We also test the strength and cutting capabilities of each trimmer by cutting dense brush bristles (both soft and tough ones). Hair clippers have bigger blades, and trimmers smaller ones to allow them to cut closer to the skin.

There's nothing worse than needing to freshen up to find your trimmer is out of juice. We charge each trimmer, from empty, for five minutes and time how long it runs for. Cleaning and lubricating your beard trimmer from time to time will help to prevent the blades rusting, and keep it working at its best for longer.

Use your free hand to make your skin tauter. Place it below the area you're trimming and gently pull your skin away from the trimmer. This provides a steady support and makes it easier to trim looser areas, such as under your jaw and your cheeks. Most beard trimmers are accurate, but consistency varies. On average, most cut within 0.5mm of the chosen setting. The best beard trimmers cut almost all the bristles in our 'quality of trim' test to the same length, while the worst ones there were a mix between under and overcut bristles. Nose and ear hair trimmer A cylindrical attachment that can more easily fit in your nostrils and ears to trim this hair. Slowly insert the trimmer – you don't need to force the head into your nose. The grinding noise you hear will tell you the trimmer is removing hairs. We trim them to short, medium and long lengths, measuring a sample of the cut bristles to get a detailed picture of how accurate and precise each trimmer cuts. Our testers rate each trimmer for how it trims their facial hair, how smooth and easy to manoeuvre each trimmer is on the moustache, side of their face and on the chin, and if they irritate the skin.

Hair/body hair combs Combs that usually cut to a longer length, designed for clipping the hair on your head or other parts of the body. What makes this trimmer stand out for us, though, is the floating, flexible head, which allows the trimmer to follow the contours of your face, a bit like how electric shaver heads generally do. This didn’t necessarily speed up the trim by much, but it did make it feel a little more comfortable. And you can call us shallow if you want, but the rose gold detailing really looks the biz too. Some trimmers have stronger blades. These could glide through soft and hard bristles in our 'quality of trim' test. Others couldn't cut the hard, dense bristles.The worst beard trimmers take several passes to cut beards evenly, struggle to trim tougher, denser hair and can irritate the skin. Battery life The main unit comes with two hair cutting guards – 1-10mm for short hair and 11-20mm for longer hair – and the cutting length can then be adjusted in tiny increments by using the built-in dial. This is a fantastically useful multi-functional tool that powered through beard hair without any problem and was an absolute dream to hold. We loved the sleek design and the matt finish, and it really feels like it’s been built to last. So if how a gadget looks and feels is as important to you as how well it performs, this is the grooming tool for you. Having said that, all of the models featured here let you remove the comb to gain access to the blade itself for a close trim (usually closer than the listed minimum trimming length). However, not all models are waterproof so with these, you will likely need to remove the comb and then use the supplied brush to clean the trimmer. Most, but not all trimmers require you to oil their blades from time to time. If this is the case, the trimmer will come with the appropriate oil in the box. How about battery life? Detail or edge trimmer A smaller trimmer head to make finishing touches. You can use it to neaten up beard lines, trim sideburns, a goatee or your moustache. We also use a Cambridge Simulation glove, which allows the wearer to empathise with those who have hand mobility issues such as arthritis, to assess each trimmer.