6 best hair clippers to consider this year, according to experts
The buzz cut became a popular haircut during quarantine — and clippers are a tool that can help chop off lots of locks quickly.
Davis favors these top-rated clippers from well-known hair care company Remington, calling it “amongst the best options if you want to cut your own hair really quick.” She highlighted that the included vacuum on the model helps avoid cleaning around after trimming away. The clippers are a part of a kit that features tapering combs, barber scissors and blade oil. “All the combs have length marks on them for easier navigation,” Davis added.
Waldman recommended Wahl’s Lithium Pro Complete Cordless Clippers and this kit includes the model along with a detail trimmer and 12 guide combs that are designed for a smoother haircut. The clippers have a two-hour run time on a full charge and feature an indicator light so you know when to plug it in for a charge. The trimmer is meant for cleaning necklines, sideburns and around the ears, the company says. It comes with a storage case as well.
Another one of Butler’s picks, this 16-piece kit is similar to the Remington model that Davis recommended. It features what the brand describes as a vacuum system, which captures cut hair, and a removable hair chamber to clean out strands. “This is an affordable option that gives you everything you need in a simple kit,” Butler said. It could be useful for an undercut as it comes with “a pair of scissors if you need to maintain a longer look on top of your head,” Butler added. It has an average 4.4-star rating over more than 5,000 reviews on Amazon.
While Waldman didn’t specifically recommend this clipper, he did say that Wahl, Oster and Conair are among those that “make effective and dependable clippers.” This Conair clipper is a popular pick on Amazon, earning an average 4.4-star rating over more than 1,700 reviews. It’s part of a 22-piece kit that includes 10 comb attachments for different lengths, barber scissors, cleaning brush and even a cape. As for the clippers themselves, they come in chrome finish, have an hour-long run time and can be used with (through a rechargeable battery) or without a cord.
With Waldman’s suggestions for clipper brands, we found this clipper that’s highly rated among Amazon shoppers. Notably, the clipper features what the company calls a Whisper Quiet pivot motor to keep the noise down while in use. It comes with guide combs attachments, a cleaning brush and 8-foot long cord. You can choose between colors like Burgundy and Purple for this model. The clipper boasts an average 4.5-star rating over more than 5,200 reviews on Amazon.
“When looking at the various choices for clippers, you have many options,” Butler said. So, to make your search easier, we asked the experts what useful features to look out for before buying a clipper.
The following are among the easiest cuts you can carry out at home with clippers, according to experts.
Butler suggested a quick shampoo and towel drying your hair before cutting with a clipper — to get rid of any product, dirt or oil that has been building up — making sure that your hair is completely dry so it can feed into the clipper’s blade easily. Similarly, Waldman recommended saturating a towel with warm water — like how a barber uses a steam cloth before a facial shave — wringing it out, placing it over hair for about 90 seconds and using a dry towel to pull out any moisture left before cutting. “The moist heat will soften the hair making it easier to cut,” he added. But Butler also mentioned that wet hair can clump together and contribute to “inconsistent lengths when cutting” while dry hair leaves a smoother finish. You could also consider adding an oil to your hair before using a clipper. “A weightless oil smoothed over the hair will add lubrication and allow the clipper to effortlessly and comfortably glide through the hair as well,” according to Waldman.
When cutting hair that’s more than 3 inches, Butler favors chopping the length down in stages since a clipper can be “a powerful tool that cuts quickly” and “works best when the hair is able to glide into the blade easily.” So a longer length can bunch up and make it more difficult to know where you need to cut, he added. “If your length is longer, you can ‘precut’ to remove some of the bulk by attaching a longer attachment on the end of your clipper first,” Butler explained. “After you have taken a pass over the entire head, I would then use a shorter attachment to take your length lower.”
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