Panasonic Arc 6 Review – LS9A & LS8A Models
Panasonic Arc 6
The first of its kind, the Panasonic Arc 6 is the first shaver with 6 blades working together to remove as much facial growth as possible and as quickly as possible. It’s a kind of lawnmower on coarse growth but could be a little aggressive for some users.
Pros
Good build quality
Smart lock function is convenient
High-quality blades and cutters
Easy to keep clean manually and with the cleaning station
Powerful motor
Very close electric shaver shave
Slightly more comfortable than the previous Panasonic shaver (Arc 5)
Cons
Expensive
Flay-lying and straggler hairs were difficult to remove
I was really pleased to see the announcement early in 2022 about the new Panasonic Arc 6 electric shaver being released.
The release of the Arc 6 (Lamdash 6) came as no big surprise, especially since Panasonic then introduced a Pro version. Braun introduced their Braun Series 9 Pro, and Norelco Philips introduced their flagship shaver, the Philips S9000 Prestige, so these guys at Panasonic had to bring out their big guns, so to speak.
You may have seen in the Series 9 Pro Review and Prestige S9000 Review that both of these shavers performed very well and outdid the brand’s previous models after testing, using, and reviewing them. So, I had some high hopes set for the Arc 6 to compete very well with these shavers and also wondered if this extra blade/element was necessary or even useful.
Note: When you see Lamdash mentioned on sales pages it is just the name Panasonic uses in Japan rather than Arc. Also, in Europe, the Arc 6 is known as the 900+ Series.
While the Arc 6 is said to have 6 blades, that’s not really the case. Instead, we should call them 6 cutting or shaving elements like the Braun Series 9 has five cutting/shaving elements, of which only two are foils (+ 2 trimmers + 1 skin guard). I mention this as I don’t get caught up with any type of razor hype about multiple blades (we see enough of it with the Gillette Cartridge Razors).
In the Panasonic Arc 5 Review, the end conclusion was it is a fierce shaver that cuts close to the skin and is the closest an electric shaver can get. It’s aggressive and did not match the comfort of the Braun Series 9 Pro, its direct competitor.
Panasonic Arc 6 Models
The model purchased and used for this review was the LS9A, which includes the charging and cleaning station. The LS8A available in Europe, UK, USA, and other countries is the model which comes without the cleaning and charge station.
Other model numbers, including LS5A, LS9AX, and LS9N are only available in Japan at this moment and not in the USA or Europe.
Panasonic has already done an upgrade or revision on the Arc 6 and gave it a Pro on the end, just like Braun with the Series 9 Pro. Not a lot has changed, which we can go into more detail about in a comparison article.
Description & Features
Unboxed a buyer gets (with the ES-LS9A-K model) the shaver, blade cover, cleaning and charging station, cleaning solution, leather travel case, small bottle of lubricating oil, power lead and plug, and instruction manual. Other model numbers will differ, including the ES-LS8A which does not come with the cleaning and charging station.
- Blades (shaving elements) – The Panasonic Arc 6 boasts six shaving elements which is more than any other shaver on the market today. 4 x foils and 2x trimmers (hair lifters) and a comfort roller. See more about the blades further on. The Japanese have been well known for their sharp blades since the samurai days and the inner blades of the Arc 6 are nano-sharpened blades to a 30 degrees angle.
- 22D Flexible Head – Panasonic states the head moves in 10 directions and the six blades move in 12 directions independently – both vertically and horizontally.
- Beard Sensor – This feature enables the shaver to recognize beard density and this allows the razor to provide more power when it is required for thicker growth and less when there is less hair or hair that is less coarse. This should in fact help reduce irritation when the shaver lowers its aggressiveness and reduce missed hair patches in theory. Beard density sensors are a common feature among the top end shavers of today.
- Linear Motor – The linear motor is said to offer 84,000 cross-cutting actions per minute. That’s the highest any Panasonic shaver offers and more than the Arc 5 at 70,000 per minute.
- Trimmer – The trimmer is attached to the body of the shaver that can be pushed open via the lock and unlock button on the back of the shaver body.
- Wet & Dry – The Panasonic Arc 6 reviewed here is waterproof and can be used when shaving in the shower or in the bath. Users may shave dry or wet and with their favorite shaving cream or foam.
- Cleaning & Charging Station – Some models including the LS9A come with an automatic cleaning and charging station. This enables a user to pop the shaver into a dock which will clean it up nicely and charge the battery. The LS8A model does not come with a cleaning and charging station.
- LED Screen – The Arc 6 displays useful indicators including battery capacity, cleaning required, switch lock, charge status, and foil/blade check indicator.
- Smart Lock Function – The shaver has a smart lock function, so the power switch is automatically locked to prevent accidental operation when not shaving after one minute of not holding or using it. The power switch is automatically unlocked when the main body is grasped.
- Charging – This shaver can be charged via the clean and care system or with the charging cord provided. Charging is completed in about 1 hour which lasts for approximately 45 minutes of shaving. A user can also get one shave from a three-minute or so quick charge if needed.
- Warranty – The guarantee period when bought from a Panasonic dealer is 12 months from the date of first purchase. The original sales receipt should be presented showing the date of the first purchase. Buyers may also purchase an extended warranty which I believe should be free for another year once a buyer registers the product online at Panasonic like many other leading companies (unfortunately, they don’t offer this free).
Led Indicators
While LED indicators are not essential, they are useful—especially a battery charge usage indicator.
The smart lock is a great feature I like. It’s good to just pick up the shaver and see the charge left, and then knowing when I put the shaver down, it is locked when traveling is very useful (no need to remember to hold a button to put the safety lock on).
Blades – Shaving Elements
This is a very important aspect of a shaver and its performance, and the Arc 6 has more elements going on than any other electric shaver.
The shaver head or cassette contains 4 slim foil cutters (1 – 3 – 4 – 6) and two gold-colored trimmer cutters (2 – 5) that aim to pick up thicker hairs and flat-lying hairs. You’ll also notice in the image above that No 2 has a gold-colored comfort roller.
How the blades are fixed and operate is quite different from other models. You will usually find inner blades operating below the shaver cassette. However, on the Panasonic Arc 6, these inner blades are within the cassette, and you can see when removing the cassette, six prongs that vibrate and move the cassette’s inner blades.
Flexible Head
Head movement or flexibility is another important aspect to consider when purchasing a shaver alongside blade movement. It all contributes to how well a shaver moves along the various contours of a person’s face.
The 10-directional head movement on the Panasonic Arc 6 is extremely good and offers more than most if not all, other electric shavers I have used. I have wondered if the movement is overkill at times, but I guess plenty of flexible head movement is better than not enough.
We don’t always need head movement, and at times, a shaver needs its head to stay still and solid while shaving over tough areas. The head on the Arc 6 can be locked via the switch at the back of the head that also opens the attached trimmer, and this lock is necessary.
Shaving Experiences
I was not sure what to expect from the Panasonic Arc 6. I found the Arc 5 an aggressive type of shaver that gave the closest shave an electric shaver can give, so I wasn’t sure if the Arc 6 was going to be more aggressive than the Arc 5, offer more comfort, or both.
To put the shaver through its paces I spent a few weeks shaving with various days of growth including on the first occasion a good coarse 4-day stubble beard. I used it wet and dry, shaving daily, every other day, and even did my usual head-shaving session.
3 or more days of growth – As mentioned on the first occasion of testing out the Arc 6 I had saved myself four days of growth. I was impressed that it could clean up the face quickly and easily; however, around the neck area, I struggled with flay-lying and straggler hairs.
I experienced the same as what I did in the past with the Arc 5 (i.e., leftover hair difficult to clear up and flat-lying hairs).
I used an electric shaver pre-shave lotion to see if this helped on another occasion with only 3 days of growth, and the Speick Electric Shave Lotion I used did help a lot. Oily skin does not serve shaving with an electric shaver very well and a pre-shave lotion or good skin cleanse or wash can help make an electric shave better.
Shaving daily or every 2 days – Shaving every two to three days seems to be the sweet spot for me to shave with the Arc 6, although that is my sweet spot with any shaver or razor anyway. The shaver felt too aggressive for me to be using daily after trying it out on consecutive days, however, I did not get any neck irritation.
When I took my time with this shaver and did some skin stretching to increase how close I could shave against the grain I did get a mighty fine close shave for an electric shaver. It is getting close to a safety razor closeness, but not quite.
How was the shaver when using it for wet-shaving? – I tested out the Panasonic Arc 6 shaving wet with shaving cream, and it most definitely provided more comfort than shaving dry. I’m not sure it helps to get a closer shave, though, and it is hard to discover any missed patches of hair when wet shaving.
I did enjoy the comfort of wet shaving with shaving cream.
Did the Arc 6 perform well as a head shaver? It did quite well, but not quite as good as a designated head shaver in terms of ergonomics and not having rotary blades. It actually gave me a closer shave, though, than any of the designated head shavers, including the Skull Shaver Pitbull Gold Pro.
These shavers are not made for head shaving, and Panasonic does not mention using them as head shavers. However, being a balding man I like to test them out, and the hair is so soft on our heads compared to the face that it cannot harm the blades.
How good was the trimmer attachment? It was okayish and, like most other trimmers, attached to a shaver body. If I need perfectly cut sideburns, then I will not be using the trimmer on the Arc 6, and I would stick with a razor for detailing.
This is quite normal for me, as well as my shaver trimmer experiences, and not only with the Arc 6.
Overall Shaving Experiences – I’m impressed with the closeness of the shaves I get from the Panasonic Arc 6. It is definitely one of the best men’s electric shavers available for getting a close shave. I can’t say I found anything spectacular compared to the Arc 5 in terms of comfort and closeness, but I feel there is a slight jump in comfort.
As I have mentioned, shaving flat-lying and straggler hairs was somewhat of a chore to completely remove when I shaved with over three days of growth.
I also find the head quite bulky on this shaver. However, it does not affect shaving under the nose area or anywhere else.
Build Quality and Ergonomics
The Arc 6 has good ergonomics and holds well in the hand while shaving. The rubberized back section also provides plenty of grip.
It’s an all-plastic appliance, apart from the blades, of course, but it feels strong and solid.
Cutting Power
You can’t really beat the cutting power of the Arc 6. It’s a mean machine that’s quite aggressive.
Charging and Battery
The Arc 6 takes about an hour to fully charge and gives a user about 45 minutes of shave time. This is within the normal range for many electric shavers.
It is hard to measure a shavers runtime and calculate it so I usually see how long the battery lasts over a period of time. I seem to get about 3 weeks or a little more of shaving out of the full charge using it three times a week.
The battery life expectancy is around 3 years and the shaver cannot be operated when plugged into the socket.
The Arc 6 model with the cleaning and charging station gives users the option of cleaning and drying the shaver while it recharges. The same lead for charging at the socket is plugged into the clean and charge station.
Cleaning and Maintenance
The Panasonic Arc 6, like all modern waterproof electric shavers, is very easy to clean. With or without the cleaning and charging station, it is a simple task.
If cleaning manually, I usually add a couple of drops of antibacterial hand soap inside the cassette to help clean it well and make it fresh.
I have always found it is best to clean out any debris by hand with a brush, a quick tap of the cassette, and blow after dry shaving before rinsing. Especially when using the cleaning station because the cleaning fluid gets too much debris inside it.
Another small task that will take care of the shaver is adding a little oil to the blades. A couple of drops after the shaver has been cleaned and dried will suffice, and remember to wipe off the excess oil.
Cassette removal is very simple. Two buttons at the side unclip the blade cassette, and the cassette’s inner section can also be removed from inside the outer top section (hard to explain without a visual).
Replacement Blades – The shaver cassette is quite pricey; however, a user gets up to 18 months of use out of the blades when taken care of properly. I am awaiting the availability of the replacement blades outside of Japan (this shaver is still new on the market) so that an accurate price can be provided. The cassette model number is WES9600.
Cleaning and Charging Station
While cleaning and charging stations are not necessary and shavers clean up well enough manually, some of us have come to like their convenience.
This cleaning dock cleans, dries, and charges the shaver; however, the drying part does take up to 80 minutes which seems like a heck of a lot of time.
The cleaning solution that is placed in the bottom of the station/unit lasts around six months before needing to be replaced.
The Panasonic Arc 6 does not require a cleaning fluid cartridge like some other shavers, and fluid is just added into the bottom tray. This is something I favor over cartridges.
Value for Money
Of course, like any of the top-of-the-range electric shavers, they come at quite a hefty cost. The Arc 6 costs around $399 – $499 USD (£499 or €449).
This is the price range that these types of high end shavers start at when they first come on the market. These prices will change and should come below or around the $300 mark, which is a fairer price, although still quite expensive.
At the moment, the value is found in older shavers like the Arc 5.
Final Thoughts – – Verdict (Worth Buying?)
Without a doubt, the Panasonic Arc 6 is a mean shaving machine that mows down facial hair growth at decent speeds. However, I was not overly impressed, and a couple of factors, like the bulky head and straggler hairs left over, were not great.
Gentlemen who have slightly coarser hair than others may benefit from the added aggressiveness the Arc 6 provides. Guys who shave around the three-day mark would also benefit from the cutting power of this shaver.
I’m not sure this is the right choice of shaver for those with more sensitive skin and those prone to neck irritation. For sensitive skin, I lean more toward the Braun Series 9 Pro or the Philips Norelco S9000 Prestige.
If you own an Arc 5 and are thinking about upgrading, then I think you might enjoy the slight improvements of the Arc 6. I would just keep in mind that they weren’t massive improvements for me, and the Arc 5 (Panasonic Arc 5 Review) is already a great shaver.
