Magnetic clippers can usually give you a smoother, more detailed cut than pivot clippers. Magnetic and pivot motors work in a similar way, using springs and magnets to push the clipper blades from side to side.

Rotary motors tend to be the most powerful, using a combination of a circular and back-and-forth motion. Generally, clippers have three types of motors: rotary, pivot, and magnetic. In fact, in talking to Sposito and 13 other experts - including 11 more barbers, a Strategist writer turned pandemic barber, and one food writer who is known to buzz his head himself - they recommended multiple hair clippers that other experts have told us are just as good at trimming beards. If you want one that does it all, look for devices with guards that are long enough to ensure your first pass at haircutting won’t leave your tresses shorter than you’d like. That doesn’t mean you can’t use the same tool to clip hair and trim a beard, though. “The rule of thumb in our industry is you can always go shorter,” says barber Mike Sposito, who explains that most beard trimmers, even used with their longest guards, will still cut too close to the head, leaving little room to “go shorter.” But before you proceed, take heed: Trimmers for your beard and clippers for the hair on your head can’t always be used interchangeably, according to the barbers we spoke with. Your first impulse might be to grab the trimmer you already have for your beard (which you may or may not have repurposed for a DIY pandemic haircut - remember those?). Barbers have told us that the onset of spring - no matter how far away it feels - often inspires men to shed their winter manes and neaten up.

Head hair trimmer for men