The Conair NE152 - Don't Be The Person Everyone Snickers About.

Background: Admit it! We've all seen someone whose nose or ear hair has grown, disproportionately, out of control. As we grow older, the likelihood that the person we are referring to will be us - grows and grows. Instead of offering them advice, or providing them that timely birthday or Christmas gift; we snicker about them and say: "Ugh - did you see the weeds growing out of that person!"

I don't want to be that person!

My Need: As hair migrated from the top of my head to more embarrassing parts of the body, I needed a personal grooming device that allowed me to tackle the ever present, but unwanted - hair of the nose and ear.

Product Reviewed: Ultimate Turbo Nose & Ear Hair Trimmer, model: NE152CS

Product Basics: The Ultimate Turbo Nose & Ear Hair Trimmer by Conair is a battery operated, twin rotary blade, single speed trimmer. Overall, it measures 5.0 x 8.2 x 3.0 inches and weighs in at 5.5 oz. It is available in two finishes: chrome, and burgundy with chrome accents. The trimmer has 5-position adjustable head for those hard to reach areas.

When cutting through a forest, don't bring an axe to do a chainsaw job.
Being cordless, Conair made a good decision in making this a 3V model (2-AA batteries) as opposed to prior generation 1.5V models. I find that single battery models just don't have enough power to cut through the really heavy brush one sometimes encounters. Coupled with twin, surgical steel, rotary blades; my NE152 has displayed adequate cutting power (Conair claims the blades turn 10000 rpm). I do find, in chainsaw fashion, that a little back and forth motion does assist the process; cuts are quick, clean, and painless.

If, at first, you don't succeed - try, try, again.
On the positive side, the NE152 features a 5 position, pivoting head which does make surfing the nasal & ear passages a bit easier. Lessons learned have taught me that two passes are generally required to do the job thoroughly. For the nose, first I use the straight up and direct approach with the head in the standard position. I follow this up with a second pass in position 3, utilizing an underhand method. For the ears, the head goes to position 5 (about a 45-degree angle). Thankfully, these exercises are needed few and far between.

On the negative side, those with narrow nasal & ear passages might find some nether regions hard to reach. The base of the cutting head prevents comfortable insertion beyond a certain depth. This means you will always cut the limbs of the tree but the not the stump. Annoyingly, the limbs always grow back. This may have stemmed from safety concerns and the fact that people aren't uniform in size. For this reason, the pivoting head feature is even more critical to have; if first passes don't yield fruit - you may need to try again from a different angle.

Oh my. That tickles!
One peculiar sensation I have to tell you about is due to the trimmer vibration. Overall, it doesn't vibrate that much, but something about the way it vibrates tickles the sensitive areas of the nose. It’s a unique sensation that can be unsettling and is hard to describe. For the most part, I have gotten used to it, but every once and a while the sensation does catch me off guard.

You're not going to put that back in the cabinet like that? ... Are you?
Cleanup of the NE152 is particularly easy. The trimmer is documented as water-resistant so immediately after use, I tilt the head downward and run it under hot water. This washes away any exterior, shall we say - condensation. The base of the head can then be unscrewed when turned to the proper position allowing access to the rotary blades. Both the blades and base can be rinsed off with hot water to your satisfaction.

Side Notes: The NE152 has soft rubbery back and an hour glass shape, for easy gripping in the hand. It easily fits into my travel bag, and I find that it does not occupy too much space. My usage is such that batteries last me a full year, so I have no complaints in this regard. Conair includes a 2-year limited warranty against defects.

The Verdict: The Conair NE152 met my expectations and satisfied my needs. I have not experienced any problems with it in over a year and it has proven to be quite durable.

Happy Trimming