Aberlite FlexShaper 2.0 Review – The Cone of Shame
Aberlite Flex Shaper 2.0
Have you ever wanted to feel like your dog after you bring them back from the Vet? Aberlite has you covered. This neckline shave guide straps onto your head so you can get a solid line and avoid the neck beard look. Is it worth the hassle, though?
Pros
Solid line works well to guide your cutter
Usable with clippers, trimmer, or a razor
Adjustable design fits most faces
Flexible plastic conforms to your face easily
Cons
It is very uncomfortable to wear
Slippery design makes it fall off
Claims to be hands-free, but needs you to hold it in place
The more and more I look at these various shave guides and shaping tools, including the Aberlite FlexShaper 2.0 (reviewed here), the more I find them crazy. It seems the whole section of the industry is just preying on guys who don’t know exactly how they want to shape their beards.
That or the market is trans men?
While on a quest to find the Best Beard Shaping Tools, the latest I tested and reviewed were The Beard Black Shaping Tool and My Perfect Goatee, which are quite different in design compared to the Aberlite FlexShaper 2.0 –as you’ll see.
Hyperbole aside, I have yet to find a shaving or trimming guide that is really worth its salt. For the most part, they seem just to add extra steps or complicate matters by taking your extra hand.
The Aberlite Flex Shaper 2.0 attempts to fix that issue by just strapping the thing directly to your head!
For this review, I took about a week to trim with this shaper using both a beard trimmer and a safety razor.
How does it fair versus the other guides we reviewed, or even shaving without a guide? Let’s take a good look.
What is the Design Like?
The package itself comes in a folded cardboard envelope that makes me think of a vinyl album. The interior pocket contains the plastic guide and a pair of elastic bands to fit it over your head.
The pair of elastic bands are obviously in case one snaps or is lost. You only need one for this setup.
The elastic threads through the guide on either end, making a secured loop held in place by friction. The elastic is secure enough that it won’t move easily, so if you have to make the loop larger, you will have to do more than just pull.
From there, the entire thing fits over your head and rests directly below your chin.
According to the instructions, you fit it between two fingers above your Adam’s apple, where it is held in place with friction. Then, simply shave or trim on the underside to give yourself a solid line separating your next from your beard.
Theoretically, that would also work easily! In practice, it leaves more than a little to be desired.
How Easy is it to Use?
When I look at new shaving or trimming gear, one of the first things I look at is how many extra steps it adds to the shaving routine. Does it make it awkward, or would it be easier just to skip the guide and go with just eyeballing it alone?
God’s honest truth, this is a nice and simple piece of equipment, but it is a pain to use. Unlike most products, it can’t just be added to the routine; it adds an extra step by putting it on and taking it off—an extra and uncomfortable step.
Wearing this makes me think I am wearing the Cone of Shame from the Vet’s office.
You can see from the pictures I took using this item that it left a red line around my chin. While I am not the smallest chin guy around, I’m certainly no Jabba the Hutt. I don’t like the idea of having a ring around my chin for the rest of the day.
Overall, it is much easier for me to just eyeball it rather than use a guide, especially if I am in a hurry. Why put myself through the trouble of throwing this on when I can just see my own face in the mirror?
How well does it Perform its Job?
The Flex Shaper 2.0 claims to be a hands-free job, but honestly, I had to steady it with my hand. The elastic was always slipping on my hair and threatening to fall down. It was easier to hold it in place while trimming the beard.
It held much better when I used my scarf instead of putting it straight on my hair. Don’t use this with wet hair.
Beard Trimmer
This was easiest with the beard trimmer itself. It was pretty easy to find the edge of the guide and let it just glide down over my neck.
Though I did find that it had issues getting close enough to the edge of the guide, I found that the trimmer couldn’t get close enough, and there were a few millimeters on my face it missed.
Razor
The safety razor I used was one of my personal favorites: the RazoRock Hawk V2. I find it sleek and easy to use, especially against one of these guides.
This got the closest shave possible, making the line sharp but nice and clean. There was no overlap like I had with the Beard Trimmer.
However, I did have an issue with mess and cleanup. Obviously, the guide got covered in shaving soap, so the extra step is cleaning it off afterward. Overall, I liked shaving with the safety razor much more than just the trimmer.
It might go without saying, but do not use this with a shavette or a straight razor. You might need to steady the guide with your opposite hand, and you need both hands to make sure not to cut yourself with shavettes and straight razors.
Value For Money
As of the time of writing, the price on Amazon and the Aberlite website is around $20 USD.
Absolutely ridiculous. There is no reason a piece of flimsy plastic and the elastic from the waistband of your boxers should cost 20 clams.
You could put something like this together using a ruler and string, especially when just eyeballing your neckline would be simple. After at least a few times shaving with this, you aren’t going to need it at all.
Common Consumer Complaints, Issues, and Positive Reviews
The reviews on the Aberlite Flex Shaper 2.0 are relatively spread. Less positive reviews are more common than our usual fair on this website. I suppose more people have my opinion of this product than not.
Positive Reviews
A majority of the positive reviews on the Aberlite FlexShaper 2.0 seem to point to one thing: it does the job. It shapes the beard in such a way that it is easy to shave and makes your beard look nice and clean. I suppose being functional is definitely a positive in most online shopping experiences these days.
The other point I have seen brought up is the precision the guide allows you. It is true if you are using a precision trimmer or a safety razor you are definitely going to get a professional line under your jaw. Style is everything, and getting that solid line can be pretty tough if you don’t know what you are doing.
Others comment that the product is easy to use, and I can maybe suppose it is after the first use. I just can’t get over how awkward and uncomfortable it makes me feel. I don’t see how it is easy when it is constantly shifting around on my face.
Consumer Complaints
My greatest complaint seems to be the same complaint everyone else has. This is way too overpriced. Why would I pay 20 dollars for something that is literally a 5-dollar product? I suppose if you get it on a sale or something, it might be worth it, but the majority of consumers are not up to paying the cost of 2 pizzas for just a beard-shaping guide.
The other major complaint I have heard is also one of mine: it is uncomfortable to wear. For many guys, it leaves a line on their face, feels weird, or rides up on their ears uncomfortably. After several years of working in this profession of reviewing and using beard and shaving tools, I can freely say that no one is going to use an uncomfortable product after a while.
Final Thoughts – Who is the Aberlite Flex Shaver 2.0 For?
No one! Absolutely no one.
Honestly, if you are really stuck on making sure your beard looks perfect, there is nothing better than Youtube videos.
The only reason I could see for buying this product is if you have a longer beard and you need to get the whiskers out of the way to get your neck clean. Even then, just holding it up and out of the way is going to be the easiest option.
For this price and this discomfort, I would give the Aberlite Flex Shaver 2.0 a pass.
