The 5 Best Ear Hair Trimmers for Men, Tested by Grooming Editors
Panasonic and Manscaped nabbed the top spots.
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BE HONEST, HOW often do you think about your ear hair? For us, probably not as often as we should. Ear hair is the kind of thing that you don’t notice until you do–and when you notice it, it’s because it’s way long. Ear hair seems to pop up almost overnight and when you look in the mirror and notice a long errant hair (or several) poking out from inside your ear or worse, your lobe, it might not be a recipe for disaster but it’s certainly worth taking care of. No one wants to be That Guy With The Ear Hair.
Best Ear Hair Trimmers
When that time comes–and perhaps it’s here already–your best bet is an ear hair trimmer. Do not, we repeat do not, try to take a pair of scissors or a bare razor to your ears. An ear hair trimmer will safely cut your ear hair while minimizing the risk of cutting yourself which could lead to infection, which is definitely not something you want in or around your ear.
These days, you can even use some ear hair trimmers for way more than your ears. Think of multi-use tools that can cut sideburns, eyebrows, nose hair and more. So whether or not you need to trim your ears right now (it’s never too early to start, truthfully) or you’re just planning for the future, now is the time to pick up an ear hair trimmer. We tested dozens of electric shavers to bring you the very best.
What to Consider
Blade
With most ear hair trimmers, you’ll find a rotary blade encased in a protective tube or cone-shaped housing. This is to protect your skin from the blades and allow hair to pass through to the cut, but prevent the blades from touching (and cutting) your skin. In most cases, these are effective for both nose and ear hair as both areas need to be handled with care and you should never use a bare blade to cut hair in your nose or ears.
Another kind of blade you’ll find, which is also safe, is the side mounted blade on detailers. These blades, in some cases, can cut hair closer to the skin than a rotary blade and can also be used on other areas of your face like your neck, sideburns and eyebrows. Neither is inherently better than the other, and some trimmers will include both, and which you choose depends on your comfort level.
Battery
Basically, you’ll have to choose between rechargeable and disposable batteries. The benefit of a disposable battery is that these trimmers are often smaller than rechargeable versions and they also are completely cordless, so you don’t ever need to worry about hunting for a charging cord. The benefit of rechargeable options, of course, is you don’t have to worry about buying and changing batteries–and many would argue they’re more sustainable. Again, neither of these options is inherently better than the other, but depends on your personal preference.
Attachments
Like beard trimmers, you’ll sometimes find ear hair trimmers that have attachments. This could be different styles of blades–like trimmers that come with both rotary and side mounted blades–and also things like length combs for eyebrows. If you’re going to use it to trim more than just your ear or nose hair, consider if you’ll likely need or want attachments.
How We Selected
Over the past year, we consulted with Men's Health's Grooming editors and writers on the top-performing ear trimmers for men. Experts, including our Grooming Editor Garrett Munce, put a number of body groomers to the test and evaluated their effectiveness, safety, and value.
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