I would like to buy a professional quality beard trimmer/shaver.  I
would like to find the type that is used by a barber, and ideally, I
would be able to buy replacement blades from the manufacturer.  I have
looked online and found shavers for less than $50 and I have purchased
some of these, but I am looking for something much higher in quality
(and most likely, in price).

Thanks.

Hello sutay-ga,

Having worked in Beauty/Barber supply, you hear these types of
questions even from the professionals. Which one is the best for my
$$$? Which one will take the most abuse and last the longest?  I am
going to clear that up for you.

First thing first, price does not really make a difference in quality.
Spending between $40.00 and $70.00 USD should get you a good
?professional? trimmer. Between $30.00 and $50.00 should get you a
good ?personal? trimmer.

There are two brands I recommend, and they are Wahl and Andis. Here
are some trimmers by each of them that would be good for you. I would
advise you to stay away from Oster as a company. We had more
malfunctions and returns told/done to us by our customers from them
than any other company. I have personally had two hair clippers by
them burn out on me in under a year.

http://www.wahlpro.com/personaltrimmer.html

The Wahl personal trimmer would be a good one for personal use. It is
cordless, and battery operated, so with a good set of rechargeable
batteries, you would be set. It also has a adjusting guide for
trimming for 1/8 to 5/8?. It is well balanced, with a larger grip for
a man?s hands for control. This sells for approx. $55.00 USD.

http://www.wahlpro.com/groomingtrio.html

The Grooming trio has everything you would need for at home facial
care. A small trimmer for close areas, a beard trimmer, and a nose/ear
hair remover. It?s once again battery operated, with a storage pouch.
The beard trimmer has an adjustable 5-position guide as well.

http://www.wahlpro.com/neo.html

The rechargeable trimmer is lightweight, and has cutting guides for up
to ½? trimming. If you use the trimmer daily, this may be better for
you than a battery operated trimmer that loses power as the batteries
die over time.

http://www.andis.com/Standard/productdetailsBBNF.cfm

The Andis shave and trim kit was always my best seller to professional
barbers/stylists. It runs cool, extending the life of the motor, trims
the best (according to customers) getting the closest because of the
fine teeth on the blade. The suggested price ranges from $55.00 -
$70.00 USD. Replacement blades are easily available thru the company.


Here are a few others that have good reviews as well.

http://www.thetwistergroup.com/store/customer/product.php?productid=ER203K%20C00400&source=dt

http://www.shavers.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=E&Product_Code=wtrimvac&Product_Count=&Category_Code=

http://store.yahoo.com/lowestdollar1/pc4459.html

All of the three above are good products as well, just not
?professional? brand. That does not mean the quality is not as good,
just means they were designed with less use in mind than a barber?s
trimmer, which could get used 5 hours a day.

I did not do a Google search to find this, since I already had a good
idea of where to go. You could do a search for

Andis Trimmers
Wahl Trimmers
Beard trimmers

In Google to find out more about their products.



If this answer requires further explanation, please request 
clarification before rating it, and I'll be happy to look 
into this further.

Nenna-GA
Google Answers Researcher

---

Request for Answer Clarification by sutay-ga on 30 Dec 2004 07:30 PST

Quick question - if money were no object (which of course it is!), is
there a brand out there that is considered the creme de la creme? 
Also, what do you know about Remington?

---

Clarification of Answer by nenna-ga on 30 Dec 2004 15:51 PST

Hello again,

Basically, I would say Wahl or Andis. Wahl is better with replacements
and warranty, where Andis is just a bit better product where you do
not have to worry about those things. Those two and Oster are the
"top" brands for professionals, but I already gave you my opinion on
Oster :)

It is a toss up on which is personally more important to you with
those two brands. Are you worried about getting a good one and
replacing it sooner with ease, or getting a good one and not worrying
so much about replacing it -  but if you have to, having a bit of a
harder "hassle" to get it done.

Remington is designed more for the home consumer, than geared toward
professional grade. I have found their products are good, but wear out
much quicker than either of the other (two brands I mentioned)
professional implements would. You want a longer life out of one, buy
professional grade implements; they are designed for "hard" use.
Therefore, for the home consumer, they last much longer.

The best advice I can give you is make sure it is a trimmer for
"professional use" as opposed to "home use.? The quality is much
higher. If you have trouble locating a outlet that will sell you a
professional trimmer without a Cosmetology/Barber license, you can
always ask your stylist to go to a Supply Store (Peels, National Salon
Resource, etc) to buy you one. They may charge you more than list
price, but it is worth it to get the professional model.

I hope this helps clear some things up. I am glad I could help you once again

Nenna-GA
Google Answers Researcher

Excellent response!!  The researcher even provided more information
when I asked for clarification.  Very, very informative and exactly
what I was looking for!

Get a Remington Hair trimmer - definitely mains powered

Do not buy a 'rechargeable beard trimmer' 
- I got rooked on that - at least twice

Basically, don't buy a beard trimmer