Advice
How to actually do it
Procedures rather than opinions. Each page covers one thing end to end, says which step matters most, and links to the tools it assumes rather than the tools we would like to sell you.
Getting started
First machine, first cut, and the order to buy things in so nothing sits unused in a drawer.
- What to buy first A home haircut often fails on sequence rather than on budget: the clipper arrived, and the cape, the comb and the oil did not. The three that follow the clipper come to $43.
- Clipper, trimmer or shaver — which do you need? The three families overlap in the shop and not in the hand: the blades are ground differently and the guards are shaped for different surfaces.
- What it costs after the purchase Five of the eight shavers here publish a part that is replaced on a schedule — and on two of them the head price is the only figure amazon.com publishes at all.
Technique
Where to start, which direction to work in, and how a length is held from one side of a head to the other.
- Cutting your own hair with clippers A home cut goes wrong in two predictable places: the direction of the pass, and the transition between two guard lengths.
- Holding a stubble at one exact length A stubble is a length, not a look, and holding one depends entirely on how finely the trimmer steps between one and three millimeters — under an eighth of an inch, where most tools have nothing.
- Blow-drying without a fight Most of what makes a blow-dry difficult is not the dryer: it is drying a whole head at once and pointing the air the wrong way.
- Clipper over comb, explained Guards step an eighth of an inch at a time and cannot blend. A comb held out from the head can, for $30 — and not one clipper on this site publishes the taper lever that would replace it.
Maintenance
Oiling, rinsing and brushing out — the steps makers give in their manuals, and in what order.
- Why your clipper pulls A clipper that pulls hair rarely needs replacing, and the first four things to check cost next to nothing.
- Cleaning an electric shaver properly Makers use four different phrases for washability and they do not mean the same thing. The one printed on your own listing decides your routine.
- The filter is the one part of a dryer that needs cleaning A hair dryer often loses its airflow gradually, through a clogged filter that is easy to forget. This is how to clean it.
- Putting a hot tool down Almost every heated styling tool has to be put down while it is still hot. Six of the ones we cover ship a bag or a case; exactly one ships a mat.
Buying
How to spend a budget so the money lands on the blade and the guards rather than on the box around them.
- Reading a listing properly A grooming listing often publishes more adjectives than numbers. These are the numbers to look for, and what their absence tells you.
- The same tool, two prices Some of the products reviewed here publish no price on amazon.com, and they are not spread evenly: all four hair dryers are among them.
- Buying one as a gift A grooming tool is a welcome gift, but three of the categories here are almost impossible to choose for somebody else without one specific piece of information.
Styling
Drying, smoothing and shaping: which attachment does what, and what the manufacturer says about heat.
- The temperature dial, reported not advised Eleven of the twelve straighteners on this site publish a top temperature. Only three of the nine air stylers publish a figure in degrees at all. Here is what that difference means when you are choosing.
- Volume at the roots — which tool Volume is a geometry problem before it is a technique problem. Three shapes address it, they are not interchangeable, and only seven of the ten brushes here publish the figure that tells them apart.
- One tool for both Several products here claim to do both. The useful distinction is whether they share a motor and a body, or simply share a carrying case.
Blades & guards
Which oil, which replacement, which guard fits. And what to check before deciding a clipper is broken.
- Oil, cleaner, spray — three different things Blade oil, blade cleaner and cooling spray are sold side by side and do three different jobs. Using one in place of another leaves the blade without what it needed.
- Which guard leaves what length A guard number is a fraction of an inch: #1 is an eighth, #4 is a half, #8 is one inch. The millimeter figure printed beside it is the same series rounded, and good sets print both.
- When to replace a shaver head Five of the eight shavers here publish a scheduled replacement. Buying the right part is a matter of reading a code — and fitting it has one step most people miss.
Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.