Review: is the Philips Body & Balls hair groomer as thorough as a razor blade?
30/10/2025
Translation: Katherine Martin
Pictures: Stephan Lamprecht
You don’t need to be a genius to figure out what Philips’ new Body & Balls groomer is designed for. But how does the device fare in practice? In a bid to find out, I tested it myself.
When it comes to my underarms, I prefer the hairless look. But it doesn’t end there. Before now, I’ve always used a foam and blade to keep my body hair in check. Philips, however, is keen to convince me that its Body & Balls groomer is just as good.
The box contains two shaver heads, a motor unit, three comb attachments, a cleaning brush and a little pouch. There’s also a charging station with a cable that fits right into the trimmer, but it doesn’t come with an adapter. You need one with a USB-A port.
Time to get shaving.
Feels nice on the skin
To give the groomer a decent challenge, I let my chest- and underarm hair grow for a week. With the prickliness driving me bananas,
I’m keen to get everything smooth again. First things first, I want to try out the shaver head. Changing heads is intuitive and self-explanatory, but I still have a look at the instructions to be on the safe side. The user manual’s concise, with almost no text, and the symbols and drawings it featuress are easy to understand.
I start off with my chest. The Body & Balls groomer’s comfortable to hold, buzzing powerfully as it goes about its business. There’s a small LED on the top end of the shaver head that lights up the area you’re shaving. It’s bright, but not blindingly so. After just three strokes, I’m left feeling pleasantly surprised. The razor glides smoothly over my skin.
In some areas, I have to go over the same area of skin several times – just like I typically would with a dry razor. It doesn’t cause any major skin irritation; there’s just some slight redness after I finish shaving, which disappears after a few minutes.
The result looks and feels good. There’s just some slight stubble if I run my hand against the direction of hair growth. Mind you, it’s hardly noticeable and doesn’t feel prickly.
Not so smooth in the shower
The Body & Balls is waterproof and suitable for use in the shower. To allow for a better comparison, I shave one half of my chest dry,
then do the other half in the shower. Surprisingly, the shaver head doesn’t glide over the skin quite as quickly or smoothly. There’s no difference between trying it with just water or with a little shower gel. However, I wouldn’t exactly call this a problem. At the end of the day, the result is just as smooth – it just takes a little longer.
Time to test the trimmer
Now that my upper body’s smooth, it’s time to go below the belt. Given the product name, I’m sure you were expecting nothing less. For this stage of the review, I use the second shaver head, which is shaped like a typical trimmer. There are several comb attachments included so that you don’t cut yourself.
According to Philips, the trimmer’s blades are shaped to prevent cuts. Apparently, for precise results, the three comb attachments are designed to guide hair safely to the blade.
- The one-millimetre attachment is fittingly labelled «Intimate».
- The next attachment has a dial allowing you to adjust the cut between one and three millimetres.
- Finally, there’s a comb attachment with a lever allowing you to select between three and seven millimetres.
Of course, you could use the trimmer attachments on your upper body too.
The shaver doesn’t show any weaknesses when working below the navel. On the very first stroke, the shaver head manages to get rid of a fair amount of hair. And the cut looks even to boot. There’s no pinching or cutting either.
Handling and maintenance
When I read the instructions again in more detail, I notice two details. One being that you can deactivate the LED by holding down the switch for two seconds. You can also lock the groomer to prevent it from going off in your luggage. To do that, you hold down the switch for five seconds.
So, what about cleaning? The groomer box contains a cleaning brush. Since the device is suitable for use in the shower, you can also give it a quick rinse. According to the instructions, you need to change the foil shaver head once a year.
In a nutshell
Only a razor blade could deliver a smoother shave than this
The Body & Balls is the first electric body-hair razor to ever win me over. It easy to use, producing brilliant shaving results. For technical reasons, a shaver head can’t achieve as close a shave as a razor blade, but that doesn’t bother me. If you’d prefer an even smoother shave, however, you’ll definitely have to go for a foam and razor blade combo.
Pro
- Neat result
- Glides nicely over your skin
- Suitable for use in the shower
Contra
- Doesn’t glide quite as smoothly over your skin when using water
- USB-A connection
Header image: Stephan Lamprecht
Hamburg local, bookworm, and ice hockey fan. Dad and granddad. Constantly tinkering around with my smart home setup. I love DIY, the outdoors, fashion, and cosmetics.
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