We Found the Best Ear Hair Trimmers With Superior Cutting Performance

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BE HONEST, HOW often do you think about your ear hair? For us, probably not as often as we should. Ear hair is the kind of thing that you don’t notice until you do–and when you notice it, it’s because it’s way long. Ear hair seems to pop up almost overnight and when you look in the mirror and notice a long errant hair (or several) poking out from inside your ear or worse, your lobe, it might not be a recipe for disaster but it’s certainly worth taking care of. No one wants to be That Guy With The Ear Hair.

Best Ear Trimmers

When that time comes–and perhaps it’s here already–your best bet is an ear hair trimmer. Do not, we repeat do not, try to take a pair of scissors or a bare razor to your ears. An ear hair trimmer will safely cut your ear hair while minimizing the risk of cutting yourself which could lead to infection, which is definitely not something you want in or around your ear.

These days, you can even use some ear hair trimmers for way more than your ears. Think of multi-use tools that can cut sideburns, eyebrows, nose hair and more. So whether or not you need to trim your ears right now (it’s never too early to start, truthfully) or you’re just planning for the future, now is the time to pick up an ear hair trimmer. We tested dozens of electric shavers to bring you the very best.

What to Consider

Blade

With most ear hair trimmers, you’ll find a rotary blade encased in a protective tube or cone-shaped housing. This is to protect your skin from the blades and allow hair to pass through to the cut, but prevent the blades from touching (and cutting) your skin. In most cases, these are effective for both nose and ear hair as both areas need to be handled with care and you should never use a bare blade to cut hair in your nose or ears.

Another kind of blade you’ll find, which is also safe, is the side mounted blade on detailers. These blades, in some cases, can cut hair closer to the skin than a rotary blade and can also be used on other areas of your face like your neck, sideburns and eyebrows. Neither is inherently better than the other, and some trimmers will include both, and which you choose depends on your comfort level.

Battery

Basically, you’ll have to choose between rechargeable and disposable batteries. The benefit of a disposable battery is that these trimmers are often smaller than rechargeable versions and they also are completely cordless, so you don’t ever need to worry about hunting for a charging cord. The benefit of rechargeable options, of course, is you don’t have to worry about buying and changing batteries–and many would argue they’re more sustainable. Again, neither of these options is inherently better than the other, but depends on your personal preference.

Attachments

Like beard trimmers, you’ll sometimes find ear hair trimmers that have attachments. This could be different styles of blades–like trimmers that come with both rotary and side mounted blades–and also things like length combs for eyebrows. If you’re going to use it to trim more than just your ear or nose hair, consider if you’ll likely need or want attachments.

How We Selected

Over the past year, we consulted with Men's Health's Grooming editors and writers on the top-performing ear trimmers for men. Experts, including our Grooming Editor Garrett Munce, put a number of body groomers to the test and evaluated their effectiveness, safety, and value.

Ear and Nose Hair Trimmer

This happens to be one of our favorite nose hair trimmers but not using it for your ear hair is like only using a smartphone to make phone calls–you’re missing out on a whole set of capabilities. For many of the same reasons that make this device a top of the line nose hair trimmer, this powerful tool can cut through ear hair with ease, no matter how long or short it is. The dual blade is enclosed in a cone-shaped casing, which protects your skin from the sharp blade yet still allows it to easily cut hair both from the top and the side that allows you to effectively remove as much hair as possible in no time at all.

In terms of additional features, the built-in vacuum system sucks up hair clippings before they have a chance to fall into your sink, which makes cleanup easy to non-existent, and the wet/dry capabilities allow you to use this in the shower if that’s your bag. The whole thing is on the larger side, which makes it easy to grip and use (plus makes it feel heftier and more powerful), but means it’s not the best for travel unless you tend to have ample room in your dopp kit. That’s easy for us to overlook, though, because it’s just that damn good.

Read More: Best Eyebrow Trimmers

The Weed Whacker

There’s a lot of power in this small, sleek package. Housed in the tip is dual rotary blade housed in a protective cone shaped casing that ensures the blades cut through hair cleanly and smoothly without nicking your skin. The whole thing is rechargeable via a USB cord and features 90 minutes of runtime per charge (though we did find in our testing that the battery life diminishes slightly the longer you use it - but not enough to overshadow the positives of this tool).

There aren’t a ton of additional bells and whistles to this device, but that’s okay because while features are nice to have, the reality of the situation is that it just needs to work - which this one does. It is waterproof, which means you can use it in the shower and it’s easy to clean. The slightly angled design makes it comfortable to use. What we like most about it, apart from the cutting capabilities, is that the small design makes it ideal for travel and barely takes up any room in your dopp kit. That’s always a plus for us.

Micro Groomsman Personal Pen Trimmer

This tiny, sleek package (seriously, it’s about the size of a ballpoint pen) packs quite a punch. With interchangeable detailer and rotary heads, it’s an all-in-one tool that can not only clean up your ear and nose hair but also trim sideburns, eyebrows and just about anything else on your face or neck that needs attention.

But we’re here to talk ear trimming, which this little thing is very very good at. You can use both heads to trim ear hair - the traditional rotary head helps to get inside your ear safely and trim longer hairs, while the single blade detailer is great for peach fuzz and shorter hairs on the outside of your ears.

It’s easy to clean (just run it under water) and can be used both wet and dry. It’s not rechargeable, but instead uses a single AAA battery to power it, which is convenient for keeping your cords to a minimum. The one downside is that you can’t replace the blades, but it’s so inexpensive that you can easily just get a brand new one for about the same price (if not less) than it would cost you to buy blade refills for a more expensive model.

Titanium MAX Lighted Personal Trimmer

Rotary heads may have cornered the ear hair trimming market, but what makes this detailer great is its sharp, yet safe, side-mounted blade. It offers powerful trimming capabilities in an easy to use package. Not only can it be used to shave and trim ear hair, but you can also use it anywhere else you need a little detailing - like your eyebrows, sideburns and neckline. The built-in LED light is a welcome feature that allows you to easily see where you’re trimming even in low light or hard to reach areas (like your ears).

The body of this trimmer features a bulbous heavy duty grip that’s easy to hold and use - though it does mean that this detailer is bulkier than many others on this list and isn’t our top pick for travel. However, if you want something that feels less flimsy in your hand, the heft is good and helps ensure you don’t drop the thing while you’re using it.

Nose, Ear & Detail Trimmer

We understand that it can be hard to justify spending more on a device you might not use very often, but luckily with this one you don’t have to compromise performance in favor of lower cost. For just over ten bucks, you’ll get two different attachments – one rotary for ear and nose hair and one side-mounted detailer blade for everything else (including those ear and nose hairs if you want).

It also features what the brand called Clean BOOST technology, which allows the blades to self-clean so they stay sharp (you can still rinse it under the tap to clean it as well, which we would recommend). Like most other comparable trimmers, it’s not rechargeable and instead uses a single AA battery, but is also fully waterproof so you can use it in the shower.

It’s on the larger side, which allows for better grip and dexterity, but also means it may not be ideal for travel unless you tend to have room in your dopp kit. Overall, given the features in this one, it’s a great value for a low price.

Shop More of the Best Grooming Products

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