The best grooming gift is a better version of something he already uses: a Braun Series 5 BT5500 trimmer (£36.99) for a beard, an Edwin Jagger DE89 safety razor (£25) for a clean shave, or the Philips Head Shaver Pro 7000 (£99.99) for a shaved head.
We haven't lab-tested these gifts. The picks come from manufacturer specs, retailer reviews taken as a whole and what barbers commonly recommend, and each price was checked on 28 September 2026 at the retailer named next to it. Some links go to Amazon UK, and TheBarberBoard may earn a small commission if you buy through them. That never changes the price you pay or which products are on this list.
Pick something he'll use every week. A £20 tub of clay he reaches for every morning is a better present than a £60 box of eight products he never opens. The list is sorted by budget, and each item says who it suits. If you know whether he has a beard, shaves his head or cuts his own hair, skip straight to the right budget.
All 16 gifts at a glance
| Gift | Price checked | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Kent A 81T beard comb | £4.50, Kent Brushes | Any beard or moustache |
| King C. Gillette safety razor | £10, Gillette UK | Trying a safety razor cheaply |
| Proraso aftershave balm 100ml | £10.42, English Shaving Co. | Anyone who shaves |
| Murdock London beard moisturiser 50ml | £14, Murdock London | Short to mid beards |
| Philips NT5650 nose trimmer | £17.99, John Lewis | Any man with a nose |
| Uppercut Deluxe Clay 70g | £20, Uppercut Deluxe UK | Short textured cuts and crops |
| Bulldog Ultimate Beard Care Kit | £22, Bulldog UK | A first proper beard kit |
| Edwin Jagger DE89 safety razor | £25, English Shaving Co. | Moving off cartridges for good |
| Mr Bear Family Brew and Brush | £32.99, The Beard Shed | Mid to long beards |
| Braun Series 5 BT5500 trimmer | £36.99, John Lewis | Stubble and short beards |
| Wahl cordless clipper and trimmer set | £37.50, Wahl UK | Home haircuts between barber visits |
| Osprey London Grantham washbag | £49, John Lewis | Anyone who travels |
| BaByliss XTP Super Stubble | £69.99, John Lewis | Designer stubble kept exact |
| Philips Multigroom 9000 MG9531 | £74.99, John Lewis | One tool for hair, beard and body |
| Philips OneBlade Pro 360 Face + Body | £84.99, John Lewis | Stubble, edges and body |
| Philips Head Shaver Pro 7000 | £99.99, John Lewis | Men who shave their heads |
Prices checked 28 September 2026. Sale prices can end without notice, so check before you buy.
Under £15: stocking fillers that get used
Kent A 81T handmade beard and moustache comb £4.50
Hand-cut cellulose acetate, rounded teeth, 73mm. Checked at Kent Brushes.
Cheap moulded combs have seam lines along each tooth that snag and split beard hair. Kent cut their combs by hand, so the teeth are smooth and rounded. It fits in a coat pocket, and at £4.50 it's the easiest add-on in this guide.
Check price on Amazon UKKing C. Gillette double edge safety razor £10
Metal handle plus 5 platinum-coated blades. £10 on sale at Gillette UK (RRP £20).
A low-risk way to find out whether he likes shaving with a safety razor. Replacement double edge blades cost pennies each, compared with £2 to £4 for a branded cartridge, so it pays for itself within a few months if he sticks with it. It's also handy for crisp beard edges.
Check price on Amazon UKProraso aftershave balm, Refreshing and Toning, 100ml £10.42
Alcohol-free, eucalyptus and menthol, glass bottle. £10.42 on sale at The English Shaving Company (RRP £12.50).
Eucalyptus and menthol give it the classic Italian barbershop smell, and it doesn't sting because there's no alcohol in it. Pick the Sensitive version (green tea and oat) if he goes red after shaving.
Check price on Amazon UKMurdock London beard moisturiser, travel size 50ml £14
Leave-in beard moisturiser. Listed at £14 on Murdock London.
Murdock is a London barbershop brand, so this gets him a proper product at stocking-filler money. A moisturiser suits shorter beards better than an oil because it softens without leaving the face shiny.
Check price on Amazon UK£15 to £30: small upgrades
Philips Series 5000 nose, ear and eyebrow trimmer (NT5650) £17.99
Runs on one AA battery (included), 3mm and 5mm eyebrow combs. Checked at John Lewis.
It isn't romantic, but he'll use it every week. The eyebrow combs put it ahead of the cheaper single-purpose trimmers. We compare it with the Panasonic and Braun options in our nose hair trimmer guide.
Check price on Amazon UKUppercut Deluxe Clay, 70g £20
Strong, reworkable hold with a matte finish. Water and wax based, so it washes out. Checked at Uppercut Deluxe UK.
If he has a textured crop, a French crop or any short messy style, this is the product barbers reach for to finish it. Matte products look like hair rather than product. Don't buy it for a slicked-back style, because that wants a pomade.
Check price on Amazon UKBulldog Original Ultimate Beard Care Kit £22
200ml beard shampoo and conditioner, 75g balm, 30ml oil, wooden comb. Vegan. Checked at Bulldog Skincare.
The box has everything a new beard needs, at supermarket-brand prices. Bulldog is on the shelf at Boots and Superdrug too, so refills are easy to find. It's the right pick for someone in the first few months of growing one (our beard growing guide explains why the itchy phase is when oil helps most).
Check price on Amazon UKEdwin Jagger DE89 double edge safety razor £25
Made in Sheffield, chrome-plated brass, closed comb, 68g. £25 on sale at The English Shaving Company (RRP £30).
The DE89 is the safety razor beginners are most often pointed to, because the closed comb head is forgiving. Made from solid brass, it should outlast any cartridge razor he has owned. Add the Edwin Jagger best badger brush (£35 at the same shop) and you have a proper starter kit for about £60.
Check price on Amazon UK£30 to £60: the main present
Mr Bear Family Brew and Brush kit £32.99
30ml Beard Brew oil and a pear-wood travel brush with boar bristles. Scents: Citrus, Woodland or Wilderness. Checked at The Beard Shed.
A boar bristle brush spreads oil through a longer beard far better than fingers do, and it trains stray hairs to sit flat. Mr Bear Family is one of the picks in our beard oil guide.
Check price on Amazon UKBraun Series 5 BT5500 beard trimmer £36.99
20 lengths in 0.5mm steps, 120-minute runtime, fully waterproof. Checked at John Lewis.
The half-millimetre steps let him keep a beard at the length the barber left it. With two hours of runtime, a weekly tidy means charging it about once a month. If he already owns a trimmer, see our beard trimmer roundup before buying another.
Check price on Amazon UKWahl cordless clipper and trimmer grooming set (9655-1617) £37.50
60-minute cordless clipper, trimmer, detail trimmer, 10 clipper guards, 6 trimmer combs, scissors, oil, case. £37.50 on sale at Wahl UK (was £74.99).
For the man who tidies his neckline and sides between cuts, or buzzes his own hair. The battery is NiMH with a 12-hour charge, which is the compromise at this price. Our clipper guard sizes chart tells him what each numbered guard actually cuts to.
Check price on Amazon UKOsprey London The Grantham washbag £49
Waxed canvas and leather, 26.5 x 16.5 x 12cm, elastic loops inside. Checked at John Lewis.
A good washbag goes on every trip for years, and plenty of men still use a free one from an airline. Waxed canvas wipes clean when something leaks. Put two of the small gifts above inside it and you have a complete present.
Check price on Amazon UK£60 to £100: the big one
BaByliss XTP Super Stubble (7898DU) £69.99
Motorised length setting from 0.4mm to 5mm in 0.2mm steps, 70-minute runtime, waterproof, 3-year guarantee. Checked at John Lewis.
With 0.2mm steps he can keep stubble at one exact length, which is what makes it look deliberate rather than forgotten. If he keeps a 3 to 5 day shadow, this is the most specialised gift on the list.
Check price on Amazon UKPhilips Multigroom 9000 15-in-1 (MG9531/15) £74.99
15 tools, 27 lengths from 3mm to 20mm, 120-minute runtime, showerproof. £74.99 on sale at John Lewis (was £94.99).
He gets one charger and one bag for hair, beard, nose and body. It won't fade a haircut as well as a dedicated clipper, but for a man who wants one device for everything, this is the one to get.
Check price on Amazon UKPhilips OneBlade Pro 360 Face + Body (QP6652/61) £84.99
2 blades, 20-length comb (0.4mm to 10mm), skin guard, body comb, charging stand, travel case. 120-minute runtime. Checked at John Lewis.
The OneBlade trims, edges and shaves, and its guarded blade works in either direction with little risk of nicks. That makes it a strong single tool for stubble and short beards with sharp lines. Budget about £11 to £14 for a replacement blade every four months. Shop around: the QP6652/30 version has the same shaver with a different accessory bundle and is often cheaper.
Check price on Amazon UKPhilips Head Shaver Pro 7000 £99.99
90-minute runtime, IPX7 waterproof, 360-degree head, rinsing station, pouch. Checked at John Lewis.
Men who shave their heads often make do with a clipper at zero or a cartridge razor, and both are slower than a rotary head shaver. This one works wet or dry. We compare it with the Remington and Skull Shaver models, and work out the cost of replacement heads per year, in our head shaver guide.
Check price on Amazon UKHow to pick if you don't know his routine
Look in the bathroom before you shop, because what's already there tells you most of what you need.
- If there's a beard trimmer with a scratched guard and a dead battery, he needs a new trimmer, not more beard oil. Go for the Braun Series 5 or the OneBlade.
- If there's a pack of cartridge refills, he shaves most days. The DE89 plus Proraso balm gives him a better shave for less money.
- If there are clippers but no barber appointments in his calendar, he cuts his own hair. A new clipper set or a better clipper will get used weekly.
- If there's a tub of product on the shelf, note the brand and the finish (matte or shiny) and buy the same type. People are loyal to their hold.
- If he visits the barber every two or three weeks, a gift card for his usual shop is a sure bet. A skin fade runs about £18 to £25 outside London (our skin fade price guide has the regional figures), and tipping is on top.
What is a good grooming gift for a man who has everything?
Replace something he uses every day with a better version of it. Men rarely buy themselves a Sheffield-made safety razor, a boar bristle beard brush or a waxed canvas washbag, but once they have one they use it for years. The Edwin Jagger DE89, the Mr Bear Family Brew and Brush and the Osprey London Grantham above fit that brief.
Are men's grooming gift sets worth it?
Small, focused sets are; big "grooming kits" with a dozen attachments in a plastic tray usually aren't, because the core trimmer is weak and the extras go in a drawer.
A set earns its place when he'll use everything in it. The Bulldog Ultimate Beard Care Kit (£22) and the Mr Bear Family Brew and Brush (£32.99) are two that do. Skip scented sets if you don't know what he likes: a strong beard oil scent sits under his nose all day.
How much should I spend on a grooming gift?
£20 to £40 gets a proper product from a barbershop brand or a good beard trimmer. Above £60 you're into electricals like the OneBlade Pro 360 or a head shaver. Under £15, buy one good item (a Kent comb, Proraso balm) rather than a cheap set.
Is a beard trimmer a good Christmas present?
Yes, if his current one is old or cheap, because most men keep using a trimmer long after the blades have gone blunt. Check what he has first, and match the gift to his beard: a stubble trimmer for a short shadow, a standard trimmer for a full beard. Our beard trimmer roundup has picks under £50 and for stubble.
When should I order Christmas grooming gifts?
Order gift sets from smaller brands by the end of November; electricals from the big retailers usually stay in stock through December.
Branded boxes sell out early: when we checked on 28 September, most Captain Fawcett gift sets and every Percy Nobleman set were already sold out on the brands' own sites.