We are pursuing beauty
The definition of beauty keeps changing,
and so are our values; yesterday is already history.
To love what we are, we need something “proven.”
Panasonic Beauty Laboratory
The mission of the specialists working here is to pursue beauty.
Why is their technology unique to find beauty in each of us?
Let’s dive into the lab of beauty.
“Want to make a haircare product which is available and satisfying for everybody, regardless of their hair type or style.”
The master of hair — the decision maker of haircare products.
Mitsue Wakabayashi
“Always push the envelope to realize an ideal dryer for the smiles of our customers.”
The leader for mass production, without compromise.
Yusuke Saiki
“Make a highly satisfying dryer by observing its technology, architecture and design.”
The expert in nanoe™ dryers with a God-is-in-the-details attitude.
Hayato Kikuchi
“My hair is my colleague; she tells me how good a dryer is and how to improve it.”
The hard worker about rating dryers — her hair knows over 40,000 blows.
Mayuka Kanbayashi
The master of hair — the decision maker of hair-care products.
Mitsue Wakabayashi
Beauty home devices are not for experts but ordinary consumers. Especially, haircare products are often used by a lot of people, whose hair types are different, and so are their demands. Panasonic Beauty Lab has an expert who monitors alpha or beta versions of products as representative of users.
Mitsue Wakabayashi, who was a stylist before, shares some details on her unique and interesting job.
As a stylist-turned-researcher making a product
After graduating from my school, I worked as a stylist for 13 years; however, when I had a third child, I thought I could not juggle working and parenting and I quitted the job to spend more time with my children.
When I became less occupied with parenting, I felt interested in working again and consulted an employment agency. Then it came to my attention that Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd (the current Panasonic) was recruiting stylists. It was a surprise because I was seeking a position in a beauty salon, but I took the opportunity as it’s about developing haircare products, for which I could apply my skill and expertise. I was thrilled by the chance to join in making something new; besides, I wanted to start working soon. It was already 28 years ago; I worked for developing products during the first 9 years and now work for developing technologies.
Knowing about technologies used and demands by consumers through testing samples
A haircare product becomes available through development involving a lot of people, including architects of electrical design, marketing experts, designers and more. What I do here is to have ordinary people test products at each phase before the finalization to analyze them and suggest some improvement from the viewpoint of a professional. I also develop how to use a product and gain evidence data by using an almost-complete product.
Having people test a product is crucial to its development. It differs from person to person how to use a product; some people keep blowing their hair from above and others put their head upside down to blow the back of the neck. Curling irons are also so common that they’ve developed their ways of using them. Of course, their skills and expectations of the finish are not the same; those who are familiar with blowing and making coiffure tend to prefer a simple design and sophisticated finish of a product to multi-functionality or easiness of use, while those who are not, love otherwise.
I, as a stylist-turned-researcher, believe that it’s what I’m expected of that I get aware of such details, and analyze and test them to make a product more satisfying and easy to use.
Many pains, as many gains, and fulfilling memories
What’s different from person to person is not only their skill and way of use: the condition of the hair. For example, thick hairs are easy to look less thin but difficult to make a coiffure. On the other hand, thin hairs are easy to do his/her hair but may look “meager” when left as it is. Each hair is different in a number of ways: long or short, permed or not, how it is usually set, and the like. We have to meet the demands of all the conditions.
Having a satisfactory result takes not only the development of a function of products but that of a way of using products; a little twist often improves the outcome. We share such tips in the manual and on our YouTube channel, which I want people to watch. It’s no easy journey to develop a product, but it’s all fulfilling in hindsight. The harder it is to make a product, the more people join the project. In some cases, it takes as long as 3 years to complete one product; no sooner than such a project gets over do we face another difficulty in developing a new product. I love the cycle, which is so thrilling.
Profile
Mitsue Wakabayashi
Born in 1959. She has been interested in coiffures since childhood when she cut and did the hair of her dolls. When she was a high-school student, she recognized her dream to be a stylist and made it come true; at one of the busiest salons, she honed her skill and sense for coiffures. In 1994, she joined Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd (the current Panasonic).
* The content is based on the interview conducted in August, 2022.
* The content on “Panasonic Beauty Laboratory” is the researches and developments conducted by the company.
The leader for mass production, without compromise.
Yusuke Saiki
Aim for something better than before, chase rainbows while being down to earth, and find how to walk on the fine line. It’s almost a balancing act and the job of Yusuke Saiki, designing beauty care devices.
He pursues a new product with more advanced functions, not too big or small, affordable for more people and designed for mass production. We asked him what are challenges and rewards.
Beauty-care products make you happy
I design and architect beauty-care products, especially haircare ones like dryers, curling irons and scalp-care devices. Actually, my major in college was far from what I’m doing now; when I was interviewed to decide where to be positioned in the company, someone said that I’m cut out for the development of beauty-care products. I had long hair and used a flat iron then, so I followed the advice.
What I enjoy through developing a beauty-care product is receiving direct feedback from customers. When I see someone test a product I made at a store, I feel proud of myself; if they look impressed, I’m so happy.
Beauty-care products are something making us happy; making hair sleek and cleaning the skin encourage us and seeing someone beautiful or handsome makes us happy. I’m glad to be part of such a job.
Preproduction to mass production: what’s between them
What I do is difficult to describe; I would say it’s leading the product to mass production. Now I’m architecting a dryer. It’s a device we hold up head height, so we should consider the size, weight and shape. When we make a totally new model, I decide where to set a heater, motor and fan to make it as small, light and powerful as possible. Then I choose where to set what kind of heater according to the concept of the development team and arrange the layout of components to make it less wobbling when hold in hand.
I juggle detailed designs expected by the development team, robust structures for durability and the possibility of mass production. To make the product affordable, I often consider an alternative way; if an inexpensive material is available for the product without compromising the design or functions, we may use it.
Once a prototype is made, I focus on the phase of mass production; we make a product by adhering to some part, compromising other part and another team solving issues. Everything happens on the fine line.
How to be close to the best which is feasible
It’s a Scylla-and-Charybdis position; while we must prevent failures or defects due to mass production, we also should push the envelope to make something better. Some people say that building a product which is easy to mass-produce should be better, but I believe that discovering the sweet spot is my value.
Aiming for a product perfect for customers requires somebody to push themselves. Sometimes we negotiate and persuade the production team to add another phase to make a product come true, and other times, we have the development and design teams understand what’s possible and what’s not after feedback from the production team. I believe that it’s important to visit their sites to understand them by myself.
Generate new ideas by seeing a broad scene
Now that I’ve been working for haircare products for 7 years, I want to create something totally new and disruptive. For example, the current dryers blow and heat hair to dry it, I’m wondering about another approach; I’m wondering how to fix our hair with a flat iron, but without heat. They are still a castle in the air, though.
A new approach takes a broad view; I often think about something other than beauty-care products, about how other devices using heat, blow or water work. Such insights may not pay off immediately but can in the future.
It’s an era when anybody, regardless of gender, uses beauty-care products; thus the trend brought about different demands, which I want to meet.
Profile
Yusuke Saiki
Born in 1991. While the dream in his childhood was building a house, he majored in design engineering in college, followed by joining Panasonic when he graduated. He loves basketball.
* The content is based on the interview conducted in August, 2022.
* The content on “Panasonic Beauty Laboratory” is the researches and developments conducted by the company.
The expert in nanoe™ dryers with a God-is-in-the-details attitude.
Hayato Kikuchi
Hayato Kikuchi is in charge of developing technologies for nanoe™ dryers. He has an anecdote: He said that he joined Panasonic to work for dryers at an interview. Since then, he’s been in the position for 8 years.
He shares why he became into science and his passion for creating new things.
Gray hair brought me to haircare division
In my college days, I researched technologies used for cancer-treatment equipment in a lab of biomedical engineering, so I wanted to obtain a job related to such a field. Especially, I had been pestered with gray hair since my high-school days, and thus I was looking for a position where I can study and develop a product for the same concern.
Then fortune brought me to Panasonic, where I was allocated to the haircare development division. I remember that I boldly said that I wanted to make a dryer and that that’s why I joined this company. I can’t appreciate enough that the company allowed me the chance.
At first, I joined the development of dryers in the product design division, where we design the body of a product and consider mass production; three years later, I transferred to the technology development division, the “heart” of the development of products. It’s not the study on gray hair that I dreamed of in my adolescence, but the study to make hair more beautiful is so challenging and interesting; we have to solve a lot of issues to make a product, which is worth trying.
Over 100 trial-and-errors are just for a smile
I am in charge of R&D for improvement of dryers. To efficiently dry hair, we research what kind of blow is required through fluid analysis and visualization of the blow.
Plus, in order to make hair more beautiful with a dryer, we are researching and developing what kind of effects are made on hair by our own technology, nanoe™ (ion of fine particle the size of nano level, which is generated by applying high-voltage electricity to water in the air), at the micro and macro levels. A hair is usually less than 0.1 mm width, so it’s difficult to know the difference by looking at one hair. However, the ratio of water contained in each hair and the condition of the surface make differences to the looks or feeling, improving the impression. So, we must think about how to change each hair at the micro level.
However, it’s not enough if the outcome is not satisfying. So, we ask experts with licenses and specialists in hair conditions or hairstyles to check the resulting quality. Without the green light from these specialists, we don’t bring a product out; we make efforts and keep overcoming the challenges to make them say “Go.”
Several years ago, a product I believed that was great was denied by the specialists and I had to make another try again and again. It was so tough; I was almost about to quit the job. However, in the end, the product was finalized in the way all the people are satisfied with the quality. When I watched the face of people who tried the sample change and heard that they were impressed, I thanked myself for not quitting the job on the way. Such an experience is why I’m working here.
Blend of advanced technology and beautiful design
To satisfy our customers takes a detailed form and design for it, pursuing whose balance often brings about another challenge. The blowing nozzle for nanoe™ is not simple and requires various design criteria. We revised the criteria to make the body more sophisticated once and succeeded while we kept nanoe™ blown to hair by changing the form.
We want to incorporate a technology we are proud of into a design worth it; all the members keep improving the product throughout the project. It’s our, Panasonic’s, philosophy and love for making a product.
A dryer for the whole world
We appreciate that the products by Panasonic are popular in Japan, but it’s not the case yet abroad. However, somebody in other countries uses our dryers and feels that drying hair is now much more fun as it makes their hair more beautiful. Different people in different countries have different hair; I will keep researching and studying technologies to satisfy all of them and make such a product.
Some people abroad love their hairs thick and others have curly hairs that are less common in Japan. I want to, ultimately, solve all the issues just with one dryer. There are still many technologies, challenges and insights we should face and think about. Although I may have a moment when I feel like quitting the job again, I want to enjoy the journey for a bright future of and with dryers.
Profile
Hayato Kikuchi
Born in 1989. In his childhood, he attended a lecture by Hideki Shirakawa, a Nobel-prize winner, where he touched the medal, which inspired him to get interested in science. Now he develops technologies for nanoe™ dryers, and he is looking forward to studying something more fundamental.
* The content is based on the interview conducted in July, 2022.
* The content on “Panasonic Beauty Laboratory” is the researches and developments conducted by the company.
The hard worker about rating dryers — her hair knows over 40,000 blows.
Mayuka Kanbayashi
“If a product has no effect on customers, it’s no use for it to exist,” says Mayuka Kanbayashi; the harsh wording is the flipside of the passion for her job.
She is in charge of developing technologies for haircare products. She is so committed to the job that she knows how to dismantle a device to fix components and got a license as “hair consultant.” Now she shares how she feels about what she does.
I get my hair wet and blown 100 times a day
I’ve been keeping my hair long for 22 years, since I joined this company. However, it used to be cut short or in a bob before; the amount of my hair is large and it’s prone to dehydrate, so I had given up the idea to keep my hair long. It’s all thanks to the nanoe™ dryers by Panasonic that my current hairstyle is possible.
I test various prototypes and products to evaluate the outcome for hair; each dryer has different effects on the moisture and sleekness, and so does the difference of the amount and kind of nanoe™. From my personal experience, I believe that we can solve issues of our hair by discovering a product which meets each different demand of us.
The reason why I’m still keeping my hair long is for my job, in which I must evaluate dryers by using them. I test them on my hair before having them tested by other people as many as 100 times within a day when needed, which is, to my surprise, calculated to be more than 40,000 blows for this 22 years.
So, I feel my hair is my colleague and the most reliable device to evaluate dryers. I carefully maintain it when we are not in the office and apply conditioner or apres-shampooing at night. When it’s not enough, I have my hair treated by a professional.
Have so many people test our product
After testing prototypes on my hair and narrowing down them to candidates for mass production, we have them tested by more people; we ask several applicants to shampoo and dry their hair with two different dryers. Which means, when the number of applicants is seven, we do the process 14 times. I learned how to shampoo the hair of others from a former stylist, so now I feel confident.
I also wet and dry a lock of human hair to compare several dryers or evaluate how damaged dried hair got after brushing 1000 times. I also put hairs on the desk one by one to see the friction coefficient of their surface. It’s sure tough but such data are used to determine which product should be commercialized.
Dismantle a dryer within 20 seconds
When I dry my hair with a dryer, I often think of improving ideas like changing a part to streamline the blow and to apply nanoe™ to hair more effectively. At first, I would often share my thought with the designers for them to fix the product, but I thought that I should do it by myself by acquiring the knowledge to test it quicker. Thus, I dismantled dryers to see what’s inside to learn the structure, and now I can do it within 20 seconds. Little had I thought that I would use a soldering gun, which was almost
unfamiliar to me in my old days.
Through evaluating devices, I came to have the desire to know more about hair itself, and I got a license as a hair consultant. In the course, I learned basic knowledge about the hair and scalp, which allowed me to understand more about the effects of blows on hair.
The most formidable rival in the market is ourselves
I think that drying hair is one of the least productive acts. I want it to become easy or enjoyable. It would be great if we could maintain hair while drying it.
Without effects or advantages for people, such a product is of no use. Thus we give feedback to each other in a project to make something we all agree that should be worth making. The most formidable rival in the market is ourselves; some consumers buy every new product from us, so we are desperate to have them feel, “This is much better than the previous one.”
When a product is finalized and used by customers and they feel happy, I feel that our pains have finally paid off. I hear secondhand that even people I don’t know personally, like other visitors of the hair salon I visit or a friend of my friends, say, “The new dryer was so good for my hair. I’m happy to buy it.” Those testimonials made me greatly happy and encouraged to make something more surprising and special. If our products make somebody feel confident with beautiful hair, that’s the greatest reward for us.
Profile
Mayuka Kanbayashi
Born in 1980. The passion for beauty-care products was not inherent; while facing changing conditions of hair by testing products, she got interested in this field and beyond. She loves comedians; actually, she used to want to be part of it.
* The content is based on the interview conducted in July, 2022.
* The content on “Panasonic Beauty Laboratory” is the researches and developments conducted by the company.