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By Arabelle Sicardi and Jon Chase about your hair
After a new round of testing, the Wahl Elite Pro High Performance Hair Clipper Kit remains our top pick.
We’re testing the BaByliss Pro Silver FX+ All-Metal Lithium Clipper and Wahl Professional 5-Star Series Cordless Senior Clipper, among other models, and will update this guide with our findings.
For roughly the cost of a professional haircut, you can buy a long-lasting tool to create and maintain your own short, buzzed, or shaved hairstyles at home. After dozens of real-world tests of 11 highly rated hair clippers—involving professional barbers and stylists, plus a panel of DIY-haircutting volunteers—we’ve determined that the Wahl Elite Pro High Performance Hair Clipper Kit is the best clipper for most at-home haircuts. Its sharp steel blades easily slice through fine, thick, smooth, and coarse hair without slowing down or clogging. And this clipper isn’t annoyingly loud. The Wahl Elite’s 10 included guide combs—the snap-on teeth that control how closely the clipper cuts, letting you trim hair to a desired length or get creative with styling—are the best of those we’ve tried over six years of testing.
With its terrific build quality, powerful motor, sturdy not overly stiff guide combs, and long cord, this model will satisfy the needs of most people who cut hair at home.
This clipper provides a similar experience to cutting with our pick, but the Color Pro Plus comes with less-rigid guide combs, which some testers found a bit flimsy. It does have an advantage over the pricier Wahl Elite Pro: Color-coded combs make it easy to quickly grab the one you want.
A barbershop classic, the Fast Feed is a pro-grade tool that’s good for those who sport a close buzz or fade and need frequent touch-up trims.
The smallest, most comfortable unit we tested is also one of the quietest. This Remington trimmer is especially handy for those who choose to cut their own or their kids’ hair. It doesn’t have the most varied guard options, though: A close shave is more difficult, since the smallest guard is ⅛ inch.
May be out of stock
We also have picks both for novices and for those more experienced in cutting hair at home. And we recommend a smaller, quieter model that’s ideal for cutting your own or kids’ hair.
With its terrific build quality, powerful motor, sturdy not overly stiff guide combs, and long cord, this model will satisfy the needs of most people who cut hair at home.
To regularly give haircuts at home, we’d reach first for the Wahl Elite Pro High Performance Hair Clipper Kit. The combs are made of a rigid yet smooth plastic that doesn’t bend when pushed against a scalp. And thanks to a metal retaining clip on the back of the combs, they stay seated and straight on the blade better than any other set we tried. They also add great value, considering that a competitor’s replacement combs (of equal quality) cost about half the price of this entire clipper kit. In our testing, the taper lever on the clipper’s side didn’t slip from vibration (something we’ve experienced with other clippers). We also like the Wahl Elite Pro’s thick, 8-foot power cord. This model’s hard-plastic carry case and a relatively nice pair of shears round out the package.
This clipper provides a similar experience to cutting with our pick, but the Color Pro Plus comes with less-rigid guide combs, which some testers found a bit flimsy. It does have an advantage over the pricier Wahl Elite Pro: Color-coded combs make it easy to quickly grab the one you want.
In our testing, the Wahl Color Pro Plus Haircutting Kit was a close contender to the Elite Pro. The biggest difference between them is that the Elite Pro’s guide combs are more durable. Whether you favor the Color Pro Plus’s all-plastic, color-coded guide combs over the Elite Pro’s stiffer, metal-plated, black plastic combs is ultimately a matter of preference. The Color Pro Plus is more playful-looking and slightly larger in the hand, and it has a different grip style. But it’s just as useful as our pick. The Color Pro Plus tends to be sold out for longer periods than the Elite Pro, and it has historically suffered more price fluctuations. At this writing, the Color Pro Plus can again be reliably found in stock, for roughly half the cost of the Elite Pro set we recommend.
A barbershop classic, the Fast Feed is a pro-grade tool that’s good for those who sport a close buzz or fade and need frequent touch-up trims.
The mid-priced, pro-level Oster Fast Feed Adjustable Pivot Motor Clipper is well suited for those who want to maintain buzz cuts and fades: It’s a classic found in many barber shops because it’s built to withstand all-day use for years on end. The clipper’s distinctive hum is instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever sat in a barber’s chair. The Fast Feed’s motor is extremely powerful yet pleasingly quiet, and this clipper can run all day without heating up (which is not true of our other picks). Also, this model’s razors are sharp and easily replaced when necessary. (Note that this model comes with far fewer guide combs, just four, than our other picks do.) The Fast Feed’s thick plastic housing is lightweight yet able to withstand drops, and the taper lever on the side is firm enough to hold tight but adjusts easily with a thumb. A clipper like this may be worth the investment for a home full of people who need regular haircut maintenance.
The smallest, most comfortable unit we tested is also one of the quietest. This Remington trimmer is especially handy for those who choose to cut their own or their kids’ hair. It doesn’t have the most varied guard options, though: A close shave is more difficult, since the smallest guard is ⅛ inch.
May be out of stock
The easy-to-handle Remington Virtually Indestructible Haircut and Beard Trimmer is especially ideal for people who want to cut their own hair. This model is lightweight, has rubberized grips along the sides, and is truly palm-sized. As a result, it’s far easier than any other model we tested to maneuver and hold in a loose grip, even with fingertips (as is often required when you’re clipping your own hair). This clipper comes with eight rigid-plastic, quality guide combs that seat securely (though they have fewer tips, slightly sharper in feel, than our main pick’s combs do). This model also has a thick but pliable 8-foot cord and a powerful—but exceptionally quiet—motor, making it a solid choice for cutting kids’ hair.
Cutting your own hair isn’t terrifically hard, but it is easy to mess up. And one way to really mess up is to cut hair without using the right tools. For the cost of an average haircut ($25 to $60 or so), three of our picks will easily handle the job for you. Clippers tend to last an extremely long time, so for not much outlay, you can have a useful device on hand for many, many years to come (one expert said he knows of barbers who have decades-old clippers in daily use at their shops). Since the pandemic hit in 2020, more and more people have been doing at-home hair maintenance—for themselves and others. If you plan to continue maintenance trims or shaves between professional cuts (or skip salons and barber shops entirely), it’s worth investing in a tool that you like to use and is easy to maintain.
Considering a DIY cut? If you can’t get to the salon, here are the tips and tools four professional stylists recommend to deal with unruly hair at home.
If you’re up for temporary solutions, these are the stylist-approved at-home hair dye options that are less likely to damage your hair.
For this guide, we initially consulted Benjamin Mohapi, owner of Benjamin Salon in Los Angeles and New York City, who has been a professional hairstylist for three decades; Eric Aleman, owner of King of Kings Barber Shop in Brooklyn; and Ivan Zoot, a renowned barber and clipper expert. For our 2021 update to this guide, we also consulted freelance hairstylist Topher Gross and, separately, Simon He of Techni Salon NY. At the beginning of the pandemic, Gross—who has been cutting hair for decades—taught people how to cut their own hair, on Zoom and other online platforms (and occasionally outdoors). Separately, He and the staff at Techni Salon NY tried all the clippers we considered in 2020 and 2021 to compare them with their favorite tools and provide technical feedback to help us narrow down options for our at-home testers.
Unlike with beard trimmers, with hair clippers there aren’t a lot of good-quality traditional reviews available (though there is an unbelievable wealth of information, including reviews and clipper-technique tutorials, on YouTube). We also relied on input from guides published by Buzzcut Guide and Balding & Beards, and we consulted thousands of detailed customer reviews.
Arabelle Sicardi is a beauty writer and editor currently working on a nonfiction book, The House of Beauty, about the beauty industry. They’ve been on the beauty beat for over a decade and buzzed their own and their partner’s hair at home, both before the pandemic and during it. Since 2010, they’ve covered at-home hair care—from buzz cuts to hair coloring—at Rookie and for publications including Teen Vogue and Allure.
Jon Chase, an editor on Wirecutter’s smart-home team, has been a reporter and writer since the late ’90s, covering a broad range of topics with a long-standing focus on consumer products and technology. He also has a fair amount of experience cutting his own hair, having practiced on and off for more than a decade.
Compared with many of today’s household devices, hair clippers are decidedly low-tech. However, their components are worth evaluating individually.
Among the clippers we considered, the guide combs (the clip-on pieces that slot onto the lower blade and create distance between the blade and the head, to create longer or shorter cuts) ended up being the biggest differentiators. Second to technique, they play a large part in deciding the outcome of a haircut, but they are often confusing to non-professionals. Salon owner Benjamin Mohapi cautioned in particular against models with flexible or too-few combs: “Sometimes you’ll find combs that won’t properly fasten parallel to the razor edge, or have extra bits that cause the lines to be crooked—and so you’ll never get clean results, and may get nicks or gouges.” We found it was very important to have a nice set of stiff, well-labeled guide combs that attached securely.
Combs made of plastic that is too flexible can bend as they are pushed against the scalp, resulting in furrows (like you’d see in a farm field).
There is no universal sizing for combs. They typically run from size 1 (which translates to ⅛ of an inch of hair) in ⅛-inch increments up to size 8 (which translates to 1 inch). However, some companies offer sub-increments in between and may even have clips that allow for hair longer than an inch. (These lengths refer to the height of the hair left behind, not how much is cut off. Using a size-1 comb, for example, leaves ⅛ inch of hair on your head.) Some companies simply label the combs in fractions of an inch, which is confounding and easy to confuse in the moment. Annoyingly, each brand of clipper has its own proprietary physical shape (and sometimes more than one), so you generally can’t use combs from one brand of clipper on another clipper. (Some “universal” replacement sets are available, but as many customer reviews relay, they aren’t truly universal.)
Combs are made of different types of plastic, which in our tests turned out to be a major factor in their usefulness. If they are too rigid or sharp, they can chip or break or may be uncomfortable to scrape across a scalp. If they are too flexible, they can easily bend and flex as they are pushed against the scalp, resulting in different hair lengths and leaving furrows (like you’d see in a farm field). Some comb designs allow too much play: They can trap and pull hair, snap on crookedly, or even pop off in the middle of a haircut. We found combs made of rigid ABS plastic to be the best performers.
Among the clippers we tested, there was some variety in blade materials. But our experts agreed that for most home users, even a low-end blade will dutifully cut hair for years or even decades. All clippers have a pair of stainless or carbon steel (or, at the high end, ceramic) blades with teeth; the bottom blade is fixed, and the top blade is connected directly to the motor and oscillates side to side to cut hair. When oiled, carbon models self-sharpen, but they are susceptible to rust. Stainless steel is rust-resistant and may be self-sharpening. The hair length that a comb-less blade leaves depends on the clipper, though it’s often one-sixteenth of an inch; if the clipper has a taper lever (more on that in a minute), you can adjust that length.
A taper lever is an advanced feature—a little doodad found on the side of a clipper that increases or decreases hair length more finely than you can get by switching combs or shifting the bottom blade forward or back. Ideally, when cutting hair you can adjust the lever with a finger, but it shouldn’t be loose enough that it slips due to a bump or vibration (otherwise you could end up with different hair lengths). We found that some taper levers were too easy to move accidentally while cutting hair. But among pros with the technical capability, a taper lever is an essential element for blending and fading between different lengths of hair, especially on the side of the head. For a home-haircutting enthusiast, though, its value is extremely subjective.
Pro models have thick, round, shielded power cords that are 8 feet or longer; non-pro models often have thin, lamp-wire-style cords that tend to tangle.
A clipper’s housing is almost always plastic, though high-end models like the Andis Master may be metal. Aside from material, a clipper’s size is a major consideration: A larger model, such as the Wahl Color Pro Plus, is at the upper limit of acceptable size for an adult’s hand; the smaller, palm-sized models, like the Remington Virtually Indestructible, tend to be much more comfortable to hold.
As clipper expert Ivan Zoot told us, most non-professional clippers have many of the same parts as pro models, but the non-pro models have been stripped down to trim their price. The power cord is a common corner to cut: Pro models have thick, round, shielded power cords that are 8 feet or longer; non-pro models often have thin, lamp-wire-style cords that tend to tangle, can fray, and may be only 5 feet long or so.
On the advice of our experts and owner reviews, we primarily looked for corded models simply because they’ll reliably power through the job without needing a recharge. A haircut can take a while, and the risk of getting left with a drained battery and half a haircut isn’t worth the extra convenience. We did opt to try two cordless models, since they can be handy for outdoor use.
As is true of blades, when it comes to motors, most home users wouldn’t notice much difference between types—other than their loudness. Magnetic motors, which all our picks have, are the most common and make a signature whap noise when turned on. The other options are pivot motors, which run slower and have a pleasant hum. One of our experts suggested that advances in magnetic motors are making pivot motors effectively obsolete.
During our at-home testing, we were able to try out clippers on a wide range of hair types, from extra-fine to thick, from straight to kinky, and from thin (or thinning) to dense. The authors tested a range of clippers on themselves and members of their households. In 2016, we recruited an expert barber, Eric Aleman of the King of Kings Barber Shop in Brooklyn, to test several contenders on a client and to offer his opinions and insight. In 2021, before narrowing down the options, we recruited Simon He at Techni Salon NY to similarly test contenders.
In 2020 and 2021, we recruited a panel of seven testers with assorted hair types and textures—as well as varying levels of haircutting experience—to try out the clippers at home. And our panel included folks of different ages: One tester used clippers on their whole household, including on a young child who needed a cut, while other testers were in quarantine alone and used mirrors to get the job done.
We asked participants to give their opinions of each of the clippers and accessories they tried out, without knowing the prices of any of the models. They noted whether the clippers slowed, clogged, or pulled. They also noted how comfortable the clippers were to hold due to size, weight, and vibration, as well as the power-cord length. Participants noted the quality of guide combs and how easy they were to use, how easy clippers were to clean and maintain, and the quality of any additional accessories, such as hair clips, capes (for covering clothes during a cut), and carrying cases. At the end, we asked participants to pick the model they favored and would be most comfortable using themselves.
With its terrific build quality, powerful motor, sturdy not overly stiff guide combs, and long cord, this model will satisfy the needs of most people who cut hair at home.
The Wahl Elite Pro High Performance Hair Clipper Kit met or exceeded the quality or performance of all the other models we considered in nearly every way. It has the most reliable and easy-to-use guide combs of any clipper we’ve tried; in our tests, this turned out to be a key differentiator between an okay hair clipper and a great one. The Wahl Elite Pro also features sturdy housing and a pro-grade power cord, a powerful yet quiet-enough motor, and a useful and rugged hard-plastic carry case.
We were drawn to the Wahl Elite Pro for its selection of 10 guide combs, including two half-sizes for extra-fine control of hair length. These combs are made of rigid ABS plastic and include stainless steel retaining clips that are riveted on securely. Comb quality is crucially important in distinguishing among clippers, since combs significantly affect the cutting experience and are expensive to upgrade or replace. (One model we tested had a bent “tooth,” or fin, on one of its combs. And a few of the models came with guide combs that either attached unreliably or wouldn’t seat perfectly, so the edge could be lifted or could even pop off.)
The Wahl Elite Pro’s build quality is a noticeable step above that of most mid-tier models available in big-box stores. The upper part of the housing isn’t hollow-feeling; it is made of rigid plastic, with texture for a secure grip. The taper lever at the side, for blending hair, allows you to make adjustments via a screw, but out of the box it functioned smoothly in our tests (though not as precisely as the levers on pro models like the Andis Master or the Oster Fast Feed). The round cord is plenty long (8 feet) and as thick as those on pro models. And this is the only clipper we considered with a Velcro wrap near the plug, to gather the cord and make storage tidier. By comparison, the Andis Headliner and Wahl Chrome Pro have lamp-wire-style cords.
Almost all clipper kits come with at least one questionable accessory—like cheap scissors or a garbage-bag-quality cape—that seems great until you have to tuck it in a drawer or root through a pile of them to find what you want. Our pick comes with a useful assortment of 10 combs that are clearly labeled and easier to sort than those of most competing models; most have combs with impossible-to-read, raised black-plastic numbers on black plastic. (We found it even easier to grab the combs we wanted while using the Wahl Color Pro Plus kit, which has color-coded combs.) The Wahl Elite Pro’s hard-plastic case is compact, and it has a quality clasp and rigid hinges that allow it to seal correctly.
All things being equal among clippers, the combs matter the most, since they significantly affect the cutting experience and are expensive to upgrade or replace.
In his 2016 test run with the Wahl Elite Pro, barber Eric Aleman noted its heft and bulk but also the taper lever’s ease of use and the ability to cut precise fades. One of our 2021 at-home testers commented that this clipper had a “sharp design, good grip, [and] very good accessories.”
The Wahl Elite Pro is covered by a five-year warranty.
The Wahl Elite Pro lacks a T-blade attachment, or companion trimmer, which allows for close cutting around the ear, in the back, and around facial hair without accidentally nicking an ear or creating a bald patch. (Our budget pick, another Wahl, comes with an ear-trim guide comb.)
The Wahl Elite Pro is at the upper weight limit of what’s comfortable to hold (just under a pound, at 15⅞ ounces). But it’s not overly heavy, and it doesn’t vibrate uncomfortably. Compared with the Remington Virtually Indestructible (a smaller and quieter model we like), the Elite Pro has a slightly louder magnetic motor, but it isn’t obnoxiously loud.
This clipper provides a similar experience to cutting with our pick, but the Color Pro Plus comes with less-rigid guide combs, which some testers found a bit flimsy. It does have an advantage over the pricier Wahl Elite Pro: Color-coded combs make it easy to quickly grab the one you want.
The Wahl Color Pro Plus Haircutting Kit offers a clipping experience very similar to that of our pick; the key difference is in the design of the attachments. Color-coded, clearly labeled guards make it easier to find the right ones, eliminating time spent on clipping overall. Compared with the Elite Pro’s guide combs, however, the Color Pro Plus’s combs are a touch flimsier and do not have the metal reinforcements. Still, most of our 2021 at-home testers preferred the Color Pro Plus’s combs. “The color-coded guards were like … transcendent,” one tester said.
Many longtime owners consistently give the Color Pro Plus high ratings and agree that this clipper is a great value overall. Some reviewers note that they’ve repurchased this kit once the clipper blades dulled, though many say that they did not perform the suggested upkeep (oiling the blades, sharpening them, and cleaning them out) between uses. The Color Pro Plus’s storage box is a little smaller than the Elite Pro’s, and it’s not quite as sturdy. If space is a deciding factor for you, this kit will take up less space overall than our top pick. And—more of a feature than a bug—several testers considered this clipper to be “toy-like” in design compared with the other options they tried. Although the Color Pro Plus’s housing is slightly larger than the Elite Pro’s, the Color Pro Plus weighs a touch less than our pick. And it has a 7-foot lamp-wire-style cord.
The Color Pro Plus also comes in a cordless version, though it has a different motor and includes four fewer guards. It offers roughly 60 minutes of service. “It’s wireless and powerful, [and] it’s easy to use,” remarked Simon He.
Like the Elite Pro, the corded Color Pro Plus is covered by Wahl’s five-year warranty.
A barbershop classic, the Fast Feed is a pro-grade tool that’s good for those who sport a close buzz or fade and need frequent touch-up trims.
The Oster Fast Feed Adjustable Pivot Motor Clipper is a staple of barbershops because of its power, ruggedness, and reliability—it can work all day without fatiguing the stylist or causing its motor to overheat. This clipper has more muscle than most people need at home. But compared with other pro-level models we tested, the Oster is considerably easier to use and generally less expensive. At 14⅝ ounces, it’s also lighter than both of our Wahl picks.
Our testing confirmed the Oster Fast Feed’s reputation: It’s comfortable to hold and maneuver, especially its taper lever, which you can adjust with a thumb. The Fast Feed is smaller than both of the Wahls we recommend, it’s easier to hold, and its electric hum is actually pleasant to the ear. The included guide combs fit securely and are made of a rigid plastic, but there are only four of them, versus our main pick’s 10 (you can buy additional guards separately to accommodate longer hair lengths). The Fast Feed’s cord is thick but supple, and at 8 feet it leaves plenty of slack for maneuvering around.
Oster’s warranty, at just one year, is not as robust as the warranties for our Wahl and Remington picks.
The smallest, most comfortable unit we tested is also one of the quietest. This Remington trimmer is especially handy for those who choose to cut their own or their kids’ hair. It doesn’t have the most varied guard options, though: A close shave is more difficult, since the smallest guard is ⅛ inch.
May be out of stock
If you’re mostly clipping your own hair, the smaller, lighter, and easier-to-maneuver Remington Virtually Indestructible Haircut and Beard Trimmer may be a better choice than our heavier picks. The Remington’s lightweight (7½ ounces), palm-sized housing—coupled with rubberized grips—is the most comfortable of any we tried. Our testers especially appreciated this clipper when they guided it along the back of their heads while looking in a mirror—that’s a tricky maneuver, especially when cutting along the hairline. This model is the best by far for smaller hands, and its mesh storage case takes up a minimal amount of room.
The clipper’s eight included guide combs are made of rigid ABS plastic, so they don’t deform and leave track marks or trap and pull out hair when pressed against your head. They attach and seat firmly, unlike on some other models we tested, whose attachments had enough play that they could go on crooked or pop off altogether.
This Remington also has a thick but pliable 8-foot power cord that seems tough enough to last years but also wraps easily for storage. In addition, this model is extremely quiet, despite its magnetic motor. One of our at-home testers questioned its effectiveness solely for that reason: “It’s too quiet to really be cutting hair, right?” A long-term tester who uses the Virtually Indestructible with her children finds the low noise level to be a big plus. “My kids barely notice it above the sounds of whatever Wild Kratts episode they’re watching while I cut,” she said.
For another tester, though, the Virtually Indestructible trimmer fell short because it couldn’t cut quite as close as our other picks: “As someone who shaves, the guard it provides doesn’t meet my needs,” they said. “The shortest it goes to is not [short] enough.”
Though this model lacks a taper lever for finessing a fade or blend, most of our testers didn’t miss it for at-home uses (none of our haircutting novices attempted to do their own fades).
Though we think the eight included rigid guide combs are a step up from the typical flexible plastic ones found in many sets, they can feel a little too pointy and sharp. If they’re not angled properly when you’re cutting, it’s easy to jab your scalp. (Full disclosure: It hurts.) The Virtually Indestructible also comes with fewer combs than our pick and budget pick do, and it doesn’t include left- and right-ear tapered guide combs, as our recommended Wahls do. The Virtually Indestructible doesn’t offer the closest shave, either, considering that the smallest guard is ⅛ inch. Our testers found that wanting.
The Virtually Indestructible is the only one of our picks covered by a lifetime warranty (blades excluded).
Every expert we spoke with repeated the same basic mantra: Oil your clipper’s blade, and it will last years, even decades. (Or, as Ivan Zoot put it, “Blow dryers and clippers do not die: They are only murdered.”) Oiling cuts down on friction so the blade doesn’t snag your hair or heat up and burn your skin. What’s even more astounding is that, per customer reviews and our own experience, clipper blades regularly live years, a decade, maybe several—even without a single drop of oil. So if you are the sort to hold on to any device until it dies, your investment will likely be with you for a long time—all the more reason to pick a winner. (Arabelle’s father has been faithfully using his beloved Philips Norelco clippers for decades. Ever loyal to his vintage clippers, he refused to test these newcomers.)
If you want top performance, a five-point oiling goes like this: Before each use, place a drop on each side of the blade and one in the middle while the blade is running; then place one on either side where the moving lower blade rubs against the fixed upper blade. Move the razor around a bit to let the oil travel—but then tip it so the blades point downward, to let excess oil run out, away from the motor (which can get gummed up over time). Turn off the clipper and gently dab the excess oil away with a tissue or towel, being sure not to snag fibers or paper.
Most manufacturers also recommend that, following a haircut, you wipe away loose hairs with a stiff bristle brush (almost always included along with oil), followed by another oiling to prevent potential surface rust. When you run out of the tiny included bottle of oil, you can use food-grade mineral oil instead. Avoid 3-In-One, WD-40, or other non-food-safe lubricants, which may cause a skin reaction.
Many clippers with magnetic motors (as opposed to pivot or rotary motors) have a large adjustment screw located on the side. If your clipper begins to make an annoying and terrifying “chattering” sound, take a medium or large Phillips-head screwdriver and tighten or loosen that screw until it stops; then continue in the same direction another half-turn.
Clippers (even lower-end ones) can take a substantial amount of abuse, but just a single drop on a hard surface, such as a tiled bathroom floor, can instantly kill a motor or damage the housing enough to make the clipper a lost cause. Barber Eric Aleman cautioned in particular that should you ever drop a clipper, be sure to immediately inspect the blade for any bent or (especially) broken teeth. A broken tooth will make instant mincemeat of skin. If the blade isn’t replaceable, recycle or toss the clipper, and be sure to cut the power cord to ensure that someone else who might find it doesn’t use it unknowingly.
A step above our budget pick, Wahl’s Extreme Grip Pro Hair Clipper is outfitted with a nonslip sleeve and comes with 12 all-plastic guide combs (including the left- and right-ear tapered guide combs that come with our budget pick but are are no longer included with the Elite Pro), among other accessories. It’s a touch larger and heavier than the Elite Pro, and its combs are not reinforced like our pick’s. It has a similarly powerful motor. “I can feel the added weight, but it’s offset by the grippier body,” our tester said.
The Andis Master is a gorgeous piece of industrial design, a dumbbell-heavy, polished aluminum beauty with a powerful yet quiet magnetic motor. It doesn’t come with combs and is really purpose-built for precise, tight fades of the sort only a trained barber is capable of creating. “It’s like handling a katana—not just anyone can use it,” barber Eric Aleman told us. (All of our pro testers mentioned having it in their arsenals at one point or another.)
The now-discontinued Andis Ceramic BGRC is a wonderful machine: lightweight, comfortable to hold, with a whisper-quiet rotary motor and a ceramic top blade capable of blazing through thick hair with ease. The Ceramic BGRC is the Lamborghini Veneno of hair clippers, all precision and perfection. But it’s more than twice the price of our pick, so for non-pros it’s likely an unjustifiable purchase. And it comes with no attachments. The Ceramic BGRC’s suggested replacement, the BGRC Detachable Blade Clipper, is nearly identical to the version we tested.
We haven’t tested the beloved Andis T-Outliner, a specialty/companion tool that’s best for outlining (such as around the ears), shaving, and precision fades.
Similarly, the Wahl Deluxe Chrome Pro is a 25-piece kit that, like the Andis Headliner Combo, has flimsy guide combs that didn’t seat reliably for us. The included battery-operated trimmer is useful and is in fact a missing element from our top pick. However, that doesn’t redeem the poor-quality combs.
The Wahl Professional 5-Star Series Magic Clip Cordless is a pro-level machine, but the 90-minute battery life isn’t ideal. It comes with eight guide combs (double the number that come with our corded upgrade pick, the Oster Fast Feed). But our testers found the experience of using this clipper to be very similar to using the less-expensive Fast Feed and Wahl Elite Pro models we recommend.
We haven’t tested the corded Wahl 5-Star Senior, which is often compared to the Andis Master and is therefore best for experienced haircutters. It is specifically made for taper work and precision fades—which leads to excellent pro-level detail work. But for at-home haircuts, this model may require unreasonable skill and artistry.
Although beard and body-hair trimmers are generally not ideal for cutting hair, many of them come with guide combs that in a pinch can be useful for at-home haircuts. The Philips Norelco MG7750, our top-pick beard trimmer, comes with 14 guide combs, including four meant for head hair. Our professional testers were divided on this model: It’s beautifully designed, and the multiplicity of use is great for a varied household. But this model is not as powerful as any of our hair-clipper picks, and switching its guards when using this model specifically for a haircut is somewhat of a pain.
We previously recommended the Remington HKVAC2000A as an option for easier cleanup. But our 2021 testers consistently found it to be the most flimsy model overall, the hardest to hold, and very loud. The vacuum feature—this model sucks up loose hair so it doesn’t land on you or the floor—is the best and only thing this model has going for it. But frankly that’s not enough of a priority, especially considering that you get better precision with smaller clippers we tried.
This article was edited by Tracy Vence and Kalee Thompson.
Eric Aleman, barber at King of Kings Barber Shop, in-person interview, November 30, 2016
Simon He, hairstylist at Techni Salon NY, phone and email interviews, March 26, 2021
Topher Gross, freelance hairstylist, phone and in-person interviews, March 2021
Benjamin Mohapi, hairstylist at Benjamin Salon, phone interviews, November 2016
Ivan Zoot, barber and consultant, phone interview, November 21, 2016
Arabelle Sicardi is a beauty and fashion writer and editor. For the past decade, they have written about and tested beauty products for Teen Vogue, Allure, and other outlets. They’re currently working on a nonfiction book about the beauty industry, The House of Beauty, to be published by Norton.
Jon Chase is an editor leading smart-home coverage at Wirecutter. He has been covering technology as a writer and editor since the days before mobile phones got smart. His work has been featured in various print and online publications, and on television. He currently has over 35 smart devices installed in his home. None of them work perfectly.
The Philips Norelco MG7750 offers the ideal combination of power, ease of use, and versatility, making it the best tool for most at-home beard groomers.
The Panasonic Electric Body Hair Trimmer and Groomer for Men ER-GK60-S is the best powered tool for grooming pubic hair.
TikTokkers swear by the UNbrush , a square hairbrush that gently detangles hair. And after testing it out ourselves, we agree that it’s fantastic.
Easy cleanup tips for hair that’s all over the bathroom.
barber machine set Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions. Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time).