When you have your beard trimmer or see your friends using theirs, you may be tempted to grab theirs and try it out. However, you may be yelled at or even find that many people are appalled at the notion of sharing their beard trimmers, but is that really ok?
It is not ok to share your beard trimmer with anyone, even if it is for one short trimming of their hair. Further, it is not ok for them to use your beard trimmer; doing so can lead to infections on your skin and other medical issues that will not be easy to deal with in the short or long term.
You will need to know when sharing a beard trimmer can be acceptable, what needs to be done, and what happens when you simply use the nearest beard trimmer. Many people have paid dearly because they made the simple mistake of using someone’s beard trimmer.
Why is it a Bad Idea to Share Beard Trimmers?
Simply put, our beards hold most of the dirt, oil, and skin flakes that our face sheds throughout the day, which is why they need to be washed just like our hair. When we use a beard trimmer, this naturally becomes packed into the crevices of the tool, even if you are trimming your beard.
With our own trimmers, these are not dangerous at all, and keeping the trimmer well-oiled will be enough to ensure that nothing bad ever happens. However, when you use someone else’s trimmer, or they decide to use yours without the right steps taken, then it can cause infections.
Even with a normal beard trimmer, your skin can be exposed to whatever is on the trimmer, and if someone accidentally once scratched themselves or went over a zit, then that will be on your skin. As the trimmer is gliding across your skin, you are rubbing in the dirt the trimmer has on it on yourself.
What Needs to be Done to Share Beard Trimmers?
While we recommend never sharing your beard trimmer, there are times when it is unavoidable, and you will have to share someone else’s or share yours. When this happens, some steps need to be taken and adhered to if both you and your friend want to have a nice experience.
We recommend that you stick to this simple process whenever you are lending a beard trimmer, whether it is to someone else or you are lending one. Further, it is good practice to go through each of these steps at least once a month to ensure the trimmer is really clean anyway.
Dismantle
Before you can start cleaning the trimmer, you will need to dismantle it completely and remove the blades, the head, and the spacers that are normally on it. These parts will trap both moisture and other unwanted things in them that can cause problems when someone uses the trimmer.
This process should be simple and only take a few minutes if you have the right set of screwdrivers. There should only be one or two screws that keep the head assembled; further doing this on a flat surface will prevent any part from falling and going missing down a drain.
Disinfect
Once you have it all dismantled, it is time to start cleaning it, which is one of the simple processes; you can simply use a small brush to get into all the smaller spaces. Using a disinfectant of your choice, either alcohol-based or normal medical-based, you should soak the parts for a few minutes.
You can use the brush to clean between the parts and ensure that there is no hair stuck to the parts. The brush will also be cleaned in the process and help you to ensure that in the future, everything is cleaned properly after you have trimmed and gotten everything clean.
Water Rinse
The part that many people fear and forget to do is to rinse the parts off in water once done; this is to ensure that everything has been cleaned thoroughly. Further, it helps to remove the non-alcoholic-based disinfectants that can cause staining if left for too long on the trimmer parts.
We don’t recommend having the parts soaking in any liquid, as this will drastically increase the rust on your trimmer. We have seen many people choose to leave their beard trimmer in water or disinfectant for the night that ends up with nothing but a pile of rust the next day.
Thoroughly Dry
Surprisingly, this is the most challenging part, as you need to ensure that every part of the beard trimmer is properly dry. If possible, we recommend that you use compressed air, either in a can or from a compressor, to blast each piece completely dry without leaving any trace amount of moisture.
When you are home without any compressed air, we realize this can be a challenge, which is why we recommend that you dry them thoroughly with paper towels. Placing them in your fridge for an hour while covered in a towel, this freezes and dries out any moisture that may be stuck.
Oil
This is what will keep the parts from rusting in the future and will save your trimmer from being damaged once everything is reassembled. As you assemble each part again, one drop of mineral oil on each will ensure that everything is properly protected and clean.
Further, because it is an oil, any moisture you have missed will be displaced by the oil, ensuring that the smaller parts of your trimmer won’t become rusted without you knowing. However, we recommend having the parts thawed out if you had to use the fridge to remove the moisture.
When Is It Okay To Share Beard Trimmers?
When the beard trimmer has been completely cleaned, that is the only time it is okay to share your beard trimmer as any other time will cause problems. We have seen many people that get full face infections because they shared someone else’s razor, even if only once.
The beard trimmer is a set of blades that will make small cuts on your face when trimming close to your skin. Anything sitting on the trimmer’s head can be transferred into your blood and cause sickness, illness, and infections across your face and body.
If you and your friend have a long beard and only need to be touched up, it may be okay to share the trimmer to cut a few loose and offshoot hairs. However, we recommend that you wash the trimmer once you get back home or whatever function is over to ensure nothing is transferred.
Conclusion
It is only ever ok to share your beard trimmer if it has been cleaned thoroughly between each use; a trimmer is often filled with dead skin and other things caught in a beard. We have seen many people get painful infections simply because they did not consider what exactly they are putting against their face.
Please remember that a slightly too bushy beard is not worth a permanent scar developing on your face!