The Best Clipper Guards of 2024

Shopping for the Best Clipper Guards

Can you think of a single haircut where your barber didn’t use clippers? Clippers have become essential for men's haircuts and beard grooming sessions. The secret ingredient behind all those precise fades and sharp styles isn’t just your barber’s skill, but also clipper guards.

These accessories allow stylists to cut your hair in accurately measured lengths. Switching them out for a different size for each new layer of the fade lets them create seamless gradients, which simply wouldn’t be possible without a clipper guide attached to their machine. If you’re planning to purchase a set to serve your customers better, or to start giving yourself DIY haircuts at home, here’s every purchase consideration you need to keep in mind.

Compatibility

Firstly, consider the brand and compatibility of the clipper guides you’re considering purchasing. Not all guards are meant to fit your particular trimmer model. For example, if you’ve got a Wahl full-size hair clipper, you need guards from either the Wahl brand, or a third-party manufacturer that creates Wahl-compatible guards.

Similarly, certain clipper guards are exclusively designed for Andis clipper models and probably won’t fit your Wahl trimmer.

Brand

These guards can be from Wahl and Andis as native clipper attachments. Ideally, you should get attachments for your clipper from the company that made it (which would usually be Wahl and Andis) as those guards are always high-quality, durable, precise, and easy to install. But, with that said, they’re also relatively expensive.

If you don’t want to pay the big bucks for these premium guides, you can also purchase them from brands like Lavest, Miaco, and CR8GR8 to get the job done for a fraction of the price. All sets clearly state which clipper models they fit, so pay attention to the specifications before adding it to your cart.

Size

The size of the guides in your new set is a key consideration for barbers and stylists. It mostly depends on the type of customers you get in your shop and the haircuts they demand. As an example, for customers who mostly want a number one or two fade, you need a precise set of guides which includes a dedicated guard for ⅛ and ²⁄₈-inch hair lengths.

Did you know that the comb numbering system that’s currently used in the industry was created by Wahl? It entails the following sizes:

Guard Comb Number#1#2#3#4#5#6#8#10#12
Size in Inches¹⁄₁₆¼½¾11 – 1 ¼1 – 1 ½

When you’re in the market for a set of clipper guards for your shop, pick one that includes your most-used clipper lengths depending on the type of haircuts you usually do for your customers.

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