushes vs. heated thermal brushes

Hair drying brushes has the same functionality as a hairdryer in that they generate hot air, which is then blown out through the bristles.Heated Brushes is electric-powered grooming tool that use an internal heating element to radiate heat around bristles or tines.

Terms to know

• Ionic: Ionic dryers are meant to dry your beard faster to prevent less “frizz”.

• Tourmaline: Similar to Ionic, but produces even more water busting negative ions.

• Ceramic, Porcelain: Both roughly have the same meaning and more or less represent even, consistent heating.

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