Hair dryers you can see through and easily carry may be the domain of at least one company, but Panasonic looks to challenge with some more science.
Technology to dry your hair has come a long way from simply being a heater with far too much heat blowing at your hair and burning your scalp and follicles with ease.
These days, the modern hair dryer is temperature controlled and designed to help you style without the singe, a positive given the smell of burnt hair is something many of us have grown up with and will never be able to get rid of.
But there’s more to the science of hair drying, and Panasonic’s latest could end up challenging Dyson’s hair care expertise for imparting important tech in this area.
The latest offering sees two variants priced under $400 and arriving with a technology designed to hydrate while drying thanks to a form of ionisation, a technology Panasonic has been dabbling in for some time.
At the core is a technology Panasonic calls “Nanoe”, a variation of the Nanoe X technology used in its air cleaning gadgets, such as the portable air purifier and what’s in select models of the company’s air conditioners. In the air purifiers, the technology creates a particle that can bond with mould, allergens, and other pollutants to filter and knock out nasties.
In the hair dryer, the concept is a little different, with the hydroxyl ions being generated used to bond with dry hair to moisturise it, essentially drying the surface while the inside remains hydrated.
As a balding journalist with hair seemingly everywhere but his head, this all sounds interesting, though Panasonic goes a step deeper with a variation on the theme. While the Panasonic NA7M relies on the Nanoe technology with a heating system, the NA9N uses a combination of Nanoe and mineral ions to strengthen the hair, too, giving it more shine and health, at least in theory.
Both come with a styling nozzle — so they’re not just a conventional hand-held hair dryer, and support an alternating hot and cold mode. However, the Panasonic NA9N also comes with both scalp care and skin care, each of which working to maintain moisture.
In Australia, the Panasonic EH-NA7M is priced from $279, while the more feature-packed EH-NA9N sees release this month for $379 locally.
