One-minute review
With more than 80 years of experience in the hair-care market, Panasonic offers an array of hair-styling tools that give newcomers to the market such as GHD and Dyson a run for their money. More affordable than its competitors, Panasonic’s mid-range hair-care appliances, which includes hair dryers and hair straighteners, strike just the right balance between technology and price to ensure tresses can be styled to your liking while remaining in good condition.
The Panasonic EH-HS99 straighteners enlist ‘nanoe’ technology to draw moisture from the air, using it to charge ions that are applied to the hair to decrease frizz and introduce shine. The hair straighteners feature the same matte black and rose gold finish as the Panasonic EH-NA65 hair dryer, which also benefits from similar shine-boosting technology.
The hair straighteners feature a pair of 1-inch / 2.5cm-wide ceramic plates that are 3.75 inches / 9.5cm long to quickly straighten a whole head of hair, and they’re quick to heat up too. The tapered head means you can get close to the root to begin straightening or curling, while the choice of heat settings sees them cater to all hair types – including fine hair, which is more vulnerable to heat damage and therefore requires lower temperatures for styling.
At $99.99 / £79.99 / AU$279.99, the EH-HS99 aren’t as expensive as brands such as Dyson and GHD, but neither do they deliver the premium finish of those models; we found the plates didn’t glide as smoothly. That said, they are worth considering if you want to boost shine when styling your tresses.
Panasonic EH-HS99 hair straightener price and availability
- List price: $99.99 / £79.99 / AU$279.99
The Panasonic EH-HS99 hair straighteners cost $99.99 / £79.99 / AU$279.99 and are available worldwide from Amazon and other electrical retailers.
In the UK, Panasonic also offers the EH-HS0E hair straighteners, which have a built-in sensor designed to regulate the temperature of the plates. They’re priced at £149.99 (around $200 / AU$280).
Design
- 1-inch / 2.5cm ceramic plates
- Mains-powered
- Locks to keep plates together for easy storage
Compared to other hair straighteners on the market, the Panasonic EH-HS99 feel a little bulky, measuring in at 15.5 x 6 x 8.5 inches / 39.4 x 15.3 x 21.6cm (h x w x d) – although they weigh only 9.9oz / 280g, which is relatively lightweight. The matte black finish with rose gold accents doesn’t look as premium as some pairs we’ve tested, and when the plates of the hair straighteners are pressed together, they make a hollow clattering sound.
This model features a pair of one-inch / 2.5cm-wide ceramic plates that are 3.75 inches / 9.5cm long. The hair-styling tool includes five temperature settings, ranging from 302ºF / 150ºC to 446ºF / 230ºC. A power button sits on the inside edge of the hair straighteners on the right paddle, with temperature increase and decrease buttons located above it.
Five LEDs opposite these buttons indicate the temperature selected – flashing yellow as the hair straighteners heat up and turning solid once the temperature has been reached. Above this is a solid blue LED that illuminates when the straighteners are switched on. However, this tool lacks any form of audible alert to indicate it has reached temperature.
According to Panasonic, vents on the side of the hair straighteners draw moisture from the air and use it to charge ions, which are distributed through hair during straightening to boost shine and decrease frizz. The top of the straighteners feature a tapered finish, which Panasonic says makes it easier to reach the roots when styling hair.
The mains-powered EH-HS99 feature a 8.9 ft / 2.7m power cable with swivel connector at the base of the hair straighteners to ensure they can be easily manipulated when straightening or curling hair. Compatible with both 110 and 240V, the hair straighteners can also be used anywhere in the world, and they will also automatically switch off after 60 minutes.
Performance
- Quick to heat up
- One pass sufficient to smooth fine hair
- Plates didn’t glide as smoothly as hoped
The Panasonic EH-HS99 hair straighteners were quick to heat up, taking between 31 seconds and 1 minute and 35 seconds to reach temperature, depending upon the level of heat we wanted. The use of a temperature probe showed that the temperature of the plates actually matched the heat we’d selected.
While using the straighteners, both to straighten and curl our shoulder-length fine hair, we found the haircare appliance was comfortable to hold, both in the left and right hand (we switched hands, depending upon the side of the head being styled). The EH-HS99’s tapered tip also meant we were able to clamp sections of hair extremely close to the root to begin straightening or curling.
The plates didn’t glide as smoothly as other hair straighteners we’ve tested, such as the GHD Unplugged. However, when straightening, they did smooth our hair sufficiently in one pass. We were also impressed that our tresses looked shiny.
When it came to curling hair, we were easily able to manipulate the haircare appliance to create soft waves in our locks, and while the plates aren’t as long as those found on the Revlon Pro Collection Salon Straight Copper Hair Straighteners, they still ensured we were able to create such a look relatively quickly.
Should I buy the Panasonic EH-HS99 hair straightener?
Buy it if...
You want hair straighteners that are quick to heat up
Taking between 31 seconds and 1 minute and 35 seconds to heat up, depending upon the temperature selected, these hair straighteners are some of the quickest to reach temperature, and are ideal for those short on time.
You want shiny hair
The inclusion of nanoe technology in these straighteners really did leave hair shiny after styling. If this is a priority, the Panasonic EH-HS99 certainly deliver.
You want straighteners that are easy to store
A handy lock feature keeps the plates together, and means these hair straighteners are easy to store.
Don't buy it if...
You want a premium look and feel
The slightly bulkier design of the Panasonic EH-HS99 straighteners coupled with the matte black finish certainly doesn’t look as attractive as other hair straighteners on the market. If you want hair styling tools that offer style as well as substance, these aren’t for you.
You want plates that glide extremely smoothly
On test, we found the plates on these hair straighteners didn’t glide through our hair as smoothly as those on the GHD Unplugged.
You want audible alerts
While the Panasonic EH-HS99 feature LEDs to indicate they’re switched on, and the temperature reached, there’s no audible alert – something many of us rely to know when straighteners are ready to use. If this is a priority, then look elsewhere.
First reviewed: January 2022
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