When it comes to shavers the more blades you have the better they are and Panasonic has just released its first electric shaver with six blades to provide an even closer shave.
Panasonic’s new ES-LS9A has six Japanese surgical-grade blades created using Samurai sword traditions so it can handle all beard types and maintain their sharpness even after years of use while causing minimal skin irritation.
There are two new thick stubble blades that are coated with Titanium along with two finish blades and two lift blades which can cut more hair in a single pass.
The height of the beard capture area is increased thanks to the tapered blade tips which makes sure those long, flat and difficult hairs are easily captured.
The inner blades of the ES-LS9A are nano-sharpened at a 30-degree angle so hairs are cut as close to the root as possible whether you’re shaving wet or dry.
The shaver also has a flexible shaver head so it can adjust to the contours of your face and still maintain contact between the blades and your skin.
The six blades can move in 22 independent directions vertically and horizontally so it covers a greater area with each stroke.
The Panasonic ES-LS9A delivers more than 84,000 cross-cutting actions per minute to manage to get through facial hair of all thicknesses.
I decided to give the shaver a try for myself.
I’ve got a decent beard if I don’t shave for a few days. When I tried the ES-LS9A I hadn’t shaved for three days so there was a bit hair to trim.
I charged the shaver to 100 per cent before I got started and found it provided a surprisingly close shave.
Usually I use a blade with shaving oil and I can get a nice close shave in just a few minutes.
Using the ES-LS9A took a little longer as I tried to manoeuvre the shaver around the contours of my face and chin.
I don’t have much electric shaver experience, but I learned pretty quickly I needed to attack my beard from certain directions to give the six blades their best chance.
This was probably the closest shave I’d ever had with the many electric shavers I’ve tried over the years.
But it took me almost three times as long as I would shave with a razor. And that’s probably more a fault of mine than the shaver.
Once I got the direction of attack right it powered through and left smooth skin in its place.
I also used the handy pop up trimmer on the rear panel to tidy up my sideburns as well.
The good news is the Panasonic ES-LS9A also comes with a cleaning and charging dock which automatically removes beard trimmings from the blades while recharging it at the same time.
Also includes is a small zip up travel pouch and the plug which can be taken from the dock and plugged directly to the shaver to charge.
The Panasonic ES-LS9A electric shaver is priced at $899 and available at the Shaver Shop.