Amongst my many talents as a wife and mother is the occasional spot of hairdressing. I don't attempt to tackle the boys' hair, but my husband likes to keep his hair very short (usually a 'number one' all over) so we use a set of clippers at home rather than continually pay for trips to the barbers.

Our most recent set of clippers is this Babyliss for Men 'Professional Clipper Kit' which claims to be a 22 piece set. This was a fairly cheap little set, costing just £15 from Wilkinson and still available for a similar price from other stockists including Argos and Amazon. This seemed quite a good price considering the number of accessories and attachments included. The clippers also came with the reassurance of a three year guarantee which does suggest that the product should be fairly reliable and durable.

===What's Included===

The 22 pieces comprise of the clippers themselves and ten differently sized guards as well as two left and right ear taper guides. In all honesty, I've never used the taper guides which are designed to create a 'clean line' around the ear and my husband usually uses just the one sized guard but it is always handy to have a selection of different sizes, I suppose! I generally use the clippers without a guard and, carefully, tidy around the sides and back without needing to use a guide. The guards are very straightforward to attach and remove, as they simply click securely into position without any worry that they are going to slip out of place once attached.

The set also includes a number of accessories to make the process easier. I particularly like the soft black zip-up pouch to store the clippers in after use. Unfortunately, it's not big enough to store the guards in as well, so we do still need to keep hold of the original box too. My other favourite addition is the little nylon brush which I use to sweep away all of the little hairs at the back of the head with a little flourish! The other bits and pieces are two sectioning clips (not needed for my husband's short hair) small scissors, a barber's comb and a tiny little cleaning brush, which never gets used as I find a good blow clears the hairs away from the clippers better than any brush, as well as a tiny little pot of oil. This is a little confusing as the box clearly indicates that this model doesn't need oiling but the manual does explain that, whilst that is the case with regular usage, the blades may require treating with the oil supplied if the clippers are left unused for any length of time. The final item is supposedly a cape which I've never seen and isn't in the box. (I can only assume that my husband has thrown it away!) Overall, I do think the accessories offer good value for money for the price paid, even though we don't personally need to use many of the items included.

===Design, Durability and Comfort===

My first impressions of these clippers were very positive as the plastic handle has a silvery grey metallic cover which looks quite smart. The handle is also quite slim and very comfortable to hold as it is tapered slightly as well as being incredibly lightweight, certainly compared to my husband's previous set of clumpy Philipps clippers. In use, however, I do find the light handle a little off putting as I can really feel the buzzing vibrations. This does feel a little flimsy, thanks to the buzzing sensation, particularly as I generally use this without a guard and would prefer something a bit more substantial feeling during use. Fortunately, the handle is not as slippy to hold as the metallic coating might suggest and the slim design helps me to keep a tight and secure grip, in spite of the vibrations.

Despite the lightweight design, the clippers do seem surprisingly robust considering their low price tag and the set does have the manufacturer's three year guarantee to fall back on, should these fail to live up to expectations. We've owned these for around six months now and they have been used on a regular basis, usually weekly, without any issues.

===Cutting Performance and Power===

No amount of added extras or style are going to be of any use if the product itself can't cut the mustard or, in this instance, the hair. Fortunately, we have both found these clippers to be effective at gliding through his short hair and producing a smooth and, crucially, even cut. My husband is able to cut the majority of his hair himself using these, needing my assistance just for the harder to reach sections at the back and sides. These do need a couple of 'goes' to thoroughly clip the slightly thicker hair at the top but the overall results are very good. The blades are supposedly 'diamond sharpened' and certainly make a satisfying little 'zzzp' as they blast through any missed strands! The blades glide across smoothly without pulling or juddering at all. I'm in charge of quality control and can confirm that my other half has not left the house looking like a badger yet!

These clippers are corded rather than a cordless model, so there is no messing around having to charge these up before the first or subsequent uses. It obviously boils down to personal preference whether to go for a cordless model or a main operated set like this which requires plugging in during use. My husband has owned and used both types but prefers this style, as they tend to cut consistently rather than slowing down as the battery loses charge. He also finds them more powerful overall and, consequently, quicker to use than a cordless style. Personally, I quite like the flexibility that a cordless set offers as this set, obviously, has to be used next to a plug socket (rather than mess around with an extension lead) which can be a little restrictive, particularly if I did decide to brave the kids' hair! The lead on this model is particularly short so it doesn't offer a great deal of room to manoeuvre. Ideally, it would benefit from being a few inches longer which would make cutting the back of my husband's hair a little easier, rather than having the lead stretched to its full length.

These certainly seem powerful enough to master my husband's fairly thick head of hair. Despite the strong vibrations, this is not a particularly noisy model - certainly compared to others we've used in the past. I would imagine these are quiet enough to be used on all but the tiniest (or extremely sensitive) of youngsters as well as adults.

===Recommendation===

Having owned this set for six months, it has certainly proved to be a worthwhile and reliable purchase for us. Admittedly, we don't make full use of all of the accessories and attachments but the different sized guards may come in handy if we ever decided to tighten the purse strings even further and risk cutting the boys' hair at home too!

For the current selling price of around £15 and bearing in mind the three year guarantee, I would say these are a good value product and certainly save a fortune compared to the cost of regular trips to the barbers.