Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 Review: Should You Buy It?

The Lawn Mower 4.0 from Manscaped is one of the more popular body groomers out there and in this review, we’ll find out if it’s actually any good.

Currently in its 4^th generation, the Lawn Mower is a below-the-waist trimming tool that also works well on the rest of the body according to the manufacturer.

However, the main selling point is undoubtedly its ability to easily and safely trim the groin area.

Manscaped’s popularity soared thanks to the endorsement of many Youtubers and Instagram celebrities that promoted the Lawn Mower and Manscaped’s subscription plans.

But since influencers are also interested in referring as many buyers as possible, you’ll rarely find unbiased reviews (with pros and cons) apart from the usual plug.

I was so intrigued by the Lawn Mower’s popularity and overwhelmingly positive feedback that I just had to try it myself.

So I bought the Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0, used it for almost a month for all my trimming needs and in this review I’ll share everything you need to know about it.

If you’re thinking of getting one, I highly recommend reading my test before pulling the trigger.

As you’ll see, you might be better off with a different trimmer depending on your needs — and you’ll also be saving some money.

I will share some of my favorite alternatives at the end, so definitely check them out as well.

Let’s dive right in and take a closer look at the Lawn Mower 4.0.

Lawn Mower 4.0 features

1. SkinSafe Blade with adjustable guards

The Lawn Mower 4.0 is fitted with what they are calling a SkinSafe Ceramic blade that is offset 3mm from the edge for maximum confidence while trimming below the waist.

However, they also mention that it does not guarantee protection against nicks, so that’s a bit contradictory, but also a disclaimer in case some users won’t be having the best experience.

For a nick-free trim, you must use one of the two included guards.

I will be sharing in great detail how forgiving the blade of the Lawn Mower is (with no guard) later on in the review.

Only the moving blade is actually ceramic (the white one), while the static blade is made out of steel.

Fun fact: it is the exact same blade used on the previous Lawn Mower generations and it is backward compatible.

If you don’t want to cut the hair at skin level, Manscaped also included two adjustable guards with the Lawn Mower 4.0.

Actually, adjustable is a bit misleading as the guards themselves are just basic plastic guards.

However, there are two predetermined positions for a guard, allowing you to slide it further back over the blade for a closer trim.

You achieve that by aligning the notches on the guard with a pair of grooves on the trimmer.

As such, you can get a hair length of 3 or 6 mm with the small guard or 10 and 13 mm with the larger one.

The guards are a bit fiddly to put in place, but once the notches slide into the grooves, the fit is very secure.

2. LED light

This doesn’t really sound like much, but it’s one of the most useful additions to any body trimmer and one of my favorite things about this fourth revision of the Lawn Mower.

It’s adequately bright and really comes in handy when shaving certain areas.

You can also turn it off by pressing and holding the power button for 3 seconds while the trimmer is running.

3. 90 minutes of cordless use

The Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 is fitted with a decent size battery that allows it to run cordlessly for 90 minutes.

That’s pretty impressive considering how compact the trimmer is.

It can of course only operate cordlessly since there’s no charging port to plug the cable in.

Instead, it comes with a wireless charger/dock that charges the battery via electromagnetic induction.

There’s also a 3-stage battery level indicator, a new feature that the previous generation lacked.

4. Waterproof

The Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 is IPX7 waterproof for easy cleaning.

Also, if you prefer to use it in the shower, you can do that as well. I will share later on why I personally do not recommend using it in that manner.

5. Fast rotary motor

The Lawn Mower 4.0 comes with a 7000 rpm motor that has QuietStroke technology according to the product page.

In short, it should be powerful and quiet — but more on that in the performance section.

6. Travel lock

A rare feature found on body groomers is the travel lock — basically a way of locking the power button and preventing erroneous operation.

Fortunately, with this 4^th iteration of the Lawn Mower, Manscaped has integrated a travel lock function into the power button, so props to them for doing so.

Build quality and ergonomics

The Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 is one of the most compact, lightweight and easy-to-use trimmers I’ve tested so far.

And ergonomics are key here, especially if you’re using a groomer to trim the hair on your entire body.

After using large and heavy body groomers, I really appreciate how light and nimble the Lawn Mower is.

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It’s also well built and feels pretty sturdy despite the all-plastic construction.

The design is quite pleasing with the angular shapes and the satin and glossy finish of the panels.

It’s a clear departure from the very round shapes of the previous generation Lawn Mower 3.0.

The matte surfaces of the 4.0 feel premium and offer a decent grip.

However, given the Lawn Mower’s weight of only 123g (4.33oz), it’s perfectly adequate and I never had any issues while using it.

On the front part of the trimmer we have the Manscaped logo, a multifunction button and a battery level indicator.

The multifunction button, apart from turning the groomer ON and OFF, also doubles as a travel lock.

You can activate it by quickly pressing it three times (with the trimmer turned off). The Battery indicator will flash its three LEDs in succession, signaling that the power button is now locked.

You can unlock it in the same manner with three quick presses.

The third function of the button is to turn on and off the small flashlight LED at the front.

By default, the light will always be on when your start the trimmer.

To turn it off, you must press and hold the multifunction switch for 3 seconds while the trimmer is running.

Doing it again will turn on the light once more and so on.

I personally find the flashlight very useful and it really helps to better see those stray hairs. The light isn’t very bright, but it’s definitely better than not having it at all.

I would often use my phone’s flashlight to see what I’m doing, so I think this is a genuinely useful feature.

The battery indicator has 3 levels which is really impressive considering that most body groomers only have a single LED that flashes red/orange when you need to charge the battery.

The blade is quite easy to remove for cleaning under the tap.

You just press it with your thumb and it pops out.

There’s no charging port on the bottom of the Lawn Mower 4.0 so it can only be charged wirelessly via the included stand.

The two guards are a bit fiddly to use, especially when you want to use them in the second position as the distance between the two notches is really small.

Also, because of the placement of the power button, you’ll sometimes press it by accident during use.

But other than that, the Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 really impresses with its compact dimensions, useful features and how user-friendly it is.

The build quality is also quite nice, the materials don’t feel flimsy or cheap and it looks sleek.

Included accessories

Here’s what you’ll be getting inside the box:

• Lawn Mower 4.0 body trimmer
• Two attachment combs
• Charging stand + USB type-C cable
• USB charger
• Cleaning brush
• User manual

I have to give props to Manscaped for a few things.

First of all, the packaging looks and feels premium.

Instead of a plastic blister, you get this sleek cardboard box with nice graphics and ballsy marketing copy (pun intended):

They also included the tiniest USB charger and a braided USB Type-C cable that again feels expensive.

Surprisingly, there’s no travel pouch, which is the only negative I could find about this bundle.

Battery life and charging

The Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 is fitted with the same 600mAh Lithium-Ion battery as the previous generation.

As such, you can expect the same 90 minutes of cordless trimming from a fully charged battery.

And after using the Lawn Mower 4.0 regularly, I can confirm that the battery will comfortably last for an entire body trimming session.

The battery life isn’t anywhere near as impressive as the 5 and a half hours you’ll be getting from the Philips Multigroom 7000 for example, but that one is a larger and heavier trimmer.

In my opinion the battery life of the Lawn Mower 4.0 is definitely good enough and most users will find it adequate.

That said, my main gripe with this groomer is the way you charge it.

As mentioned earlier, you can only do it via the included wireless charging cradle.

And let’s face it, the charger can easily get lost or misplaced and your Lawn Mower trimmer will be rendered useless without it.

Don’t get me wrong, I actually like it, it’s very practical and it’s a quality accessory — oftentimes these stands are really cheap and flimsy, but that’s not the case here.

Even the small charger and the braided cable are of high quality, but there should be a fallback charging option.

Something as simple as fitting the trimmer with a USB Type-C port would have solved this.

I cannot help but think how convenient would that be when traveling for example.

You can simply bring just the trimmer and use your phone’s cable and charger. Unfortunately, you are stuck with this proprietary charging stand.

I think fitting the Lawn Mower 4.0 with a USB port would have been a real upgrade from the older 3.0.

Getting back to actually charging the groomer via the dock, it takes around 3 hours to go from 0 to 100%.

There’s no quick charge feature available though, so make sure your Lawn Mower is charged before starting to trim.

I always leave it in the dock to have it fully charged whenever I need it.

This will not have a significant impact on battery performance and the trimmer is also fitted with an overcharging protection circuit.

Testing the Lawn Mower 4.0: Performance

Let’s now see if the Lawn Mower 4.0 is actually any good at trimming body hair.

I tend to divide this section into two distinct parts and address grooming the groin and the rest of the body separately.

A versatile trimmer that can do both without major compromises is a winner in my book.

So let’s find out if the Lawn Mower 4.0 is one of them.

Trimming body hair (legs, arms, chest, abs)

Depending on your personal preference, you can use the Manscaped Lawn Mower with or without one of the two guards.

If you like trimming the hair on your body really short, then no guard is the way to go.

For me personally, the sweet spot is 1 to 2 mm, so from the get-go the Lawn Mower 4.0 didn’t seem like a perfect fit.

No guard meant the hair would be too short which in my case also causes an unpleasant folliculitis, while the small guard would leave the hair at 3mm, so a bit too long for my liking.

That said, I tested the Lawn Mower 4.0 with and without the guards and the performance was generally pretty good.

I usually trim the hair on my legs, abs, chest and forearms.

If you also need to tackle the hair on your back/shoulders, you are going to need someone to help you out as this groomer does not have a long handle attachment like some Norelco trimmers do.

The first thing I noticed when using the Lawn Mower was just how easy and enjoyable it is to use.

This is mainly the result of two things: the compact size and low weight of the groomer and that LED light.

I really didn’t realize how useful the latter is until now.

It just makes trimming the hair so much easier, especially the areas with denser hair where you can’t really tell if the hair was cut or not.

Trimming the hair with the blade exposed, so no guard, was generally effective and comfortable. Again, we are only talking about trimming legs, arms, abs and chest for now.

By the way, I highly recommend using the Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 on dry skin.

Even though it is a wet/dry groomer that can be used in the shower, you really don’t want to do that as cutting the hair will be extremely tedious and ineffective.

With a guard, it will be close to impossible.

But getting back to the no-guard trimming, as long as the skin is taut and you’re always going against the grain, the Lawn Mower will perform quite well.

The hair won’t be cut right at skin level since the cutting blade is offset a bit (to reduce the likelihood of nicks), so if you want the closest trim possible, you won’t be getting that with the Lawn Mower.

For me it’s not a problem — the groin area is a different story as you’ll see later on.

My main gripe with using the Lawn Mower 4.0 to trim the hair on my body was that it just doesn’t glide as easily as other groomers.

It sometimes sticks to the skin, regardless if you’re using a guard or not, even if the skin is perfectly dry. If it gets a little damp, it’s even worse.

This has a major impact on the time it takes me to complete a full-body trim and after a while it kinda gets annoying.

Other trimmers (that I’ll be presenting in great detail in the alternatives section) manage to glide a lot easier and are thus more effective and enjoyable to use, even though they’re not as lightweight or compact as the Lawn Mower.

Another quirk that makes this even worse is the fact that the Lawn Mower 4.0 must be pushed in order to cut the hairs.

You hold it in your hand with the blade toward you and push it against the hair’s direction of growth:

With most Philips body groomers for example, you hold them with the blade pointing away from you and pull it against the hair’s grain.

Here’s a picture that hopefully manages to better depict this:

The stickiness of the trimmer is less of an issue if you have to pull instead of push it toward you.

And as mentioned earlier, the Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 is a push-type trimmer.

If you’ll only be using it sparingly or on smaller areas (like your chest), this won’t be a major problem.

But on my arms, legs, and the back of my legs, areas that require a lot of work, the constant sticking and hoping was really annoying.

For example, the Philips Multigroom 7000, my trimmer of choice for these areas, also a push-type, glides effortlessly and the whole session takes less time.

As for positives, the blade of the Lawn Mower is pretty forgiving and I never had any major issues while trimming my legs, abs, chest and forearms.

It also didn’t clog and I didn’t have to stop and clean the blade of hair.

Using the guards was a bit of a mixed bag.

Apart from the stickiness, the groomer tends to miss quite a few hairs that stay flat on the skin or curl excessively.

That happens with the 3mm guard and gets even worse as the size of the guard increases.

So you may end up with hair of different lengths which is not ideal.

Again, I think this would have been (completely) solved by the inclusion of a smaller guard (1 or 2mm).

Here’s a closeup of my forearm after trimming with Lawn Mower 4.0 and the 3mm guard:

As you can see, some of the hairs were cut really short, while others (that stayed flat on the skin) were skipped.

Overall, using the Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 for trimming body hair was decent, but it’s definitely not the best groomer out there.

Groin/genitals and armpits

After the rather underwhelming performance on the rest of the body, maybe the Lawn Mower 4.0 can redeem itself in the area marketed as its main strength: shaving/grooming the groin.

So let’s see how that went.

I personally prefer to trim the groin area as close to the skin as possible, so I knew from the start that I will need to use the Lawn Mower with the blade exposed (no guard).

I was really curious to see how comfortable that blade is, how close it can shave and how fast I’ll be able to complete a trim down there.

As it turns out, the SkinSafe Blade on the Lawn Mower 4.0 is nowhere near as forgiving as other trimmers I’ve used in the past in that area.

Again, the manufacturer explicitly recommends using a guard for a safe trim, so I tried it without one just to see how safe it is if you want a really close trim.

I had to be extremely careful and move the blade really slow against the direction of the hair to avoid the skin getting pinched or nicked.

Moving it too fast will very likely snag the hairs in the areas with denser/thicker hairs and even cut the skin.

That wasn’t a problem when using the trimmer on other areas like the legs or abs.

Also, even if the pulling and pinching wouldn’t be a problem, you would still need to move the trimmer slowly in order to capture all the hairs.

Otherwise, some of them will be left behind.

Manscaped says you should use a guard in order to avoid nicks and for your experience to be perfectly comfortable.

And while I do appreciate their honesty — they clearly state on their website that the blade alone will not protect you from cuts — the guard will just leave the hair too long.

If you only prefer to have the bulk removed, it will work fine.

But even then you will need to put in some effort as using the Lawn Mower 4.0 with a guard attachment will cause it to miss even more flat-lying/curly hairs.

I like a close trim, so I mostly used the groomer without a guard.

I got a couple of nicks and it also pulled some hairs which was not very pleasant.

To avoid these issues completely, I had to really take my time and my manscaping session just took forever to complete.

I usually trim the hair down there with a Philips Norelco body groomer that has a cutting head made out of two blades with rounded tips and a foil cutter in the middle:

That type of trimmer is much better suited for trimming the genitals really close; it is a lot more forgiving, I feel more confident and in control and I’m able to finish trimming a lot quicker.

As for the closeness, even without a guard, the Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 just doesn’t get close enough for my liking.

As mentioned earlier, the moving blade is offset from the fixed blade in order to protect the skin from cuts.

And it only works to a certain degree as we’ve seen so far; on the other hand, it also means the blade won’t be able to cut the hair at skin level.

Again, the above-mentioned groomers from Philips manage to trim & shave the hairs at skin level and in a much safer fashion. And a lot faster.

Finally, because I need to go really slow for a nick-free trim without the guard, as well as the fact that I’m not really confident in the trimmer makes this really time-consuming and not particularly enjoyable.

Shaving the armpits, another sensitive area, was also difficult for the exact same reasons, although things were slightly better.

And that’s mainly because the hair was thinner and not as dense. But it still took me more time compared to using a Philips groomer or even Panasonic’s V-shaped trimmers.

Noise

This is the only area where the Lawn Mower 4.0 really shines during use — it’s a really quiet body trimmer.

In fact, it is by far the quietest I’ve ever tested, even when compared to the tiny single AA battery Norelcos.

Other Philips Body groomers are very loud, vibrating and rattling a lot during use.

Not the Lawn Mower though, it really lives up to the manufacturer’s claims in this regard.

I personally don’t mind a loud groomer, but if you need one that operates quietly, the Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 definitely qualifies as one.

Cleaning the Lawn Mower 4.0

The Lawn Mower 4.0 is waterproof, which makes cleaning very easy and straightforward.

An IPX7 rating means it can be immersed in water of up to one meter (for 30 minutes).

Manscaped recommends using the included cleaning brush to remove the hairs from the blade, then simply rinsing it under the tap.

I’ll be honest and admit I never used the brush and only cleaned the trimmer with water and that worked perfectly fine.

Once you finish trimming, turn the groomer off, remove the guard (if any) and then the blade by pushing it firmly with your thumb.

It should simply pop out and you can now rinse it clean with warm tap water.

I also wash the guard and the chamber that houses the drive shaft as some hairs will end up there as well.

Finally, I shake off the excess water and pat everything dry with a towel.

I prefer to leave the trimmer with the blade and guard detached until all the moisture has completely evaporated.

Snapping the blade back in place is very easy: you first insert the bottom part then press it until you hear a crisp click.

Manscaped doesn’t mention anything about lubrication, but I think it can benefit from it.

After a few uses, my blade began to get warm, so I sprayed it with Andis CoolCare Plus which definitely made a difference.

You can also use a couple of drops of clipper oil on the blade, then turn the trimmer on for a few seconds to distribute the oil evenly across the blade.

Again, you absolutely don’t have to do this, but I found it to be beneficial.

Replacement parts availability

The Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 uses the same blade as the 3.0 and the other previous iterations.

So it’s easy to buy from Manscaped’s website or from Amazon.

That’s the good part.

SkinSafe Blade Replacement

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The not-so-good one is that you’ll need to replace the blade every 3 months and it’s not cheap doing so.

I haven’t used mine for 3 months, so I cannot yet provide feedback on its longevity or whether it’ll still be sharp.

That said, the blade/shaving head of other body trimmers from Philips Norelco or Panasonic lasts a lot longer and they’re reasonably priced as well.

For example, Philips recommends changing the cutting head every two years and from personal experience I can confirm that it lasts even longer than that.

The Lawn Mower 4.0 itself is rather pricey — again, especially when compared to the alternatives.

Granted, other groomers don’t offer wireless charging and LED flashlights, but the performance is better and the purchase price and running costs are lower.

Wrapup — Is the Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 worth it?

In my opinion and after testing it extensively, no, it’s not.

If we consider all the important parts — costs, performance, and other trimmers from the competition — I think the Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 is overpriced and overhyped and there are cheaper options that work better.

For me, the biggest letdown was the trimmer’s (in)ability to safely trim the hair down there at skin level.

Again, the user manual says you should be using a guard, but for me (and for many other users) that’s not an option.

And even on other areas it only works decently, not great, since you have to push the blade against the hair and go slowly to prevent nicks, hairs getting pulled or the blade getting stuck to the skin if it’s slightly damp.

With one of the guards attached, it will miss some of the hairs that stay flat on the skin and the hair length can be inconsistent.

The fact that you’ll need to change the rather pricey blade pretty often doesn’t exactly sweeten the deal.

As for the positives, there are quite a few, but unfortunately most of them don’t concern the actual performance.

The Manscaped Lawn Mower 4.0 is really compact, lightweight and easy to operate.

The build quality is very good, the battery life is solid and it offers a few features that I haven’t seen on other body trimmers: LED flashlight, 3-level battery indicator, and a travel lock.

It’s easy to clean and basically maintenance-free.

But as mentioned above, when it comes to actually using it for its intended purpose, the performance was underwhelming.

Alternatives to the Lawn Mower 4.0

Let’s now check out some alternatives that I consider better picks for most users.

I own all of them and have been using them for years before testing the Manscaped trimmer.

1. Philips Norelco Bodygroom 7000

See the price on Amazon

This groomer is in my opinion the best choice for most users that need a highly capable trimmer for cutting and shaving body hair, particularly the groin.

It does all the things that the Lawn Lower 4.0 couldn’t and for less money.

The distinct feature of this groomer (and others in Philips’ lineup) is the shaving head comprised of two blades with rounded teeth plus a foil cutter in the middle.

The blades are very forgiving even when used directly on your genitals (you’ll still have to be careful), but it’s a lot more confidence-inspiring and enables you to trim/shave the hair quickly and safely.

Moreover, you can hold the trimmer perpendicular to the skin so the foil head comes in contact with the skin for that extra close shave.

Also, because you have to pull the trimmer toward you, it doesn’t stick to the skin and it’s more effective and faster.

It works a lot better than the Manscaped groomer when shaving the armpits as well; it’s a lot faster, more comfortable and unless you really try to, it won’t nick the skin.

This groomer also has a second trimming head, with standard shearing blades. You can use it on the rest of the body to trim the hair at various lengths.

This one is a push-style trimmer, but the integrated comb (which can be removed completely) glides really easy on the skin and I actually prefer it to the Lawn Mower.

As for negatives, it is significantly larger (but still manageable) and it makes more noise than the Lawn Mower 4.0 during use.

The replacement head is very durable and widely available. Mine lasted for more than 3 years before needing to be replaced.

Also, if you need a trimmer with an extension handle for reaching the back/shoulders, check out the Philips Bodygroom 5000:

It has the same excellent foil head as the 7000, but doesn’t feature a second trimmer.

You do get 3 click-on guards (3mm, 5mm and 7mm) that fit over the foil head to get the desired hair length.

The Bodygroom 5000 is however very reasonably priced and because it does everything right, including the groin, I think it would be the pick for most users.

For all the details you can check out my review of the Bodygroom 5000.

2. Philips Norelco Multigroom 7000

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This one is an all-in-one tool you can use for trimming body hair, facial hair and even for cutting the hair on your head.

It features a brushed aluminum body, a fantastic 5-hour battery life, works corded and cordless and comes bundled with a plethora of accessories, including a nose trimmer and various guards.

It’s powerful, quiet and versatile.

It works great as a body trimmer, but just like the Lawn Mower, it doesn’t excel when used on the privates for the very same reasons.

The exposed blade will cut the skin and using the guards will leave the hair too long.

But at least the Norelco Multigroom 7000 costs significantly less and is a lot more versatile than the Lawn Mower 4.0.

You can check out my in-depth review of the Multigroom 7000 for more details.

3. Panasonic ER-GK60-S

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Panasonic’s take on what a body trimmer should be designed is rather unique.

Their ER-GK60-S features a V-shaped head that sits in line with the trimmer’s body and allows you to hold it in a very natural way.

It’s definitely better than the typical push-style trimmer and I really enjoy using it to shave my arms, abs, chest, and legs.

The attachment guards are also really good, glide easily on the skin and are pretty effective at catching the hairs, even if they curl or stay flat on the skin.

It’s definitely better than the Lawn Mower 4.0 in that regard.

The price is more reasonable as well.

For the genital area it includes a special attachment that prevents the blade from nicking the skin, but that comes at the expense of closeness.

So if you need a body groomer mainly to be used on genitals for a close trim, the Philips Bodygroom 7000 for example will definitely be a better option than the Panasonic.

For even more options you can check out my roundup of the best body trimmers.

Lawn Mower 3.0 vs 4.0: Should you upgrade?

If you already own the Manscaped Lawn Mower 3.0 and you’re mostly happy with it, but wondering whether it’s worth upgrading to the Lawn Mower 4.0, here’s what you need to know.

• The Lawn Mower 3.0 and 4.0 feature the exact same motor and blade, so the performance is pretty much identical
• The battery has the same capacity (90 minutes of cordless use)
• The 3.0 only has one guard and a basic led battery level indicator
• The 3.0 lacks the travel lock function found on the Lawn Mower 4.0

So in my opinion no, you should not get the Lawn Mower 4.0 if you already have the 3.0 and it’s in good working condition. The 4.0 will perform pretty much identically.

On the other hand, an upgrade from the Lawn Mower 2.0 to the 3.0 or 4.0 makes sense (more powerful motor, larger battery, flashlight).

This pretty much concludes my review of the Lawn Mower 4.0. If you have any other questions or you’d like to share your experience with it, make sure to leave a comment below.