Best Vacuum Beard Trimmer
Electric shavers are supposed to make life simpler, but as anyone who has ever used an electric shaver on a long beard knows, cleaning up after the fact can be a huge pain.
That’s why many manufacturers are making bread trimmers that have built-in clean-up options, with by far the most popular being a hair vacuum that sucks up almost all of the cut hair as you go, making tidying after yourself as simple as putting the shaver away.
Sound good? We thought so too. Here are our top picks for the best vacuum beard trimmers available right now.
Best Vacuum Beard Trimmers
Philips Norelco BeardTrimmer 7300
By far the most deluxe model on our list, this trimmer is incredibly impressive, but also has a price tag to match. If you’re looking for the best, well, you’ve probably found it, but the premium performance also means this is the most expensive model in our top 5.
First off, the blades are impressive, and they’re backed up with an incredibly powerful motor. They’re stainless steel, maintenance free and stay-sharp, and can be adjusted through 18 different lengths from 1/32 inch to 23/32 inch. It also has an added stubble trim feature, that leaves your beard at 1/64th of an inch (half a millimeter,) for the perfect five o’clock shadow.
The guide comb is easily adjustable, and makes it simple to achieve an even, stylish shave. For longer beards, or thicker, troublesome areas, you can hit the Philips Boost button, which pushes the motor and vacuum into overdrive.
The battery charges in less than an hour, and offers around 50 minutes of charging time. That’s slightly less than we’d like to see, but still around 10 full shaves. However, unlike a lot of cheaper trimmers, the display on this thing is absolutely gorgeous. It’s crystal clear, and shows at a glance your power level and cutting length.
Yes, it’s expensive, but it’s an investment. Users have noted that their lasted around 5 years used two or three times a week. It also trims incredibly well, with almost no fuss. We love it, which is why we rate it number one.
Wahl Model 9870-100
Wahl are well know for making decent hair trimmers and electric shavers that are generally very reasonably priced into the bargain. They’re more well known among barbers and hairdressing circles, because their trimmers tend to focus on performance over frills, and mostly look very plain and utilitarian.
But that doesn’t mean that you’re not getting a fantastic trimmer for your money. Because you absolutely are.
The model 9870-100 sports a powerful lithium ion battery, which charges in around 90 minutes for a solid 90 minutes of shaving time. The adapter is travel friendly, working with voltages all round the world without having to buy a voltage adapter, so it’s perfect for business trips and other journeys abroad.
The blades are also excellent; Wahl’s self-sharpening precision steel blades that cut even the thickest hairs easily, keep themselves freely maintained, and can be removed for much simpler cleaning.
From the box, the kit is very comprehensive. You’re basically getting the full barber’s kit here, with 12 variable length guide combs that run from 1/32 of an inch, up to 3/8ths for longer, more luxurious beards. You also receive an adjustable guide comb for easy length changing, an ear and nose trimming attachment, and a carry case.
And finally, the vacuum. It’s as good as you’d expect it to be, considering the rest on offer. The suction is fully adjustable, and captures up to 99% of hair per pass.
ConairMAN Rechargeable Hair and Beard Trimmer
By far the most budget friendly model on the list, this trimmer by Conair is a simple and easy to use option that’s still worth your attention, especially considering it’s one of the cheapest vacuum trimmers we’ve ever seen.
Conair makes grooming tools, including other electrics like hairdriers, lighted mirrors, toothbrushes, and more. All of their lines that we’ve seen a similar to this, decently made, no frills, no flail, just solid performance at a good price.
Despite being the cheapest option on the list, it’s equipped with a good set of chemically etched steel blades, and a powerful lithium battery that lasts around 60 minutes from one full charge.
It comes with a guide comb and styling shears in the box, and the trimmer itself has 39 different style settings, with 20 lengths from 1 to 20mm. (1/32 to 25/32 of an inch.)
One slightly downside that’s been reported is that it might struggle to cut especially thick or dense hair, so if you’re equipped with a lumberjack beard, you might need something with a big more grunt. But for general trimming, this performs admirably, and at less than half the price of most of the list, if you’re in the market for a budget trimmer, you could do far worse.
Philips Norelco Multigroom
Another option from Philips, the Multigroom series are a shaving staple, and the addition of a hair vacuum basically gives it everything a man might ever need to keep his face in check.
Equipped with Philips’ self sharpening steel blades, it cuts evenly and well. It would have been nice to see a guard with slightly less flex, but that’s something that’s easily worked around. Lengths run from 0.5 to 10mm (1/64 of an inch to 12/32 of an inch,) all easily adjustable using the built-in dial wheel.
The battery is excellent, as you’d probably imagine. It delivers 80 minutes of cordless use from a single hour’s charge, the best on this list. It can also be used while charging, just in case you run into an emergency dead battery.
Finally, we love the vacuum on this thing. It’s powerful and efficient, capturing most of the hair on each pass, and also helping to raise the hair as you trim, guiding it into the blades. When you’re done, empty the hair chamber, rinse the blades, and you’re good to go. Simple, easy, effective. And all this for a very reasonable price for such a well known name.
Remington MB6850
Anyone who knows electric trimmers knows Remington. They’re probably one of, if not the most famous name in the industry. Every single one of their products tends to work well, and most, like this one is, are available at a surprisingly budget price point.
The MB6850 is a full sized trimmer with an adaptive length guide as well as a vacuum function. It’s essentially a once stop shop for beard control and personal grooming, with no extra attachments or other necessities.
The vacuum itself is very simple, collecting up to 95% of total hairs and storing them in an easily accessible chamber that removes entirely, which makes clean up as simple as possible.
The Remington blades are self-sharpening stainless steel, powerful, and removable for easy cleaning. They’re powered by a cordless lithium battery that gives you up to 90 minutes of shaving time from a full charge.
It also comes with a detail guard, that can be snapped in place for the difficult areas around the nose and ears. Unfortunately, there are a couple of design flaws that we’d like to see changed. They’re not terrible, but annoying enough that they’ve earned this trimmer its place at the bottom of our list.
Firstly, the trimming guard is slightly flimsy. When you’re pressing the shaver against your face, there’s palpable flex in the plastic, and it can result in an uneven shave. Also, the comb lock button to change length is on the back of the trimmer, and it’s surprisingly easy to catch it while shaving normally.
Apart from these two small issues, the Remington MB6850 is still a good trimmer. It vacuums well, and the blades are fantastic. But we’d still lean towards our top 3 choices first.
Our Vacuum Beard Trimmer Buyer’s Guide
Not all trimmers are designed the same, and they can vary a whole lot between different manufacturers and brands. Here’s what you should be looking out for when you’re buying a vacuum beard trimmer.
The vacuum itself
The major thing which differentiates a vacuum beard trimmer from other styles and models is, obviously, the vacuum itself.
When you’re comparing vacuums, there are a couple of things to pay close attention to:
- First, how much hair does it pick up? This is generally expressed as a percentage, e.g., up to 95% of hair in one pass. There’s no reason buying a vacuum beard trimmer, only for it not to do what you need it to do.
- Second, how is cleaning handled? Most vacuum beard trimmers will move the cut hair into a dedicated chamber, but is it removable? Do you empty it into a bin directly? How easily is it to clean the trimmer out completely?
- Third, how powerful is the vacuum, and is the power adjustable? Some higher end trimmers have adjustable vacuums or a vacuum boost feature, for thicker and more troublesome areas. If you have a particularly long or thick beard, heavily consider this feature.
The blades
The blades do all of the heavy work on a trimmer, and you should never buy a trimmer that has lower quality blades.
Stainless steel is the standard, both because it holds an edge well so will cut evenly time after time, without pulling hairs or giving you razor burn.
Stainless steel is also hypoallergenic, meaning that it’s not going to react with your skin, especially if you have allergies or other skin issues.
The motor and battery
Most vacuum beard trimmers will have a more powerful motor than usual, because it also has to run the vacuum. So don’t be particularly concerned about motor power.
However, running the vacuum puts extra strain on the battery, so do be concerned about battery life and charging times.
Expect a vacuum trimmer to last a lot less time overall than a non-vacuum trimmer. In our experience, anywhere around an hour is standard.
Extras
When buying your trimmer, see what else comes in the kit. A full suite of extras can save you a lot of time and money in the long run. Common extras might include:
- Travel ready power adapters
- Carry or storage bags
- Guide comb sets
- Cleaning sets
FAQs
Can I wash my vacuum beard trimmer under the faucet?
If you’ve read any of our other reviews on popular trimmers, you might have noticed that a lot of beard trimmers are water resistant or water proof, and so can be taken into the shower or cleaned off under running water.
Unless the vacuum trimmer you buy says that you can do this, do not expose your vacuum beard trimmer to running water. The vacuum section can expose the internals of the trimmer to water, which could cause it to stop working.
Most vacuum beard trimmers instead have a set of removable blades that snap off of the trimmer body and can be rinsed separately.
Can I use my vacuum beard trimmer to cut other hair?
While you can use your new beard trimmer to cut hair other than your beard and moustache, it’s not advised.
The blades on a beard trimmer are specifically designed to cut beard hair, which has a different consistency to the hair on your hair. Beard hairs tend to be thicker individually, but less dense overall, and a beard trimmer isn’t normally equipped to cut a full head of hair.
However, if you’re considering using your beard trimmer to cut your pubic hair, you should be fine, as, strange as it sounds, the hair in your intimate areas is more similar to your beard than the hair on your face.
