Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

We independently evaluate all of our recommendations. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more here.

I Tried the Braun Series 9 Pro Beard Trimmer So You Don’t Have to Gamble on Amazon Clippers

Who knew I’d be so happy to have whirling blades held against my face every morning.

By Matt Jancer | Reviewed by Ysolt Usigan

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

I suppose I have KLM and a far-off airport to thank for my new Braun Series 9 Pro beard trimmer. I wouldn’t have bought it if KLM hadn’t lost my checked duffel bag for five days in Europe as I paced around a hotel room 4,000 miles away in Tanzania. And not if, when I was reunited with the duffel later that week, I noticed a few things were missing.

My trusty Braun Series 9 beard trimmer was gone. I’d had it for about three years at that point, and I loved it. You see, I’ve had a beard in one form or another since I had a one tacked onto the front of my age. Although it’s grown a bit longer in the years since I was dipping into and out of college classes, by now I know how to recognize and appreciate a good beard trimmer when I meet one. I hope the son of a bitch who stole it is putting it to good use, at least. He’d better be the best damn looking bearded employee at that airport.

When I got home to New York a few weeks later, I put in an order for a Braun Series 9 Pro. Through a quirk of Amazon’s sales, it was cheaper than the already excellent non-Pro version I’d owned before. A cheaper upgrade? Why not. When my editor asked me to write a review, I didn’t hesitate. I love this thing.

TL;DR – My Quick Verdict

The Braun Series 9 Pro beard trimmer is the best all-in-one trimmer I’ve used in the 20 years I’ve been willingly growing stuff out of my face. I’ve tried tons of brands and models of electric beard trimmer over the years and used them on my face and body, and most fail the test. They’re either so weak that I have to make repeated passes over the same part of my face or their jagged edges cut up my body. Sometimes both.

The Pro even narrowly beats out the non-Pro Series 9 I’d used for the past three years. Maybe you won’t use the extra power mode or the smaller adjustment increments. Or maybe you’ll end up like me and only think you won’t, right up until you have it in your hand and find yourself peering into the mirror at the best version of your beard that you’ve ever seen.

Series 9 Pro Beard Trimmer (opens in a new window)

I haven’t had a clean-shaven face in 20 years. That doesn’t mean I’m a caveman, or the caveman’s 21st-century progeny, the neckbeard. Every morning after my shower I trim the edges of my mustache/beard combo to keep it tidily shaped, and every few days I set the trimmer guides to a particular length to keep it from looking scraggly.

So I tested the Braun Series 9 Pro beard trimmer in the same way I’d subject any old beard trimmer to on any regular day of my life. For this Series 9 Pro was my own. I’d purchased it and used it daily for a little over two months before I even had the inkling to write a review of it. Judging from the sheer amount of beard shrapnel I’ve cleaned up over the past couple of months, I’ve given it one hell of a test drive.

More Than Just for Beards

Perhaps I should stop calling it a beard trimmer. Braun calls it an “all-in-one beard and body grooming kit,” and as much as I recoil and chuckle when it comes to marketing-speak, I have to agree with them that it’s more accurate than calling it a beard trimmer.

Sure, I use it for my beard. But it works well for… other parts of the body,........

© Vice