For convenience, there’s no better way to shave than with an electric shaver, but you still want the best results, and the equipment you choose plays an important role.

Here’s a quick run-down of the various types of electric shavers, what they do and what their advantages and disadvantages are. We’ve also included links to some of Groom+Style’s favorite shavers in the rotary, foil and clipper categories.

Electric Rotary Shavers

Rotary shavers usually have either three or four rotating heads. They’re particularly good for guys with thick or fast-growing hair, which tends to grow in lots of different directions.  Rotary shavers also have a slight advantage if you don’t intend to shave every day.

They work by lifting the hair away from the face and cutting it inside one of the rotating components. Ideally, you’ll want to look for one with a flexible head, so that you can reach all of the nooks and crannies on your face.

When shaving with a rotary shaver you move it in a circular motion on your face.

Electric Foil Shavers

Foil shavers feature a thin layer of foil which covers the oscillating blades — this has two purposes. The first is to help lift the hair away from the skin to that it can be cut neatly and closely. The second is to limit blade-on-skin contact, making foil shavers somewhat kinder to your face than rotary shavers.

Foil shavers usually come in either three or four-blade varieties. A four-blade foil shaver will shave you faster and closer than a three-blade shaver.

When shaving with a foil shaver you move it in straight lines on your face.

Clipper Shaver, Beard Trimmers or Hair Clippers

A clipper or beard trimmer is a great choice as long as you’re not looking for a smooth finish. If you’re looking for all over stubble, and want something which will work on your head as well as your face, then clippers like the ones a hairdresser or barber uses are great.

They work by sending a series of serrated blades buzzing side-to-side, which cuts the hair in a sideways motion. Best used in one direction – straight lines.

Read our full review of the Top 5 Best Beard Trimmers.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you now have a clearer picture of whether a rotary or foil shaver or trimmer, is right for you.  For more shaving and styling tips, visit the Groom+Style Art of Shaving section; and if you want some more information on how to get the most out of your electric shaver you can read our article How to Use an Electric Shaver.

Continue reading to find the top 5 best electric shavers review by Groom+Style.

Not everyone can grow a full, thick beard. While patience and careful styling can go a long way to grow out a patchy beard, there are ways to encourage thicker, healthier hair growth. Some men who find that their beard hair is patchy resort to growing a mustache or goatee, when what they really want is a full whaleman’s beard. Health and nutritional adjustments can help to spur your follicles along in the process. Even those committed to a bald lifestyle, find that growing a thick beard can be a great quality of life choice.

As you look for products that will help your beard grow thicker and fuller, you’re likely to be assaulted with more products than you can weed through, from pills and vitamins, to oils, creams, and sprays. It’s difficult to know what’s going to work to help you grow that beard you’ve always wanted and what’s just fool’s gold.

What Makes it Difficult to Grow a Full Beard?

Genetics will determine how thick your hair grows and where on the face it grows the thickest. For some men, this will be the chin, for others it could be sideburns or the cheeks. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have active hair follicles on the rest of your face. It just means that those follicles aren’t producing the extra-thick, long hairs that make a beard what it is.

There are other factors that determine your ability to grow facial hair as well. Health and nutrition are big ones. This is because your body needs to receive plenty of nutrition in order to allocate those nutrients toward growing healthy hair. Poor nutrition could affect your hair all over your body, not just on your face.

Fitness is another factor in the ability to grow facial hair, since men who are more fit are able to produce more testosterone, causing the facial hair follicles to make thick beard hair. Additionally, exercise increases blood circulation bringing oxygen to the skin cells and stimulating hair growth.

What Should Your Beard Growth Product or Supplement Do for You?

Options for Beard Growth Supplements and Products

Pills and Supplements

Most pills that advertise beard growth are useful combinations of vitamins and minerals that promote healthy hair growth. Many of these are no different from a typical multivitamin.

Be aware that the body can only absorb so much of a vitamin at once. That means that much of these nutrients go to waste. This can make for bad value from pills marked up as beard supplements. Additionally, these supplements won’t do you much good if you already get many of these nutrients in your daily diet.

Rather than taking a multivitamin marketed as a beard supplement, we recommend looking at what’s actually in these vitamins and picking them for the ingredients that are best for promoting beard growth.

Best Beard Growth Supplements:

• Beard Grow XL uses only natural ingredients and is hormone-free, so it won’t mess with your chemical balance. It’s packed with vitamins and minerals that actually help your hair growth, and it gets results.
• Biotin or Castor Oil Supplements are single ingredients that can help to stimulate hair growth. This is a good option for anyone who is concerned about add-ins from multi-vitamins.

Beard Growth Lotions, Creams, and Oils

These are beard balms and oils that can strengthen, coat, and protect your beard while offering growth-oriented nutrients directly to the beard.

Best Beard Growth Lotions, Creams, and Oils:

Beard Growth Sprays and Liquids

These are considered easier to apply and less messy than lotions and balms. However, for the best effect of any topical beard product it’s important to use a beard brush to ensure even distribution.

Best Beard Growth Spray Products:

Focus on the Ingredients

The bottom line on this is that there’s no one category of beard growth supplements and products that will make you beard automatically thicker and fuller. Instead, the magic is all in the actual ingredients and formulas of each beard supplement.

Don’t forget that growing a fuller beard also requires the time and patience to grow it out and maintain it. Once you reach that, the fun can start. A fuller beard makes it easier to try the styles and patterns  that will most highlight your own facial features. But keep in mind that products alone are only part of the picture. Personal health and good facial hair care can take you a long way to achieving your beard goals.

The better your hair clipper blades work, the easier it is to give yourself a trim that you can be proud of. Taking a few extra steps to maintain and sharpen your clippers can make the entire process of grooming and hair maintenance less time-consuming and tedious. Not to mention, using sharp clippers is a much more comfortable experience since a sharp blade is less likely to pull your hair or nick your skin while cutting.

When your hair clipper blades perform well, it becomes simpler to achieve a satisfying trim by yourself.
By implementing the practice of barber clipper blade sharpening and employing additional measures to care for and maintain your clippers, you can significantly optimize the process of grooming and maintaining your hair.

Not only does regularly sharpening your clipper blades save time and reduce tedium, but it also enhances comfort by minimizing hair pulling and the risk of cuts on your skin while cutting.

Not sure how to make your clippers as sharp as the day you bought them? Here’s a step-by-step guide with all the information you need on blade sharpening for clippers.

Why Is It Important To Have Sharp Clipper Blades?

Hair clippers have the potential to deliver professional-level results, whether you’re in need of a simple hair trim or a precise manscape. However, the efficiency of your grooming process can be severely hindered by dull clipper blades, causing unnecessary discomfort.

Dull blades tend to cut hair unevenly and are prone to snagging. It becomes evident that your clippers require servicing when they fail to perform optimally, resulting in undesirable outcomes. Signs such as hair tugging or even accidental skin nicks indicate that blade sharpening is necessary.

Ideally, it’s best to identify dull blades before they come into contact with your skin. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, and dealing with a set of dull clippers can be truly frustrating. To avoid the need for frequent blade replacements, which can be costly, it’s time to consider investing in various grit stones and acquiring the skill of sharpening them yourself.

Most clippers have blades that you can sharpen. Yes, even your Wahl clipper blades can be sharpened so that they are better able to cut your hair without pulling. Additionally, you can sharpen most razor blades using a whetstone. Although razor blades are designed to be inexpensively replaceable, so it is an option just to purchase a new blade.

What You’ll Need

When it comes to sharpening hair clippers, numerous online resources offer a multitude of hacks and techniques. However, the most effective approach involves disassembling the clippers, utilizing a whetstone of medium grit to sharpen the blades, and reassembling them upon completion.

While it may sound like a lot of work, learning how to do it right can be a great time saver for your morning routines. Don’t be intimidated by the idea of sharpening with stones, the process is really simple, and it will give you professional quality results that last for a long time.

If you get and keep around a few simple tools, including one or two sharpening stones, you can maintain your clippers so that you don’t have to send them in for professional service. Additionally, it will save you the cost of buying your clipper blades new every time they dull. Not to mention, whetstones are handy to have around the place since you can use them to sharpen most anything with a blade, including your kitchen knives.

Essential Tools for Sharpening Clipper Blades

• A screwdriver. The best way to know what kind of screwdriver you need is to look at your clippers and see what kind of screws are holding the blades in place. Since you’ll be using the screwdriver to remove the blades from the clipper base, be sure you have one that properly fits and is the correct shape. You will need to use these screws again when reattaching the blades, and you don’t want to strip them during the removal process.
• Cleaning tools. Once you take your blades apart, you will likely find them dirty with hair and other buildup. Use a tool to clean the blade, such as a wire brush, steel wool, or even an old toothbrush or other microbrush to make short work of scrubbing them down until they’re like new.
• Blade cleaning solution. You can make your own blade cleaning solution by combining water with white vinegar or 90%+ isopropyl alcohol. This solution will help to remove rust and buildup. If you intend to purchase commercial blade wash, keep in mind that these, while convenient, contain carcinogens. Vinegar or rubbing alcohol solutions are good substitutes. To get the most out of it, mix the vinegar or alcohol with warm water.
• Clipper oil. This is necessary to lubricate the blades and keep them sharper for longer. If you don’t have clipper oil, you can substitute hair oil as well. Your ideal oil will be light in color and of a thin consistency. Oils that are too dark or heavy are more likely to clog the blades.
• At least one sharpening stone. A coarse whetstone, honing stone, or sharpening stone is a key part of this process. In most cases, these are all different words for the same thing. For the first pass, you’ll need a coarse whetstone of about 4000 grit.
• A towel or rag. Things can get messy during the sharpening process. You want to give yourself plenty of space, have extra water for rinsing, and keep some rags or paper towels available to help you clean and keep things tidy.

Optional Tools and Products to Sharpen Clipper Blades

• A fine grit stone. A fine whetstone of about 8000 grit will allow you to finely hone the edge and sharpness of the blade. This not only gives you a more honed edged with fewer barbs than you might get with a coarser stone, but it also helps to ensure that your sharp edge will last longer.
• While most people prefer to work by running the blade at a fairly flat angle against the stone, others like to have something to hold the blade as they sharpen it. You can use a strong, flat magnet to hold the blade. Just be sure that whatever holder you have has a strong grip, or it may be more trouble than its worth.
• For those who are using clippers with ceramic blades, it’s necessary to use a diamond sharpening stone. You won’t have good results sharpening ceramic blades with ceramic stones. Instead, you need to find a stone that is specifically designed for sharpening ceramic blades. This information should be available from the clipper manufacturer as well.
• A permanent marker to mark the blade so you can keep track of how much you have sharpened and whether you’re sharpening in a straight line.

How To Sharpen Hair Clipper Blades: Step By Step

Most clippers have two blades that need to be sharpened. The first blade will be the larger one that remains in place and combs through the hair. The second, smaller blade moves and works to chop the hair. For well-functioning clippers, you want to hone both of these blades so that they work smoothly together to cut the hair without pulling.

1. Soak the whetstone before use. Read about your sharpening stone before use. Some manufacturers recommend soaking the stone in water or oiling the surface. If your whetstone needs to be soaked, submerge it in water until bubbles no longer rise from it.
2. Remove the blades from the clipper device. Your blades will normally be attached to the clippers with screws. Removing them should be a simple process of using the screwdriver to loosening and unscrewing these. Make sure to pay attention to how the pieces are attached so that you will be able to reassemble them when the time comes. Be careful to put the screws in a safe place, since they will be small and easy to lose. You will now see two different blades. The larger blade is the one that doesn’t move. It works primarily as a comb, while the smaller blade moves and clips the hair.
3. Give the blades a good scrub. For the longevity of your clippers, you should be in the habit of cleaning your blades after use. However, you won’t be able to get at everything until you take it apart. Once you have removed the blades from the base, you have your best opportunity to deep clean. The parts that aren’t exposed will often have a lot of build-up from oils and hair. Brush any remaining hair, buildup, and debris out from between the teeth. In some cases, your blade may have rusted, so it’s a good idea to use your blade cleaning solution to remove the rust. When using the solution, soak the blades for a couple of minutes, and then carefully use a cotton ball or towel to wipe away rust and buildup.
4. Once the blades are clean, dry them with a towel. Use a cloth or paper towel to dry the blades of excess moisture. This is a good moment to tidy everything before you move onto sharpening the blade with the stone, so refresh your water, and neaten your area.
5. Using the permanent marker, mark the blade with a straight line. This should be done prior to beginning the sharpening process. Your line will help you know when you have worn down the blade enough. Additionally, you can track that you have ground down the blade evenly.
6. Sharpen each blade by running the blade across a whetstone. As you sharpen the blades, try to keep them at an even 30-40 degrees. Then move it forward along the length of the whetstone. You don’t need to use a lot of pressure to hone the blade. If it isn’t moving smoothly across the surface of the stone, lubricate the stone with some water. As you sharpen, be aware of your angle. You need it to remain at that same small angle so that the forward motion works to sharpen the entire blade and not only the jagged edges or teeth. After five to ten swipes, it should look shiny, and any teeth should be evened out.
7. Clean off any residue from sharpening it. As you sharpen the blades you will likely see little metal powder that had been ground off during the sharpening process. Clean this off using a dry cloth. Then, turn the blade over and repeat the previous sharpening process.
8. Fine-tune the edge. If you have a fine honing stone as well as your coarse one, you can use it to create a slightly sharper and finer edge, using the same motions as above.
9. Allow the blades to dry completely before reassembly. It’s generally not enough to use your rag to dry the blades. Since clippers are electrical devices, it’s better to be safe and allow them to air dry for some time as well. While you are allowing the blades to dry, go ahead and check that the body of the clippers is clean. Clear out any hair and buildup.
10. Put the clippers back together. When reassembling, make sure that the blades are both facing the correct direction so that they can move back and forth against each other without a problem. This might mean taking care to correct the alignment and spacing as well. Then screw the blades back into the base using the same screws that you removed from the clippers in the first step.
11. Apply oil to the clippers. You should oil regularly, about every-other to every third use. Nonetheless, it’s especially important to oil the blades after you have cleaned or sharpened them. This step offers lubrication that prevents overheating and reducing the kind of friction that will wear down the blades prematurely. To apply oil, don’t go overboard. A drop or two directly onto the blades will do. Use a cotton swab to gently spread it over the blades, and use a rag to wipe away any excess.
12. Test the clippers by turning them on. Once you are done with the sharpening process and have your clippers reassembled and oiled, turn them on and run them for a few minutes to test them. This will not only tell you if there are any problems with your assembly, but it will also further hone the clippers.

How Often Should You Do This?

Keep in mind that some clipper models are self-sharpening. If you have self-sharpening clippers, then it can be a good idea to simply clean the blades before going on with the sharpening process. Then give them a test. In some cases, a simple cleaning will be all that your clippers really require.

However, not all self-sharpening clippers are created to the same quality. Even more importantly, there will be times when, after heavy use, even self-sharpening clippers will need a little extra honing to give them a good edge.

How often you’ll need to sharpen your clippers will depend on the frequency of use. If you use them frequently, then you might need to sharpen them a couple of times a year. More infrequent use will mean less frequent sharpening as long as you take care of the blades.

Until you get into a pattern with your clipper use, or if your clipper use is inconsistent across time, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on their performance, that way you can sharpen them before they start to cause problems. Remember, you don’t have to wait until they are tugging your hair and or cutting you. If their performance isn’t satisfactory, or you don’t find them as smooth as when you first purchased them, then they might need some servicing.

How to Sharpen Clipper Blade

Tips To Take Better Care of Your Clipper Blades

The better condition you keep your blades, the less often you will have to sharpen them. The key to keeping them sharp is cleaning and oiling. Consistently cleaning the blades removes the hair, rust, and other build-up.

At the same time, oil help to reduce friction between the blades, allowing them to rub together longer before wearing down. To oil the blade, apply a couple of drops of clipper or hair oil to the blades. Too much oil can add gunk and buildup to the blades, so make sure to wipe away any excess after applying the oil.

Conclusion

Ultimately, being willing to maintain your clippers will keep them running better for a longer time. If you clean and sharpen them before they get too dull, you can prevent stress on the mechanical parts of the clippers, while also preventing discomfort from clippers that tug and pull your hair.

How to Maintain Your Electric Beard Trimmer

Beard clippers or Timmers work better than scissors or any other product to give you a professional and clean look.  But, when it comes to beard trimmers (or even electric shavers) they do need to be maintained and cleaned.  If you have recently bought a top stubble trimmer over the past few months or even within the last few years and it doesn’t seem to be working as well as it used to or it has a rattling sound inside the trimmer itself, it might be time to do some maintenance on it.

Don’t worry, it is not difficult to maintain your electric beard trimmer, just follow our easy tips for keeping your electric razor sharp, and get a clean shave every time.

If you use an electric shaver instead of a beard trimmer then read Groom+Style’s article on how to clean your electric shaver.

How to Tell If Your Trimmer (or Shaver) Needs Cleaning

Most modern electric trimmers do a good job of keeping hair out of the inner workings, but hair, skin, shaving products can all build up inside and on the blades, reducing cutting power and increasing the risk of nicks and cuts.

How Often Should You Clean Your Electric Trimmer?

That depends on how often you shave and how thick your hair is, but performing some simple maintenance on your electric shaver after every shave is a good idea.

Reading the Manual

Most small appliances that you purchase, will contain some sort of a manual or document letting you know how to keep the electric shaver or trimmer working properly and what upkeep directions you need to follow.  But, just in case you threw these out or lost them because you did not think you would ever need them, you can use the rest of these tips to help clean and care for your electric trimmer or shaver.

Cleaning the Beard Trimmer

Most of the time when you buy an electric razor for men or an electric beard trimmer, it comes with a few items such as oil and a brush.  The brush is specifically used to remove any extra hair from inside the beard trimmer where the blades are.  Sometimes hair can get caked inside of the trimmer where the blade is and it can stop it working as well as it once did.  Once you remove the extra hair from the clippers, make sure you run the clippers for a few seconds to loosen any extra hair.  You should also be using a cotton swab to get inside of the crevices of the beard trimmer to remove extra hairs as well.

Oiling the Trimmer

Most people don’t understand why a quality beard trimmer comes with a little bottle of oil.  But, ultimately this oil is what keeps your beard trimmer blades lubricated as well as the rest of the trimmer oiled nicely.  It’s important to remember that beard trimmers are essentially a small machine with a lot of working parts inside of it.  So it’s important to keep it lubricated so that all of the smaller parts, including the blades, move when and how they are supposed.

If you do not have any oil that came with your beard trimmer, you can actually use vegetable oil or olive oil for the trimmer.  Just be sure not to use extra virgin olive oil, motor oil, Vaseline or any other oily substance because this can and will ruin your trimmer for good.

Guide to Use Electric Beard Trimmer

Washable Trimmer vs Non-Washable

If you know your trimmer is washable, you can actually wash the shaver head under water to clean the blades better. This will help remove hairs, grease, and debris from the trimmer itself. Be sure that when you are cleaning the trimmer underwater, you place a small dollop of foam, like a beard filler, on top of the blade. Turn the trimmer on to make the foam penetrate into the head and then wash using cold to warm water. On the other hand, if your trimmer is not washable, you would want to use the brush and cotton swab as directed above.

If you want some additional information on how to utilize your beard trimmer then check out Groom+Style’s Beard Trimming 101 article.

Beard Trimming Tips: Maintaining an Enviable Beard

Every stylish beard requires care and maintenance. Beards left to grow wild rarely have the strong directionality, clean lines, and soft texture that most people find attractive. Furthermore, a well-shaped and healthy beard can make up for any patchiness or thinness beard wearers might experience, as it shapes the whole face and gives a strong overall appearance.

Healthy beards benefit more than just the hair. They also mean moisturized and healthy skin, which can help your face appear younger. As an additional benefit, many find that conditioned beards are softer and don’t irritate their partner.

Beard maintenance comes down to three basic practices: edge-maintenance, trimming, and care for the overall health of both the face and hair. These beard care tips will help you keep a healthy and attractive beard no matter what style you choose.

Beard Trimming Tips

Beard trimming is essential for growing a well-kept beard. Trimming cuts down on unevenly growing hair, as well as hair that grows in different directions, and any split damaged ends. This makes it one of the best tools you have to keep your beard stylish and versatile.

Beard Grooming Tips: Brushing or Combing

Brushes and combs may seem like similar beard grooming tools. However, they both offer different benefits when it comes to styling an attractive beard. Boar’s bristle brushes are considered the best for beards, since they are able to hold and transfer oils well. Beard combs tend to be less dense with individual teeth. The fine plastic combs could snag the beard and exacerbate tangles, making the experience painful as opposed to enjoyable. However, whether you lean towards a beard brush or come, it is up to personal choice and preference. 

Using a beard grooming brush also aids the overall health of your beard, since it distributes your skin and hair’s natural oils throughout the beard. Brushing offers a little massage for your face and has also shown health benefits in its ability to increase blood circulation, allowing for more hair growth over time.

Additionally, brushing your beard will train it to grow in a certain direction, which will make styling and shaping much easier in the long run. This is a good technique for those who find their mustache frequently curling into their mouth. Brushing will train these hairs to grow in a better direction.

Combing, on the other hand, is crucial to long beard grooming technique as it offers a proactive measure to keep your beard from getting unruly with tangles. Combing is also the best way to style your beard when it comes to day-to-day wear. Experts say not to comb the beard too much, or you could stress it or cause damage.

Beard Care Tips

Cleaning your beard will free it from dead skin, food bits, dirt, dust, sweat, and other unpleasant bits. This is a must, both for your beard hair and the skin underneath, since any of these things can clog your pores or mar your beard’s appearance. We recommend washing your beard around two times a week.

When it comes to washing your beard, opt for natural beard shampoo over normal hair shampoo. This is because hair shampoos often have stronger chemicals and sudsing agents that aren’t suited for the more sensitive skin of the face. These can lead to irritated skin and beard hair that is dry, scratchy, and brittle. The beard shampoo will also help to keep your beard smelling great, and since it often contains good oils, your beard will remain soft and moisturized. It’s best to simply pat the beard dry after washing, since rubbing it too vigorously with a towel can cause misbehaving hair frizz and split ends.

It’s important to moisturize your beard hair as well as the skin beneath it. Luckily, you can use a single product such as beard oil to moisturize both your beard hair and the skin beneath it. Moisturizing can also be crucial to your beard’s health and the development of gloomy beard and healthy face. Moisturizing will help you appear younger and eliminate problems with dead skin from your face, including beardruff.

In addition to helping your beard remain healthy through maintenance, you can also give it nutrients that help you to target any particular problems you’re facing with your beard health. Many of these nutrients can be found included in the carrier oils and essential oils formulated into the beard oil. There are also a few vitamins that are good for hair growth, including biotin, Vitamin D, Vitamin A, and zinc.

Conclusion

After grooming and maintenance comes styling. Many men work to control the direction and shape of their beard to pull off different styles. Don’t forget that you can also style using a beard balm  and check out more of our beard grooming tips. These tools can make your beard look like it just stepped out of a magazine, with soft hair and a nice glow.