Home users looking to save money with a DIY haircut. Barbers start their profession in pursuit of mastering their art and bringing smiles to their clients.
What unites these two groups are hair clippers. Learning to cut your own hair – or shaping another person’s locks, is a skill.
And new skills mean self-improvement. Other people respect you more. Satisfaction.
We won’t blast you with a cliche list of half-assed clipper recommendations. We’ve tried numerous models and we know what just works.
How to Pick the Right Hair Clippers for You
Hair clippers can either be wired or cordless and usually come with a host of accessories, some of which are more essential than others. Here are some questions you should be asking yourself when buying the perfect set of clippers for you.
How to Maintain Your Clippers
Spending a lot of money on a set of clippers is one thing, but if you don’t put some time in for maintenance too, it’ll be money wasted. But don’t let that scare you, maintaining your clippers isn’t the same as being asked to open up the bonnet of a BMW and fix what’s going wrong under the hood. Just by doing some basic things you can ensure years of faithful service.
Time for what you’re here for. A concise comparison + reviews of the best clippers in 2022:
How To Cut Your Hair At Home
Hair clippers consist of two elements: the actual clipper/trimmer and a number of combs of varying sizes. The larger the comb, the longer it will leave your hair. Oh, and they all always come with a small brush, supposedly for cleaning. Many still come with a tiny bottle of oil, for oiling the blades. Increasingly, you can buy clippers that claim not to require oiling, although I always find that claim a little suspect.
Having cut my hair at home for many years, I have discovered a number of things. The first is that a good, wired hair clipper from someone like Wahl is still better than even the best cordless one.
That being said, there’s a lot more convenience to cordless, especially if it’s waterproof or at least water-resistant, and hence bathroom friendly. I definitely do not recommend standing in the shower with a corded hair clipper – although you might be relieved that it turns out to be the last haircut you’ll ever need.
But having said that, personally, I don’t recommend trying to shave your head, or a long beard comes to that, in the shower. Wet hair mats together so it’s harder to cut, and clogs the blades like a mother.
Even the best hair clippers tend to be a bit painful if you’re cutting hair really short, as the blades start to scrape the scalp. If you’ve got dry skin this can be particularly unpleasant. For this reason, and many others, it’s best to start with the longest comb feasible and work down. Usually, you would also tend to have it longer on top than at the sides, but I am not going to try to dictate your personal style.
My advice is to do the following each time you essay a home haircut.
- Oil your blades. Unless it’s the type that doesn’t require oiling – although even then it can’t hurt.
- Wash your hair, but don’t cut it while wet. Some people find having it slightly damp is optimum. I don’t, but I’m just passing on what ‘some people’ think.
- You could try applying a little bit of moisturiser. This is tricky as too much will impede the blades and too little will make no odds. But just the right amount can reduce irritation and increase smooth gliding of blades.
- Use a mirror. No, really.
- Start with a bigger comb length than you need. This is especially true if you’re attempting a more ‘advanced’ style with differing lengths, but it’s also advisable if you are doing a straight French crop, army crop, suedehead or even a Full Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
- Gradually work your way down through comb sizes.
- As you’ll already know from the barber’s, you’ll never ever remove all the cut hair from your head, neck, clothes and body by giving it a brush. The great thing about cutting your hair at home is you can just jump in the shower, though! If you’ve gone for a short crop, a handheld vacuum cleaner on a low setting is also a good option – no, really.
- Apply moisturiser or after-shave balm. But probably not actual aftershave, as it may smart a tad.
What you need to know about clipper blades
Let’s first look at how clipper blades are structured. Usually, a hair clipper blade consists of five pieces (seven if you include the two screws). You’ve got the comb and the cutter blade, the blade socket, the spring, and a plastic blade guide.
The blade’s material is where differences arise. Assuming your blade is in optimal condition (in other words, sharpened and taken care of), the harder the metal, the better.
The current hair clippers blade standard is rust-resistant stainless steel. Notice it’s rust-resistant. You still need to watch out for any blade rusting.
From time to time you’ll come across clipper blades that are titanium-coated or even carbon-coated. This is even better, though many models lack such reinforced coating.
Then, at the top of the blade pyramid, you’ll find the ceramic blades. Ceramic tends to last longer is way sharper than your run-of-the-mill steel cutters.
You’ll notice hair clippers with ceramic blades don’t heat that much – the material is a poor heat conductor. On the flip side, though, ceramic blades are a) prone to breaking (brittle) and b) a tad expensive compared to stainless steel blades.
What do you recommend for me?
To be honest, quality hair clippers brands all have good quality blades. If you’re looking for low to medium-budget clippers, you’ll fetch stainless steel blades. If you venture into professional barber clipper territory, like Andis BGRc, you’ll witness what ceramic blades can do.
Cordless clippers or corded ones?
This question always sparks heated debates, even between us, the founders of this place. The hard truth is: there’s no definite answer. It all depends on how you plan to use your clippers.
Is your hair rather short? Are you looking for quick, non-complicated haircuts? – Cordless hair clippers will do a fine job with their added flexibility and mobility.
Are you rocking high hair volumes? Do you enjoy thoroughly styling your hair? – Corded hair clippers are better as cordless hair cutters might get their battery depleted fast.
Going the wireless hair clippers route or staying “wired” is also connected with your mobility. If you’re on the go and travel a lot, cordless might fit your lifestyle better. Cords usually measure 6 feet and above, so they can get a pain to drag around with you.
Usually, people would say that cordless clippers also lack the power output of corded ones. We agree, but to some extent. For example, the Wahl 5 star Magic clip has 90 minutes of battery time which is plenty.
Heads up: Check our list of the best cordless hair clippers if you want additional flexibility from your hair cutter.