Best Foil Shaver For Barbers: 7 Premier Devices Made For Professionals

Are you a professional groomer and looking for the best foil shaver for barbers? You aren’t certain whether the shaver lives up to the marketing descriptions in reality?

Then take it from me since I’ve switched around many foil shavers in my barber shop to isolate the ones I’d keep on using from the ones I’d never touch again.

This list is the child of my long-term investment that I frequently keep on updating whenever I feel I’ve discovered another great shaver that a barber will benefit from greatly.

The 7 foil shavers I’ve described have all been passed around in my shop, utilized by my other employees and have received positive response from the customers.

I included shavers from all price ranges with grand performance so that you can select one that meets your every criteria and turn your barber shop the most happening place in town!]

Foil Shaver For Barbers Comparison Chart

What’s Special About Barber Foil Shavers?

Let me tell you what I’ve learned from all these years of being a barber and the reasons I invested my hard-earned money into quite pricey shavers that aren’t just regular devices I picked up from the market.

Diverse Capabilities

Not every foil shaver can perform all the diverse and versatile tasks that are demanded from a barber. If you have a generic shaver in your stock, you’ll find yourself challenged with every customer you work on since it’s not allowing you to get past the technical limitations.

The best foil shaver for barbers aren’t liabilities, rather they can do so much in one device that you’ll be able to go above and beyond. Be that:

• Shaving in both wet and dry
• Popping up the built-in trimmer to draw the lines, or
• Finding firm grip in the most difficult angle

A good barber shaver can aid you in all of these regards where regular shavers fail.

Time-Efficiency

Time is of essence when you’re working in your store day and night. You’ll have customers waiting to be treated by you, and the longer you’ll take to finish your previous client is the more dissatisfying for the next.

At the same time, your client will want the best, cozy treatment you can provide them with, and rushing is not the way to go about it. Great barber shavers cut down on your shaving time as you can clean their beard out with fewer passes and put it in the dock for automatic maintenance.

Reach Customer Satisfaction

While pondering over technical features or motor-power, we often fail to address one thing – that is the satisfaction of the customer. Offering them the most neat shave with utmost care and causing no sort of irritation are things that your customer demands that only a handful of foil shavers can yield.

Premium Foil Shavers For Barbers

The 7 top-notch devices I included in my list are some of the best foil shavers for barbers in the current market. They’re spread across every price point, so don’t hesitate to go through all of them to find out your ideal match!

Braun Electric Razor for Men, Series 9, 9370cc

Get Braun Series 9, 9370cc at Amazon

Braun’s Series 9 is an ideal choice for barbers all across the world. As a professional groomer myself, this device has been the most convenient and frequent shaver I’ve pulled out to perform on my customers. From the build quality to the top-notch outcome, there’s absolutely no room for any complaint – be that thin beard or the coarsest one you’ll have to trim through as Braun will get everything done swiftly!

5 Elements Remove Hair With One Stroke

Braun’s technology in their shaver is what impresses me the most. The way 2 foils are aligned on either side makes it redundant to increase the number of blades. Thus, I can remove the beard with fewer passes as the foils efficiently feed the blades perfectly. It’s so effortless that you can even get away with shaving using vaseline instead of a bunch of products that can harm your customers’ skin or cause irritation.

Top-Level Comfort To Skin & Follows Contour

The cutting elements or the trimmers in the middle are very gentle on the skin. These are placed so perfectly that I’ve never had any customer complain to me about discomfort or post-shave rashes. No matter how bumpy their skin might be, the tilting head always adjusts and calibrates automatically to follow the contour and fewer passes are enough to remove hair from even the neck areas!

Wet-Dry Capable With A Maintenance Dock

To be regarded as the best foil shaver for barbers, your razor must be able to perform in both conditions should your client have a preference. Wet shaving is actually made easy with this shaver due to the maintenance dock that it comes with. I can effortlessly clean out my shaver simply by placing it in the dock that automatically charges it to keep my work flawless even on the busiest of days!

What Could Be Improved?

Although it’s almost the perfect device, the only thing I’ll probably complain about is the placement of the travel-lock button. It’s placed right at the thumb placement part of the ergonomics that has the risk of triggering it mid-shave. I’ve never caused such an issue during my time, probably because of my experience with the device but this is something you should keep in mind while using it.

Overall Assessment

If you decide to buy this shaver, my opinion is that this is the best $240 you can spend for a professional grade shaver. It runs for almost an hour with a full charge, shaves efficiently, cleaning is not a problem and has a firm grip. It’s recommended by GQ for a reason, and as a barber myself, I can say that I literally wouldn’t be where I am now if I didn’t have this shaver in my stock.

BabylissPRO Barberology GOLDFX FoilFX 02

Get BabylissPRO Barberology GOLDFX FoilFX 02 at Amazon

If you’re someone like me who appreciates fancy-looking products that actually live up to their expectations, then the BaBylissPRO FoilFX 02 is definitely going to float your boat. Designed in the most sophisticated way with a gold-plated coating, this foil shaver is bound to make your grooming tasks more convenient. A solid shaver in this price range is a catch for every barber out there, and the style points sit there like a cherry on top.

When Compact Shape Meets Precision In Close Shaving

Shaving with a compact razor is always more appreciated if you’re a professional groomer. Imagine all those long days maneuvering your heavy devices that exhaust your arms by the end of it. This is never a problem with the GOLDFX foils since it’s lightweight and offers a relieving grip. And at the same time, the close shave outcome it’s able to generate is truly mesmerizing to me!

Powerful Motors Get The Job Done Quickly

One thing I don’t know how BaBylissPRO pulled off is that, placing such a powerful motor inside this mini, pocket shaver. It’s always important for a barber to have a shaver that can perform at least over 7,000 RPM, and this beauty runs at an astonishing rate of 10,000 RPM! That’s actually insane and allows the blades to compellingly clean up the beard area in a very short duration!

3 Hours Runtime & Hypoallergenic Foil Ideal For All Beard Type

A good battery life always comes in handy for a professional shaver, and this one serves me almost 3 hours straight with a full charge! I can literally feel the full power even at the last stage of the battery, and the hypoallergenic foils make it more so competent as opposed to other shavers at this price range. Regardless of the beard type and skin condition, the FoilFX 02 has always produced neat results for me.

What Could Be Improved?

I won’t call it a lacking feature, rather it’s something to do with any compact foil shavers. I have to manually remove the head to dust out all the stray hair. It’s not always ideal during heavy customer days, but it’s something I have to reiterate to make sure my blades are fully sharp and effective. Some may say it’s a highly priced device, but once you lay your hand on it, you’ll feel it’s built like a Rolls Royce in terms of quality which justifies the costing!

Overall Assessment

I’m sure you know how compact foil shavers work and don’t have any unrealistic expectations like the big Braun or Panasonic shavers function. The shaving comfort and quality are the two things that matter in the end, and BaBylissPRO has scored a 10/10 in this department. You can run your barber shop with only this shaver to run as your main foil unit without keeping an alternative, because it’s that good!

Panasonic Electric Razor for Men, ARC5, ES-LV97-K

Get Panasonic ARC5, ES-LV97-K at Amazon

Panasonic’s ARC series is like my first love in the grooming field because I still can’t get over the standard it has set for me while using my shavers. The LV97 is probably the best foil shaver for barbers I’ve handled in the ARC5 line due to numerous reasons, some of which are to be felt during the use. Priced at a competitive range and endowed with all the necessary professional features, this shaver in this list is among my personal favorites.

5 Blades Performing Together Speeds Up The Shaving Process

While Braun takes the route of 5 shaving elements and focuses on the exposed trimmers, Panasonic shifts its focus on the 5 foils along with 5 blades adjacent to each. This approach removes any skin to blade contact while rendering the shaving more speedy one. I can literally clean up a 2 day stubble with one pass on the cheek and two passes under the neck, regardless of the beard density.

Automated Experiences Renders This An Ideal Barber Choice

I’ve never really been a fan of automation in professional grooming devices, but Panasonic’s technology has been something so extraordinary that was able to change my mind. It generally lasts me around 45-50 minutes with a full charge, but it extends if the beards I shave are of less density. That is because it automatically adjusts the motor power based on beard’s nature that eventually increases the performance in the long run.

Waterproof & Good Ergonomics Generate Shaves Of Highest Order

While there is a debate whether wet shaving is better than dry shaves, this baby can do both so you won’t have to be afraid of ending up with the wrong device. It’s waterproof with great ergonomics, so shaving in wet and cleaning up afterward is never an issue for me. I usually use the cleaning station as it charges up the device as well to achieve maximum efficiency that’s needed for my barber shop.

What Could Be Improved?

The only issue I have with this shaver is that it’s quite loud since it has to power each of the blades with hefty motors. The cleaning station does make some sound too, but neither of which has led any of my customers to complain to me about it. This is probably because of the supreme performance that glides over beards instead of drag very swiftly, and I’m willing to concede a little sound because the payout is the cleanest possible shave.

Overall Assessment

There’s no doubt from my account while picking the ARC5 LV97. There’s an in-built pop-up trimmer that I often use to line up my customers’ beards instead of switching to a trimmer as it’s time consuming. This shaver tends to stick close to the skin with minimum effort and any sort of pressure is optimized by the pivoting head to ensure your customers the most comforting experience possible!

BaBylissPRO Barberology FX3 High Torque Shaver

The FX3 foil unit by BaBylissPRO from the Barberology line is probably the most sleek-looking and captivating shaver in my list. Housed with a charming scarlet body and great ergonomics to go with it, it’s a well-worth investment you can make for your barber shop. My experience with it has been so great that I purchased a separate, identical unit to use as my personal shaver every day!

Ferrari-Inspired Engine Creates A Barber’s Dream Foil Shaver

Using this foil shaver has been like a dream experience for me. The brushless Ferrari-inspired motor runs so smoothly that you won’t find any unshaved patch after each pass. And the motor translates every bit of trimming action to your tactile points well enough to sense it with each glide. It does live up to standard quality of shaving for barbers as it zeroes in quite efficiently on 3-4 day stubbles.

Captivating Color With Great Ergonomics Perform Diverse Tasks

Let me tell you one thing – your customers will always get attracted to the devices you use on them and feel valued. That’s why I spent over a hundred bucks to pack it in my arsenal and I’ve never had anyone feel disappointed whenever I use it on my clients. As it’s a compact unit with great ergonomic points, this shaver enables me to perform in the most versatile angles without compromising at any portion of the face.

Titanium Foils Comforting For Sensitive Skins

Sharp blades with powerful motors are not always functional if the foils aren’t good enough to feed the blades. The FX3 is rich in this nature due to the inclusion of highly-comforting titanium foils that never drag or pull. It’s also easier to clean with the kit provided by the company, only a couple of brushes suffice after each session. The automatically-closing caps preserve the foils and blades from corrosion and keeps it prepped for the most sensitive of skins!

What Could Be Improved?

The common shortcomings that compact foil shavers generally have aren’t avoidable, and the FX3 unit is not above these technical aspects. It does cause some irritation at the neck areas as it doesn’t have a pivoting head. You’ll have to manually adjust the pressure according to each of your clients. I’ve developed it over practice and tenure, and I’m sure you too will get the hang of it once you familiarize yourself with the nature of its cutting actions.

Overall Assessment

It’s smart, it’s precise and it’s cheap! What else could you ask for from a $100 foil shaver? I’ll throw in one more thing – it ran for an astonishing 3 hours with a full charge! As a barber, I literally can’t ask anything more out of it. A deluxe design, firm grip and A-grade outcome place this trimmer as a solid contender to be the best foil shaver for barbers and it’s even enough to compete with the big boys in the league!

Panasonic Electric Razor for Men, ARC5, ES-LV65-S

The Panasonic ARC5 LV65 is in my opinion like the younger brother of the LV97 variant of the sample family. It endorses the same principles, ergonomics and technology as its successor while delivering a top-tier barber performance. The only few compromises it makes as opposed to the LV97 are compensated with the price range that’s set at almost at halfway mark, which is the most attractive aspect for this shaver!

14,000 CPM Trims Through Stubbles Effortlessly

If you think it won’t perform well since it’s priced at a very affordable range, I’ll say the picture is quite the opposite. With the same technology 5 foil system, this beast can perform 14,000 cuts per minute and trims through the densest of bushes with a couple of glides!

I follow Panasonic’s guidelines to replace the foils as well as the blades in due time to remove any chances of tugging or pulling. Also, I must mention that its thumb placement grip is one of the best I’ve ever dealt with in my life!

Precision Trimmers Helps Lining-Up In One Device

This shaver too contains a precision trimmer that aids in lining up beards and drawing up sharp lines. It might not feel like much, but it does cut down on grooming time for me as it stacks up on a long day. Otherwise, I’d have to set it aside, bring out a separate trimmer unit and vice-versa. At an affordable range, the pop-trimmer does surprise me and I can’t but appreciate enough with words how it speeds up my grooming process.

Digital Display With Wet/Dry Shaving Allows For Dynamic Performance

One of the many alluring aspects about this shaver is the digital display that shows charge percentage, cleaning needs and blade replacement indicator. As it’s water-resistant, it can perform in both wet and dry conditions which is always in demand for a barber who deals with different customers. It’s so neat and efficient that you can even shave your customers’ head frequently to draw out the cleanest bald head!

What Could Be Improved?

I won’t call these shortcomings of this device, rather things that the LV97 contains that the LV67 does not. First is, it doesn’t come with a charging/cleaning dock that’s often essential for a barber’s main shaver. But considering the price point, it’s not a surprise really. I can’t ask for anything more out of a $100 device than the features this LV67 offers that’s more than sufficient to satisfy my expectations.

Overall Assessment

This is basically a budget-friendly variant of the LV97 shaver. I won’t discourage you from choosing the LV97 but this LV67 literally resembles the performance in many ways. Considering this, the most attractive aspect is indeed the price-point where it beats both Braun and Panasonic’s top-tier shavers. Thus, it’s great for both being a primary or a secondary shaver unit, considering the frequency of shaves you have to perform in your shop each day.

Wahl Professional 5-Star Series Rechargeable Shaver

This one is a classic shaver that I feel obligated to include in this list just because of how underrated it is as a foil shaver for barbers. The Wahl shaver looks nothing more than a regular, compact foil shaver, but it’s anything but! The way it removes stubbles with sharp blades and an equally well-made motor, throw in a procedure before the shave to receive similar results as a Braun or Panasonic device at a very cheaper price!

A Beast Foil Shaver Within Budget

It’s remarkable how Wahl manages to compete against other brands with minimum investment. The foils are very thin, thus I usually used it on men with fine beards. Customers with coarse hair strands may face some difficulties, so it’s something you should keep at the back of your mind. In the end, you must remember it’s a budget shaver, thus it’s understandable to have a couple of minor limitations.

Shaves Without Ingrown Hair Or Skin Irritation

While working on fine hair, my clients never felt any skin irritation or ended up with ingrown hair. The sharp blades ensure that each strand of hair fed through the foils are removed effectively. It goes almost as close as a manual razor with a few passes which removes the necessity for a secondary shave afterward. Apply some post-shave care on your client to soften their skin up like a newborn baby!

Runs Cordlessly For An Hour With A Full Charge

The Wahl 5-Star foil unit doesn’t have a pivoting head that follows contour and you have to pick up a few wrist movements to perfect your task. But on the other end, it’s lightweight and compact housing powered by a battery sufficient enough to keep it running for an hour. It surpasses the standard at the $70 range, thus a killer unit for any barber for daily use.

What Could Be Improved?

I wouldn’t call it an area for improvement, rather a struggle that I had to face while using this shaver. Since it’s not water-resistant, I had to remove the head manually to clean it up after each shave. I generally used a brush to get rid of the stray hair and wash it every day at the shop’s closing. Leaving it to dry overnight after mopping and lubricating would have me find it ready for action the next morning.

Overall Assessment

I’ll mostly recommend this shaver to the barbers who are still at a young phase in the industry and don’t run a chain. It’s a great device to spend the least amount of money and get the maximum out of your each penny. This shaver doesn’t tug or pull and cleans up super close to the skin. Just avoid making mistakes with this shaver and it’ll last you a long time and keep bringing back the happy customers!

GAMMA+ Prodigy Professional Cordless Foil Shaver

GAMMA+ is a rising name in the grooming industry and I was fortunate enough to play with some of their flagship devices in my barber shop. The Prodigy foil shaver has always stood out as a killer shaver that comes in a compact shape fused with the latest technology. The features it holds place it in a superlative position to be ranked as one of the most desirable barber shavers both quality and budget-wise.

Lightweight Mini Shaver That’s Sustainable For Heavy Use

It’s a pretty small device that matches the size and weight of the BaBylissPRO FX3 foil shaver. It comes in a dark-knight black housing with great ergonomics despite its size. But don’t be fooled by the looks because it’s sturdy too! I’ve dropped mine a few times (which I don’t recommend you to do) but it sustained like it was nothing! Despite the size, it holds a powerful 9,000 RPM motor within to generate the feeling of cutting through butter!

Forged Gold-Titanium Crunchy Blades Remove Beard Of Any Texture & Density

This is another device that’s made for dry shaves yet it doesn’t trigger any discomfort or allergic reaction. One part of it is due to the good motor while the other half lies on the shoulders of forged gold-titanium crunchy blades. These coatings prevent the blades from corroding and keep them sharp for any texture or density of beard. I’ve been surprised many times because of how well it stacks up against the highly priced full-sized foil shavers!

Wireless Charging Allows Barber To Refill The Battery Swiftly

A great aspect that’s unique to this shaver is that it charges wirelessly utilizing the Qi technology. Since compact foil shavers don’t include a charging dock, I have to usually plug them in manually to charge up. But this one cuts down on recharging time as I can simply place it on my charger in-between shaves and pick it back again when necessary. Also, it holds charge for around two hours. That’s also something I must appreciate about it.

What Could Be Improved?

Just a reminder about this shaver is you’ll need to make a few passes to create the close shave outcome. Be delicate around the neck area because it doesn’t have a tilting head much like other compact units. For a shaver that’s priced at $80, this in my opinion stands tall in terms of performance and meeting expectations. I’ll say, it’s a bargain shaver as this is placed at a perfect price to performance position.

Overall Assessment

GAMMA+ provides every necessary element like a cap, charging cable, adapter, cleaning brush and whatnot. When I place it on my counter over the wireless charger, it looks like fancy equipment that arouses the curiosity of my clients. And when I apply it on them, they literally lose their mind by witnessing the comfort and neat result. I frequently use it for treating them with a cleanly-shaved beard or a shiny bald head, and so can you should you obtain it!

Imperative Features: Finest Foil Shaver For Barbers

I’ll discuss the most necessary features that the best foil shaver for barbers should include as it’ll make your life a lot easier – both in terms of choosing the device and also in terms of frequent uses in your barber shop.

Sharp Blades

There are tons of shavers that do contain sharp blades but don’t sustain longer. So make sure that your ideal shaver contains blades that stay sharp and replacement blades are available in the market at an affordable price.

Good Motor

A shaver with a weak motor generally tugs or pulls the beard of your customers. Thus it’s optimum for you to pick one that has got what it takes to remove any density or texture of beard. Such motors make for fewer passes over the beard to get a close shave outcome.

Great Ergonomics

As a barber, you’ll have to shave at different angles and places in both dry and wet conditions. So you’ll have to ensure that you get a good grip out of your shaver. Also, devices that are difficult to hold end up causing finger-muscle pain after prolonged use, so avoid them at all costs.

Easy Cleaning

My habit of going about shaving is to clean up my shaver after each task. It keeps the blades sharp, motor at full power and produces the most comforting outcome. Due to this, I generally side with shavers that are easy to clean as it saves time and effort.

Sufficient Battery Life

Either I want a shaver that lasts long with one charge or has a method of easy charging. Other shavers out of this gradient will consume your time over charging and effort over finding the cable & plugging it in on a regular basis. It’s not ideal for barber shops since it decreases efficiency.

Verdict

This is probably the part you’ve been waiting for all along. I’ll pick out a victor from my list that I sense is worthy of wearing the crown, but it doesn’t mean the rest are to be disregarded completely.

My initial verdict was a tie between the Panasonic ARC5 LV97 and Braun Series 9 to be claimed as the best foil shaver for barbers.

But as the LV97 comes at a cheaper price range than the Braun, I’ll give it an edge in terms of budget where it beats the Series 9. Otherwise, both of them generate identical results with almost similar performance.

The 5 foil system in the ARC5 does come in handy for a barber. It cuts well, leaves behind a silky-smooth skin and can be maintained easily with the station that it comes with.

Also, the LED display and auto-sensor technology fill this shaver to the brim of compliments and stands tall as ‘the desirable’ foil shaver for any barber.