The best beard trimmers of 2023, tried and tested for precision and styling versatility

The angled shape of the trimmer theoretically makes it easier to grab hard-to-reach hairs. Happily, this worked in practice, with almost all of testers finding it cut their nose hair easily. The size of the trimming head proved the perfect fit for their nostrils and got the job done quickly. “The trimmer and the shaver are both sharp, precise and comfortable to use and the attachments for ear and nose grooming are a plus.” I’m not an advocate of using a beard trimmer on the rest of your body, mostly for ergonomic reasons.

Even when shaving your armpits (with no guard) you must be extremely careful as the blade can easily nick the skin and trust me, it’ll be a nasty cut. It also doesn’t vibrate during use and it’s one of the quieter body trimmers out there. The guards fit securely over the shaving head and you can use the trimmer in either direction to get a precise trim. I don’t think it’s quite the very best trimmer for the genitals because it has a fixed head (check out the number 2 option as an alternative), but it’s still easily one of the best. If you want an effective and comfortable trimmer for the pubic area that can trim the hair really close, the Philips Bodygroom 5000 will give you precisely that.

But if you’re going to get a beard trimmer and use it on periodic chest, shoulder, and back trimmings (the latter with the help of a friend), then I suggest this vacuum one from Philips Norelco. It’ll catch the large majority of those little clippings (up to 90 percent of them), saving you big time on cleanup. However, it won’t be able to suction them if they’re long and overgrown—just a month’s worth of stubble, at most. Our panelists found that the Manscaped The Lawn Mower 2.0 performed fine but lacked the features that set apart our picks. The Lawn Mower comes with two reversible attachments for length customization, but we didn’t like that when one of those attachments was on, the device became extra-bulky. We’ve found the spotlight helpful, especially when trimming in a poorly lit bathroom.

A quick charge feature can be really handy when you’re caught off guard. It will of course work just fine on the rest of the body, but it’s really practical in those particular areas. And that has a surprisingly big impact on the effectiveness of the trimmer when shaving a particular philips trimmer blade body part. You can clearly see the perforated foil element flanked by a pair of shearing blades. It is ideal for men that want a very close trim, even on sensitive areas like the groin and armpits. These blades shear against each other and cut the hairs captured by the teeth.

For trimming without the comb attachment, you can cut—carefully—with or against the direction of hair growth. If hairs accumulate in the blades during use, pause between strokes to clean them out, either by rinsing the trimmer under water, pulling hairs out by hand, or using one of the included cleaning tools. First off, let’s talk about the foil shaver end and its 4D Contour Following System, a feature that’s been engineered so it can flex in four directions.

The contoured shape (most handles are fairly straight), is comfortable to hold. It’s got a good weight to it, neither too heavy nor too light, lending it a sturdy philips body groomer feel. It’s also cheap, and often available at a considerable discount online. But it was rather loud, and blew a slightly annoying plume of air onto my face.

Even if a trimmer is waterproof, do not store it in the shower or any other wet place. It can be a big decision for some men to choose to shave their body, and it’s often down to your own opinions on how far you go and what philips shaver you end up shaving. If you’re a bit concerned, don’t worry, as Mills told us, “It’s a personal choice and so there are no real rules with this. I think most of us do and it’s a pretty normal thing nowadays.” And he’s right.

Men usually want a close trim (skin level) in the groin area and a reasonably short trim on the rest of the body (2mm and up). You can use a push-style trimmer with or without a guard as nicks are a lot less likely in those areas. Since the head of these trimmers has two rows of blades and it can work in either direction, you can also push it, but pushing it won’t be nearly as practical and effective. The remaining stomp will poke through one of the holes in the foil and will get cut at skin level, resulting in a very close shave.