Shaver vs. Trimmer vs. Clipper: What Are the Differences?

Grooming enthusiasts, both old and new, often wonder what the differences are between shavers, trimmers and hair clippers.

Each has its own unique characteristics and precise grooming purposes, learning which would enhance your abilities with hair maintenance.

In this article, I’m going to discuss all three types of the mentioned grooming tools and hold them side by side to find similarities as well as differences.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into today’s debate featuring shaver vs trimmer vs clipper to broaden the horizon of our grooming knowledge!

Types of Shavers Explained

If you think that there are only a few types of shavers on the market, you’d be so wrong! Even generalizing the category poses forth numerous shaver types.

Some shavers have foil elements while others have rotary rings. The foil count varies from one model to the next, same goes for the number of rotary rings.

In addition, you’ll have to acknowledge manual razors as well as flat blade electric shavers. Let me describe the major categories one by one for your convenience.

Foil Shaver

Foil shavers are those with foil cutting elements featured at the head of the device. These foils grab your facial hair and feed them through the gaps for the blades underneath to trim those off.

This category of electric shavers are ideal for close shaves without introducing skin to blade contact. Many devices offer only two foil cutting elements while the number can increase up to five on certain models.

These foils are often infused with different hypoallergenic alloys or the build materials are unique for various skin types.

Here are some of the most prominent foil shavers you could pick from the market:

• Braun Series 9
• Panasonic ARC5
• BaBylissPRO FoilFX02

These aren’t the only foil shavers because the field is very deep and there are options that are friendly for your budget, so everyone’s a winner in general with foil razors.

Rotary Shaver

Rotary electric shavers are built with a completely different approach than foil razors and these two serve different groups of consumers with specific requirements.

Rotary devices generally host three rings made with skin-friendly foils and demand a circular animation to effectively perform the shaving operations.

Due to the skin comfort elements and design, men with sensitive skin often resort to this type of shaving device while compromising a certain degree of closeness.

Let’s check out the prominent rotary shaver models you could potentially look into:

• Philips Norelco Shaver 7200
• Philips Norelco Shaver 5400
• Philips Norelco Shaver 3800/3900

These three devices are spreaded across the price ranges, from luxurious models to the more affordable ones.

Manual Razor

I don’t think I’ll have to stress much about manual razors and their differences with an automatic electric shaver.

The reasons manual razors are so popular among groomers are mostly its availability, affordability, closeness and convenience.

But on the other hand, you’re risking your skin to accidental cuts, tugs, ingrown hair or post-shave irritation which cannot be mitigated for most cases.

There are different brands of manual razors on the market, Gillette being the biggest sport worldwide.

Otherwise, the following categories of manual razors are often being purchased frequently by groomers:

• One-time Razor
• Cartridge Razor
• Straight Razor
• Safety Razor

One time razors are those you throw away after a couple of shaves and aren’t very pleasant to use. Cartridge razors allow you to retain the handle while replacing only the blade.

Straight razors are basically those you see at a barber shop. Safety razors are those old-school tools that people use by replacing the stainless steel blade and it’s quite risky to begin with.

Multipurpose Shaver

The category of multipurpose shavers include everything from a flat blade electric shaver to the body grooming foil devices.

These tools tend to work as versatile instruments that take care of more than one of your grooming needs.

For instance, the OneBlade from Norelco can shave your beard in both wet and dry modes, take care of your body hair and even trim the pubes.

Although there are health concerns to use the same blade at different parts of your body, there’s always the option to keep a separate blade for your facial region only.

The most prominent multipurpose grooming tools are listed hereafter:

• Philips Norelco OneBlade (Face+Body)
• Philips Norelco OneBlade 360 Pro
• Philips Multigroom 7000 Series

These three belong to diverse price categories and serve more than one grooming duties, so those who are looking into a singular device, can definitely check these out!

Head Shaver

Head shaving is a very common phenomena for men with balding hair or receding hairline. A dedicated device always serves better than regular shaving tools.

Certain head shavers are meant to be used on the scalp to trim through thicker hair texture and reduce irritation or redness caused by the shaving actions.

These devices are generally built upon the technology of rotary shavers and adapt to the scalp’s contours better than any other shaving device.

Commonly, head shavers contain between 3-5 rotary rings so that there’s more cutting action without involving direct skin contact with the blades.

Let’s take a look at some of the most prominent head shavers grooming enthusiasts usually prefer:

• Skull Shaver Pitbull Series
• Remington Balder Pro
• FlexSeries Electric Head Shaver

Most devices of this category are capable of performing in both wet and dry conditions, so that your scalp receives the most comforting treatment.

Types of Trimmers to Choose From

A hair trimmer is basically the device that trims your hair instead of removing it in bulk. It’s meant for more precise grooming jobs including intricate design and similar aspects.

You might think that a trimmer suggests only one type of grooming device, but in reality – there are quite a few categories to pick from.

For instance, the zero-overlapped hair trimmers serve outlining or basic trimming duties, whereas beard trimmers might not extend the courtesy of edge up tasks.

In addition, body hair, pubic, or ball trimmers belong to a category which is completely of their own and cannot be mixed with hair or beard trimmers.

I’m going to showcase a few different types of trimmers to help you understand their differences from one another:

• Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0
• Amuliss Trimmer
• Philips Norelco Bodygroom 7000

These trimmers are capable of entirely different grooming jobs and therefore their unique characteristics draw interest from a diverse group of consumers.

What is a Clipper?

You might already know, a hair clipper is a type of heavy-duty device which clips your hair in bulks down to a specific cutting length.

This also lets you stylize the hair body into the popular hair designs like fade or buzz, but the quality and efficiency of the cuts largely depend on the device itself.

There are various types of hair clippers, the most categorization would be between the corded and cordless models.

While the corded hair clippers offer relentless power and maximum motor speed for heavy-duty cuts, cordless devices are easier to maneuver around, therefore more flexibility for a designer’s cut.

Following are some of the most popular hair clippers on the market that provide great support for a hair grooming cause:

• Wahl Magic Clip
• Oster Classic 76
• Fadeking Professional Clipper

Hair clippers tend to have a personality and each device is special in this sense. You have got used to a clipper after using it for months or even years to truly realize its essence and real potential.

Shaver vs. Trimmer vs. Clipper: Which Should You Choose?

Here you’ll find the basic differences in this trimmer vs clipper vs shaver argument side by side. This should enhance your basic understanding and magnify that up to a comparative scale.

Now that you’ve briefly identified the points of difference between the three grooming instrument categories, let me elaborate on a few to solidify our argument!

Primary Function Differences

Shavers are basically devices for removing your facial hair from the very root. These tools offer enhanced features to protect the skin from harsh cutting actions (for electric razors).

There are advanced features to regulate motor power based on hair coarseness and texture. Most tools can shave in wet conditions and the luxury devices come with an automatic cleaning station.

Trimmers cater to facial hair for effective styling, shaping and outlining. In addition, you can craft creative designs on your shorter hair with such instruments.

Most trimmers don’t contain adjustment levers, the options are to exchange the blade or attach a guide comb for cutting type alteration.

Hair clippers are more robust in their operation with prime focus fixated at the hair body. This type of grooming tools are meant for bulk hair removal and can chop through hair of any length or density.

Of course the capabilities vary from model to model, but the essence is common for most parts. To draw out particular hairstyles, you’d find the most refined results with a hair clipper.

Some hair clippers allow you to trim your beard and these are often faster than trimmers. But the precision is compromised to a certain extent in this regard and you’d feel comfortable performing broader tasks using such instruments.

Types of Blades

Manual razors offer a wide array of blade types, from single stainless steel blades to cartridges containing 3-5 mini blades.

Electric shavers on the other hand host singular flat blades, multiple blades beneath the foil or between 20-50 blades under the rotary rings.

In general, the stubble of your face is passed through the vents between foils or rotary elements of the device to avoid direct skin contact.

Trimmer blades are external and meant to be used directly without anything blocking the path between hair and blade.

These blades are generally very fine and narrow for precision in the grooming operations. Some trimmers contain blades built with skin-friendly materials, but most don’t follow this path.

Hair clippers feature the heaviest of blades among the three comparing categories. These blades are sharp and have the ability to injure the skin if not carefully utilized.

Due to such a heavy-duty build, you’re able to use these tools on the widest spectrum of hair categories and sketch out the hairdo of your desire!

Versatility

In my opinion, electric shavers are the least versatile between the shaver vs clipper vs trimmer debate.

Because these devices are generally used on facial skin and secondarily, for bald head maintenance.

Otherwise, certain shaving devices allow you to shave the neck region but anything more simply would be equivalent to pushing the boundaries.

Trimmers are probably the most versatile since these tools can be used to trim or maintain a beard, outline or stylize hair and even further.

Certain trimmers will shave your butt hair, clean the pubes, remove body hair and perform almost any type of bodily hair.

Hair clippers also have limited features since most are restricted to the head region with their prowess.

While clippers can craft out countless haircuts, at other parts of the body the usage becomes very limited.

Only other aspect that can benefit from a hair clipper would be the beard, that too solely for trimming down to a certain length.

Which One to Choose?

You may choose a shaver mostly for a clean, hairless result on your face. These tools offer the closest outcomes from the three.

Trimmers would be second in rank if you measure with cutting closeness. Pick one if your major focus is your beard trimming, lining up and creating designs on short hair.

Don’t expect a trimmer to deliver close and neat looks the way an electric razor does. Also, most trimmers aren’t waterproof, so there’s another maintenance hazard for you.

Lastly, go for a hair clipper if your priority is to land different haircuts and the area of your grooming interest is mostly surrounding the hair body.

Electric shavers are probably the priciest of the three, then clippers are priced second highest and trimmers being the relatively cheaper ones.

There are tons of expensive or affordable models based on brand or features, but for a good product, the price sequence is mostly what I mentioned just now.

Recommended Brands

It’s very difficult to sum up the prominent brands for shavers, trimmers or clippers, but let me try to surmise something to aid you in this venture.

For shavers, both electric and manual, the most prominent brands include Gillette, Braun, Panasonic, Philips, BaByliss and Remington.

There are tons of other brands who make shaving units, but these mentioned companies are leading in technology and sales in the present era.

As per head shavers go, Skull Shaver and Remington are the two standout brands, while Microtouch and Freebird are definitely progressing rapidly.

If you’re looking for brands that are currently rising in popularity, Manscaped, TPOB and T-MAX are the three recommendations I can make.

In the same manner, I have to give a shoutout to Ufree and Amuliss as the two upcoming brands who have won over many groomer’s hearts already.

Otherwise, brands like BaByliss, Andis, Fadeking, Gemma, Philips are the noteworthy brands who develop serious trimmers for regular use.

Hair clipper industry is more of a traditional area of grooming and therefore the revered brands are those with a long history.

For example, Wahl, Oster, Andis, BaByliss, Remington etc. are the top dogs in the world of clippers and consumers rarely have to stray from these mentioned brands.

Final Thoughts

This brings us to the very end of our debate on shaver vs trimmer vs clipper. There’s really very little basis to compare between these three, but it’s done so that you can understand the essential differences.

Probably the most common factor between a shaver, trimmer and a clipper is the fact that these tools are used for your grooming needs.

Otherwise, shavers are mostly restricted to your face, trimmers explore a larger region between hair down to the body parts and a clipper specializes on the hair body.

Upon learning the core differences and about the different products as well as brands, you can now venture further into the grooming world to find a fitting device to treat your hairy parts in the best possible manner!