This Multi-Purpose Foil Shaver Doubles as an At-Home Barber

I’m quite proud of my beard. I rarely shave it off completely as I’m so in love with it. I also hate how I look when I shave it all off, but for the sake of experimentation, I’m willing to make the sacrifice. Sort of. I tested out the Manscaped Chairman Pro shaver for two weeks, and while I tried as hard as possible to retain my facial fuzz, I found myself enjoying it so much that it’s now replaced my Philips Series 9000 trimmer for detailing and stubble management.

I’ve tested a few of Manscaped’s wacky roster of trimming tools, from the Beard Hedger to the LawnMower 5.0 body hair trimmer, and find the brand has a number of quality options for most men’s grooming concerns. The Chairman Pro is a bulky unit designed for skin-safe shaving and, through my testing, I’ve got very few complaints.

To get the gripes out of the way first, the Chairman Pro is a pretty chunky boy. It feels more like a retro microphone than a lithe shaver, and that could turn off a few people. It’s fully waterproof, so usable in the shower or by the sink, but I felt the bulk and weight make it a bit of a chore to use freely. The reason for its size is twofold: firstly, the four-blade foil strip is thicker and longer than many other shavers I’ve used, including Braun’s huge Series 9 Pro. This is excellent, though, for the overall speed of shaving, as you get more coverage to slice through unwanted stubble in rapid time.

The foil head is articulated, flexing and bending slightly to accommodate your jaw’s ridges. I enjoyed the range of motion you can achieve here, as it allowed me to be a bit cavalier once I got comfortable with the device, slicing along my cheeks and neckline without having to consider the points of my chin or beneath my ears. If you’d prefer a more rigid shave, you can lock the head into place and take a more considered approach. In that regard, it’s one of the fastest and most comfortable shavers I’ve tested.

Blessedly, I suffered through no irritation or nicked skin throughout testing, which should quell any skin-safe fears you may have of its blades, and it also hides a pop-up beard trimmer to cut down longer sections of your beard along your cheek or underneath your neck to get that perfect edge.

The second reason for its considerable girth is the battery. As with all Manscaped products, its USB-C recharging port is an absolute blessing for anyone who travels. You can pop it into your laptop charger or, if you have one of Apple or Samsung’s fancy new smartphones, you can use the same charging cable to top it up. You’re always aware of the charge available thanks to the LCD screen that gives the percentage remaining, though in my test, this didn’t seem incredibly accurate, as the battery amount fluctuated fairly wildly between uses.