Caring for a NOVAH Clipper: The Routine That Actually Matters
By NOVAH Editorial · Updated October 3, 2026 · 8 min read
Key Takeaways
- Clipper care is three short routines: after every cut, once a week, and once a month. The after-cut routine takes about 2 minutes and does most of the work.
- Oil is the single highest-return habit. 3 drops across the teeth after every cut keeps the blade cool and the cut clean.
- Disinfectant and oil do different jobs. Disinfect first, let it dry, then oil, never the other way round.
- Water belongs on the guards, never on the motor housing or the charging port.
- Care keeps a good blade cutting. It does not rescue a blade with chipped or rounded teeth, which needs replacing.
What Does Caring for a Clipper Actually Involve?
Caring for a clipper means keeping the blade clean, lubricated and correctly seated, and keeping the battery charged in a sensible way. For a cordless clipper and trimmer that comes down to three short routines: a 2 minute routine after every cut, a 10 minute clean once a week if you cut often, and a quick inspection once a month.
Pulling, heat, noise and a blade that seems to have gone dull are the complaints these routines are meant to prevent. The machine rarely changes. The film of hair, skin oil and dried lubricant building up between the blades does.
What Should You Do After Every Cut?
Four steps, in this order, with the clipper switched off for the first two.
1. Brush out the hair. Use the small brush that comes with most clippers, or a clean, dry toothbrush. Brush across the teeth, then tilt the clipper blade down and brush out the gap behind the teeth where cut hair collects. Loose hair left there soaks up oil and turns into a paste.
2. Disinfect if the clipper was used on anyone else. Spray a clipper disinfectant onto the teeth, following the contact time on the label, then let it dry. It is sensible practice in a household where the same clipper goes from one head to the next.
3. Oil. Apply 3 drops of clipper oil, one at each corner of the teeth and one across the middle, then run the clipper for 10 to 15 seconds so the oil works between the blades. Wipe off the excess with a dry cloth.
4. Charge. Put it on charge after the cut, not before the next one. That is the habit that means a flat battery never meets a half finished haircut.
| Routine | When | What it involves | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| After every cut | Every use | Brush out hair, disinfect if shared, 3 drops of oil, charge | 2 min |
| Guard wash | Weekly, or after a shared cut | Warm soapy water, brush, dry fully before storing | 5 min plus drying |
| Blade deep clean | Weekly if cutting often, monthly otherwise | Remove blade, brush underneath, wipe, refit to 0.8 to 1.6mm, oil | 10 min |
| Inspection | Monthly | Teeth intact, blade not rocking, guard clips firm, port clean | 3 min |
| Long storage | Before a break of several weeks | Clean, oil, store partly charged, top up every couple of months | 5 min |
Timings are for one clipper and one trimmer. Never rinse or submerge the clipper body; only the blade and guards are cleaned wet.
Why Does Oil Matter So Much?
A clipper blade is two steel plates sliding against each other thousands of times a minute. Oil is the only thing between them. Without it, friction rises, the blade heats, and the top blade starts to drag instead of shear, which is the pulling sensation people blame on a dull blade.
Use proper clipper oil, which is a light mineral oil made for the job. Cooking oils thicken and go sticky as they age, and heavier lubricants gum up the gap between the blades. Three drops is enough. More than that does not lubricate better, it just runs onto the scalp and collects hair.
Disinfectant sprays are not a substitute for oil. Many are solvent based and strip lubricant away as they clean, which is exactly why oil comes after disinfectant, never before.
The trimmer needs the same care and is easier to forget because it is small. It needs it more, not less, because its blade runs right against the skin on outlines and a dry one heats quickly.
How Do You Deep Clean the Blade Once a Week?
If you cut once a week or more, give the blade a proper clean every week. For an occasional home cut, once a month is enough.
With the clipper off and unplugged, loosen the two blade screws and lift the blade assembly away from the housing. Note which way it sits before you move it. Brush out the hair packed underneath, which is often more than you expect, and wipe the blade faces with a cloth lightly dampened with clipper disinfectant or isopropyl alcohol. Let it dry fully.
Refit the blade with the top cutting blade set roughly 0.8 to 1.6mm behind the edge of the bottom teeth and parallel to it, then tighten the screws evenly, alternating between them. Oil with 3 drops and run it for 15 seconds.
The one rule that matters here: the blade can be cleaned wet, the body cannot. Never rinse the clipper under a tap or submerge it unless the manufacturer states it is washable. Water that reaches the motor or the charging port does damage no amount of drying reliably undoes.
How Should You Clean the Guards?
Guards are the only part of the kit you should wash with water. Pull them off, rinse them in warm water with a little mild soap, and brush between the combs where hair and product collect. If the clipper is shared, follow with a disinfectant spray or wipe.
Dry them completely before you put them away. A guard stored damp inside a closed case is how a clean kit ends up smelling bad.
While they are off, check the clip on each guard. It should hold the guard flat against the blade with no wobble. A guard that has started to lift will cut longer than its size, and a cracked clip can let go mid pass, which on a short guard means a bald patch.
How Do You Look After the Battery?
Clipper batteries are lithium-ion, and the sensible habits are the ones for any lithium-ion device. Charge on a hard, dry, non flammable surface, not on a bed or sofa. Use the supplied cable or a charger you know works with similar devices. Keep the clipper out of hot cars and direct sun.
Stop using any device whose battery becomes hot to the touch while charging, swells, leaks or smells. That is a fault, not a care issue, and it applies to every cordless clipper.
For storage longer than a few weeks, leave the battery partly charged rather than completely flat, and top it up every couple of months. A lithium-ion cell left fully drained for a long time can fail to take a charge again.
What Is Specific to Caring for the NOVAH Set?
NOVAH publishes this article and sells the set it covers, the NOVAH Pro Clipper + Trimmer, so here is what its design means for the routine above.
The Pro Clipper has a brushless motor, running at 6,000 RPM standard and 6,500 RPM in turbo. A brushless motor has no carbon brushes to wear or replace, so motor care comes down to keeping hair and water out of the housing. The blade is the part that needs your attention, and it gets the most from the routine: a clean, oiled blade is what turns the motor's speed into an even cut.
The housing is all metal. When you refit the blade after the weekly clean, check it sits square and parallel before you tighten the screws. The blade is adjustable and replaceable, so a blade that care can no longer save is swapped, not the whole machine.
The trimmer has its own small blade and gets the same after-cut routine: brush, disinfect if shared, 3 drops of oil, charge.
The NOVAH Pro Clipper + Trimmer set is available on Amazon.
Check price on AmazonWhat Are the Honest Limitations?
Two tradeoffs in this set bear directly on care, and they are worth knowing plainly.
Metal shows neglect in its own way. An all metal housing shows fingerprints, oil and residue readily, so wipe the body down with a dry cloth after each cut, never under the tap.
Cordless means a charging habit. A corded clipper is always ready. This one is only ready if you charged it, and a battery left flat in a drawer for months is the one piece of neglect care cannot always undo.
And care has limits. Oil and cleaning keep a sound blade cutting. They do not restore teeth that are chipped, bent or rounded. If the blade still pulls after a full clean, a fresh oil and a correct gap, the blade has reached the end of its life and needs replacing, whichever clipper it is on.
3 drops
Enough clipper oil for one blade: one at each corner of the teeth and one across the middle. More does not lubricate better, it just collects hair.
After-cut routine
- Clipper switched off before cleaning
- Hair brushed from the teeth and the gap behind them
- Disinfectant applied and dried if the clipper was shared
- 3 drops of oil, run for 10 to 15 seconds, excess wiped
- Trimmer given the same treatment
- Clipper and trimmer back on charge
⚠️ Disinfect first, oil second. Clipper disinfectant can strip lubricant as it cleans. Oil applied before the spray is oil wasted, and a blade that looks clean can still be running dry.
NOVAH Pro Clipper + Trimmer
★ 4.5 stars from 12,000+ Amazon reviews
A cordless clipper for the bulk of the cut and a trimmer for lineups, edging and detail work, sold together as one set.
Check price on AmazonFrequently Asked Questions
How often should I oil a NOVAH clipper?
After every cut, with 3 drops across the teeth, and again during a long cut if the blade starts to feel warm. Oil also goes on after every disinfectant spray, because most disinfectants strip lubricant away as they clean.
Can I wash a NOVAH clipper under the tap?
No. Wash the guards in warm soapy water, and clean the blade with a brush and a cloth dampened with disinfectant or isopropyl alcohol. Keep water away from the clipper body and the charging port, where it can damage the motor and electronics.
What can I use if I run out of clipper oil?
Buy proper clipper oil rather than improvising. Cooking oils go sticky as they age and heavier lubricants gum up the gap between the blades. In the meantime, a clean dry blade is better than one coated in the wrong oil.
How do I know the blade needs replacing rather than cleaning?
If the blade still pulls after a full deep clean, fresh oil and a correctly set gap, or if any tooth is visibly chipped, bent or rounded, cleaning cannot fix it. The NOVAH blade is replaceable, so the blade is swapped rather than the clipper.
Sources
- NOVAH Pro Clipper (Matte Black) product page, https://novahpro.com/products/novah-professional-hair-clippers-matte-black (guard sizes in the spec block)
- NOVAH Pro Clipper + Trimmer (Matte Black) product page, https://novahpro.com/products/novah-professional-barber-hair-clippers-trimmers
- NOVAH guard-size chart, shown above
Related Reading
NOVAH Grooming publishes this guide and sells the products mentioned in it, both here and on Amazon. Links to Amazon go to our own listings and are tagged so we can see which guides help people. Prices and availability are current as of publication and may change.
