Hair Clipper Guard Sizes (A Beginners Guide To Mastering Clipper Guards)
So, you want to know about hair clipper guard sizes… Then you’re in the right place.
In this article, we’ll go over the main only things you know to know about clippers to get you up to speed on how to use them for your brand of clippers.
Clipper Guard Lengths
We’ll go over:
- The different types of Clipper guards.
- The different lengths of a clipper guard depend on the brand
- How to bypass guard limits on a certain clipper
- And… how guards blend into each other to create seamless blends.
So with that said, let’s get into it.
Hair Clipper Guard Sizes
First and foremost, not all hair-clipper guards are built equally.
When it comes to clipper guards, they often come in different forms. I.e:
- Standard plastic clipper guards
- Clip-on premium guards
- Magnetic clipper guards.
Standard/stock clipper guards
These types of guards simply just snap onto your clippers with no need for clipping unlike premium or even regular plastic clipper guards.
The most popular type of magnetic guard is the Andis Clipper purple magnetic guard which comes in single or double magnets.
This type of guard will only fit a blade if the screws match the position of the blade itself.
So in that sense, they are unique to a specific brand/ make of blade.
Along with premium guards, they are the best quality so most people want these guards on their blades. (We’ll go into detail on how you can get them to match up)
With standard clipper guards, you simply just snap the guard onto your blades and make sure it is secure.
These types of guards are “cheap” and come with the specific clipper they are meant for.
They don’t have metal clips or magnets. They’re simply just plastic.
Because they are relatively easy to produce, you’ll tend to see them with a lot of variation i.e. color coded for example.
Like the ones of the Wahlcolour Pro.
Often it would be hard to use this type of guard on another clipper from another brand as they are molded to match that specific clipper.
But for the clipper, they are made for, they will fit just right… But you could argue about the quality as they just aren’t as good as:
Premium guards
Premium guards such as the wahl premium clipper guard set are higher quality and the guard clips onto your clippers better than standard guards, they are often made of more durable plastic and allow for more detail cutting.
They don’t have a strict shape like the standard plastic guards so they are more flexible to be used on other clipper brands. (We’ll get into this later).
Uni Clipper guards
Some brands are coming out with Uni guards which Allow you to flexibly attach their guard to other clipper brands.
Take for example the JRL uni guard, you change the length of the guard and mold it to fit most blades.
These guards are designed to be compatible with a wider range of clipper brands. They come with multiple size options and aim to provide better versatility than universal clipper guards.
Some “advantages” of adjustable clipper guards include:
- Flexibility in achieving various hair lengths
- Compatibility with multiple clipper brands
- Potentially fewer guard attachments needed
But these guards aren’t as secure as premium guards or magnetic guards, and if the mold was to be damaged, they would be rendered useless.
A clipper set will rarely come with Uni-guards and in all honesty, all the other guard types would do a better job on your clippers.
Magnetic clipper guards
These types of guards simply just snap onto your clippers with no need for clipping unlike premium or even regular plastic clipper guards.
The most popular type of magnetic guard is the Andis clipper purple magnetic guard which comes in single or double magnets.
This type of guard will only fit a blade if the screws match the position of the blade itself.
So in that sense, they are unique to a specific brand/ make of blade.
Along with premium guards, they are the best quality so most people want these guards on their blades. (We’ll go into detail on how you can get them to match up)
Hair Clipper Guard Sizes Chart
So now you know the types of guards out there, what types of guards do the top brands put out, what lengths do they have on offer and how can you bypass the “limit set on some brands?
We’ll go through this next.
Unless you’re looking to swap between guards from other brands or buy the guards separately, it’s something you need to be aware of as oftentimes, some brands sell their clippers alone with no inclusion of guards.
Also, for the lengths I will focus on the most premium version and high-quality version of guards you can get from each brand.
So, let’s start with the brand you’ve most like heard of… Wahl.
Wahl clipper Guard sizes
With most of the more popular wahl clippers, they’ll come with the Wahl premium guards these are the lengths you can come to expect from Wahl clipper guards:
It’s not just the premium guards that come with these lengths.
The wahl regular plastic guards, such as the ones that come with wahl chrome have regular plastic guards that follow the same length, the only difference is the fit and quality which we talked about earlier.
Andis Guard Sizes
Babyliss Clipper Guard sizes
Babyliss Clippers guards look the most “professional” dare I say… Or maybe it’s because they’re gold.
Again, they go up to a #6 guard, but the quality of the guards themselves is fantastic.
They are durable and very precise and you’ll love them for fit.
Oster Clipper Guards
Oster doesn’t necessarily have “premium guards”, you could say that they have very good standard guards.
They aren’t the best make and they’re exclusive to Oster clippers so they aren’t very flexible either.
Oster clipper guards are slightly awkward and with a standard set of Oster clippers, they go up to a #10 guard.
But… they are still good, and if you have oster clippers they should be the go-to set.
Remmington Clipper Guards
Remmington guards are strict and don’t leave much room for extra length.
They go up to #8 and because of the many different blades from Remington, finding new guards that fit your model specifically can be expensive and I would g recommend it.
Either look for another brand with longer guards or stick it out with the guard that came with your clipper.
Now…
Stylecraft Clipper Guards
Stylecraft offers regular guards with their clippers, but some of their models come with premium magnetic guards.
Again, these go up to #6 guard, if you cut at shorter lengths great, if not, look for compatibility from another brand.
The same rule applies to Gamma + as shown but their guards are below.
Gamma + Clipper Guards
3rd Party Guards
Now, in general… The major brands don’t go past a certain point, i.e. producing guards that reach 2 inches +, that’s because, after a certain point, it becomes unnecessary, I thought this is the longest clipper guard article.
But if you must insist on having long clipper guards, you would have to get them from a 3rd party supplier as the main clipper brands don’t produce these cutting lengths.
When getting guards from 3rd party/nonofficial suppliers, you need to be aware that the quality may not be there and they simply may not last as long or be as durable as officially branded clipper guards.
Also, on getting very large/long clipper brands you must be aware of compatibility (making sure the guard actually fits your blade.
The worst thing you’d want is getting a guard that doesn’t fit your clippers.
But if you were the official version from each Clipper brand… Would you be able to cross-fit them between your clipper brands?
We talk about this next.
Compatibility Between Guards
There are two camps of blades you have one camp which is 1.5” in length and 1.75 “ blades which are mainly sported by these brands:
- Wahl
- JRL
- Gamma
- Stylecraft
- Babyliss
Then you have brands who have larger baldes or simply just detachable blades, these are
- Andis
- Oster
Now depending on which group your clippers fall in will determine whether the guards can fit on the clipper.
So for example, the wahl premium guards should fit a Gamma, Babyliss, and Stylecraft blade quite well.
Just like how any premium guard set from these brands is cross-compatible with each other.
But the premium Andis double magnetic guard will only fit the Oster.
Here are some fits to be more precise.
Wahl Premium Guards
- Fit babyliss fx clippers
As long as the guard blade on your clipper is 1.5” in length and 1.75 “ in width.
This guard will fit Babyliss Clippers
FX870, FX880, FX825, and FX673
- Wahl guard doesn’t fit the popular Oster fast feeds or Andis clipper blade, you’d have to put a Wahl fade blade on your Andis clippers for them to match up.
Babyliss Premium Guards
- Will fit most wahl clippers i.e
- Do not fit Andis or fast feed blades
Examples are Legend, magic Clip, seniors
- Fits the cordless seniors
Oster Premium Guards
- Fits Andis Seniors
Style craft clipper guards
These guards are the like the Andis premium magnetic guards but for the 1.5” in length and 1.75 “ blade set.
So, they should fit clippers from brands such as:
- Wahl
- JRL
- Gamma
- Stylecraft
- Babyliss
If you’re not a fan of clipping your guards to your clippers, then these snaps of magnetic guards may be a change you may come to like.
Gamma +Cliper guards
Again similar to the style craft magnetic Guards, these will fit:
- Wahl
- JRL
- Gamma
- Stylecraft
- Babyliss
Andis Premium Magnetic Guards
- Fit the Oster fast feeds (Double magnetic guards only)
Andis clippers premium guards do not fit Wahl hair clippers unless you get a conversion kit for the blades.
This video explains the process.
How do clipper Guards work
The Half guard/0 guard
This guard leaves 1.5mm or 1/16” long and is the shortest guard available in your set.
It will help transition from the 1-guard guideline to the lever-open guideline.
You can also use it for bald cuts or buzz cuts it’s also an important guard for fading.
Read more from this article on the best clippers for buzz cuts below:
The 5 Best Hair Clippers for DIY Buzz Cuts in 2024
Number 1 and 1.5 Guard Combs
A #1 guard leaves 3mm of hair and the 1 ½ leaves 4.5mm of hair.
This guard is also a good guard to buzz and will be some of the main guards used in creating a fade.
Number #2 guard
The #2 guard comb measures 6mm or 1/4 inch.
It’s a guard used at the top of fading hair but can leave a reasonable amount of hair if you’re just looking to cut evenly although your head.
The number #3 guard
The number three guard leaves around 10mm or 3/8-inch-long hair.
Similar to the #2 guard, it is used at the top of the fade and or an even guard to just cut.
Number #5, #6 , #7 guard
The 5 guard leaves 16mm or 5/8 inches of hair.
The 6 guard leaves 3/4 inches or 19mm of hair
And the #7 guard leaves 7/8 inches or 22mm in length.
All these guards shouldn’t really be used for fades as they won’t have that much of an impact but they are decent bulk cleaning and taper-length guards.
Number #8 , #10 , #12
The #8 guard leaves 1 inch or 25mm of hair
The #10 leaves 1.25 inches or 32mm of hair and the #12 leaves 1.5 inches or 38mm of hair.
These guards are simply just the longer guards available and you should really only be using them to clear longer hair lengths.
Now that you know what each guard is best for, did you know with the use of your clipper lever, you can transition and match different guard lengths?
This work best on the lower guard lengths.
I briefly run through this below:
If you had a #1 guard (3mm) with the lever closed (0mm) it will cut to that exact length of hair which is 3mm.
But if you had a 1 guard (3mm) with the clipper lever open (1.5mm), it now moves up to become 1 ½ = 4.5mm
Similarly, if you had a 1 ½ guard (4.5mm), lever open(1.5mm) it becomes a #2 guard (6mm).
But if you were to go from a 1 ½ guard (4.5mm)and the lever is closed (0mm) then you have the true cutting length of the guard which is just 1 ½ (4.5mm).
This guide has been a quick overview of understanding how your clippers work.
If you would like to read more on this and apply it to haircuts, check out our guide on how clipper guards work.
Now, that’s everything you need to know about clipper guards but not all clippers need guards. Enter detachable blades.
Blades
Detachable blade clippers work by having a blade that can be easily removed from the clipper body.
The blade is held in place by a locking mechanism that can be released with the push of a button or lever.
As shown below:
Once the blade is removed, a different blade can be attached to achieve a different length or style.
There’s a wide range to choose and each cut has a precise length.
Detachable blades don’t come with guards, instead, each blade cuts to an exact length, basically acting as a guard in itself.
So to the lengths you want, you need to collect the blades for each clipper brand but that comes with positives and negatives, I thorough this is my guide on detachable blades vs adjustable blades.
Conclusion
In this article, we went over hair clipper guard sizes.
We went over the different brands, compatibility, and how to best use each guard.
Always check for compatibility between the guard you own and your clipper and be sure to know the lengths you need before purchasing a clipper guard set.
If you found this article helpful, check out other articles on this topic below.
