Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Panasonic Nose Hair Trimmer and Ear Hair Trimmer ER-GN30-K, Men's Wet/Dry Trimmer with Vortex Cleaning System, Battery-Operated

Works Well - No Pain - Cleans Easily - Inexpensive

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2015

Well, I never thought I would be writing a review for a nose and ear hair trimmer, but here I am. First, growing older has not been that bad so far other than having to contend with freaky hairs growing from places they shouldn't be.

Anyway, if you are in the same boat I'm in you can either:
1) Simply choose to ignore the offending hairs. (worst choice) People don't want to see your gross nose and ear hairs. Of course this might be the right choice if you like being shunned or enjoy watching people as they try and divert their eyes from your hideous outcroppings.
2) Pluck them out. (2nd worst choice) This is not on painful but your nose is full of nasty germs waiting for an open wound to infect. This choice also leads to being shunned.
3) Cut the offending hairs with scissors. (3rd worst choice) Besides not doing a good job on the hairs, sticking a pair of scissors in your nose or ears on a regular basis is at some time is going to result in a visit to the ER.
4) Use a nose and ear hair trimmer (winning choice!) But does this work? Yep, see below.

Hopefully at this point you have decided that a nose/ear hair trimmer is the best choice for tackling the job. Now you need to pick a trimmer. First, don't be like me and waste hours researching nose hair trimmers and reading reviews (hopefully this is your last). I already did the research and test for you, so read on.

I read a lot of reviews, compared features and prices, and the Panasonic ER-GN30-K was the logical choice (can use wet or dry, cleans easily, has an ergonomic design, is inexpensive). Once it arrived I was a little worried the trimmer would do nothing or worse, grab my little noise hairs and rip them out by the roots. So, after installing one AA battery I gingerly went to work on the offending hairs. To my pleasant surprise, no yanking, no pain, no wincing, just the soothing sounds of hairs being clipped. I did have to spend a few minutes during the first use getting things under control. But since the first use I probably spend an average of 1 minute twice a week keeping these hairs tamed.

As for ear hairs, I don’t have a lot but this seems to work just fine on them also. Plus I use the trimmer to trim any wayward eyebrows between haircuts.

And finally, clean-up on this is a breeze. I simply wipe the end with a alcohol moistened tissues between uses and rinse under the faucet every now and then for a thorough cleaning.

So to finish up this wordy review, if you are reading this, you or someone you know needs a nose/ear nose hair trimmer this Panasonic ER-GN30-K is an excellent choice. Oh, if you don't already have a lighted magnifying mirror, get one. You'll be amazed (and probably grossed out) by what you have been missing.

Update 2/25/2018: I’ve been using this trimmer for well over 3 years with no issues at all. 😃👍

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Cody S.

Amazing Deal

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2013

Color: BlueVerified Purchase

I bought this trimmer after my barber started asking me if I wanted my ear hair trimmed. He wasn't joking around, he was actually offering it as a service. I hadn't noticed my ear hair because it was light in color, but more recently it's been growing more and more. I always used scissors, which is foolish and a waste of time. I was doing it all wrong.

For everyone else who is doing it all wrong, STOP. Go out and buy this trimmer. Someone else has made this product so that you no longer have to stick scissors up your nose and into your years. Throw your scissors away, and buy this trimmer. It costs the same as two bottles of hipster microbrew.

For the price, I wasn't expecting much. I was actually surprised to see a brand name trimmer being sold at this price so I jumped on it. The trimmer itself is nothing fancy, but I was quite impressed by the build quality and how everything snapped together nicely. The battery compartment has a nice tight seal with a rubber o-ring to prevent water from getting inside. You don't have to worry about a splash of water causing the trimmer to rust or otherwise malfunction.

As for the functionality; it does what it says, at a brilliant price, with respectable efficiency. My only worry was that a trimmer would yank/pull hairs out of my nose, but I am glad to say that there is no pulling, and there is no yanking of hairs. The hairs are cut without the slightest hint of pulling. You basically feel nothing. You only know it is working because you can hair the offending hairs being sliced with the utmost efficiency.

Now that I have this thing, I'd like to use it on other people. Hard to avoid the temptation. I see people on the subway and bus, and I want to stick this trimmer into their ears. You will too.

One person found this helpful

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E. Ziegler

Not bad for small trimming jobs

Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2015

Color: BlueVerified Purchase

I purchased this item because of the great reviews and for the price. I wasn't in the market for the all in one grooming kits. I bought this specifically for trimming nose hairs. I bought this with the idea of having a quick and fast way of trimming my nose hairs.

My first initial reaction when I had unboxed this, was this thing was light and felt cheap. The plastic body feels like it's made of cheap china plastic that would break or crack on your first accidental drop on a hard floor. The light weight does make it a plus if you need to spend a considerable amount of time trimming so your hand or arm doesn't get tired. Taking it apart and putting it back together is very simple with a twist and lock/unlock system. The concept to remove or install the head of the trimmer or the battery compartment is the same.

I would like to point out that the picture displaying the vortex cleaning system is a stream of water coming into the tip and exiting the side hole. In all reality the trimmer is submerged a stream of water coming out of the faucet. It's almost next to impossible to get a good steady stream of water to flush it out as it is depicted. I just turned on my faucet and stuck it underneath until I saw water coming out of the side port for a few seconds to clean it out.

If you are worried about water affecting the unit, water didn't manage to find a way into the unit while I was cleaning it. I would be worried about it's water resistant properties as time goes by and parts wear down. Even though it advertises on their internet site for use in the shower, I wouldn't try it simply because a product at the price they sell it for usually isn't built to last. Also, electronics + water is usually bad. In case it doesn't last, the product is backed by a two year warranty which is pretty impressive than what most manufactures offer.

I have to say that it lacked a little bit in it's performance. This is my first time using a product like this, so I'm not sure if the sound of it catching a random thick hair and cutting it caught me off guard and startled me or if it caught a hair and had slight trouble cutting it. With the exception of those few moments, it cut well. I did have a problem where I had to move it around a lot and in a lot of different angles to get the hairs I felt like the unit missed. I would attribute my difficulty to getting all the hairs to the size of my nostrils compared to most. It did feel fairly comfortable in my hand while I was using it. I only used the product once and haven't used it again. I prefer using my specialized scissors I can use to manually trim hairs.

Even though this product isn't really for me, the combination of the warranty, the ability of using it with water / getting it wet, performance, and for the price, I would say this is a good buy for anyone who needs to trim some hair in their nose or ear without sticking sharp objects in it. It also works for people on the go or someone who doesn't have access to a mirror.

2 people found this helpful

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J. Linch

Love Alexia!

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2015

Color: BlueVerified Purchase

Okay. I am seriously in love with my Echo. Or rather, I should say, my Echoes, as I have two of them and am considering a third. I have one downstairs in the kitchen, and a second in my upstairs master bedroom. They are far enough away from each other that they don’t ‘hear’ each other, unless I talk really loud. So when I’m upstairs I talked to the upstairs one and when I’m downstairs I talked to the one in the kitchen.

The reason I’m considering a third is that the one upstairs is on one side of the house and a little too far for to hear when I talk to it on the other side of the upstairs. I actually have to call down the back stairs to the one in the kitchen to control things from that part of the upstairs. So, I want a third in the other part of the upstairs.

I use my Echoes for the normal things. What’s the weather? What time is it? Setting timers. Setting alarms. Using timers/alarms to snooze that few more minutes in the morning. Radio stations. Sports news. News briefings.

But, by far, the thing I use Alexia for most is to control my Philips Hue/Lux devices. I am visually impaired and absolutely love the ability to tell Alexia to turn lights on in a room before I get there, so I don’t have to cross a dark room to find the light – regularly bumping into things like bed posts, chairs and tables. I use the Philips app to name the devices, then the Echo app to group them so I can either control devices individually or as a group. Works awesome. Going to be adding even more lights in the next week.

And, once I started using Alexia, I realized just how lame Siri can be. Alexia is what Siri needs to be. Hear that Apple? Your voice recognition software is behind Amazon’s. And Apple needs to learn that if you have your software add ‘cute’ little after thoughts, like saying ‘good morning’ after it tells you the time in the morning, it shouldn’t say the save thing ‘every’ time.

Are there things I don’t like about the Echo? Yes. I don’t think it is as sensitive as Amazon claims and does not easily pick up commands from another. And while I do have a remote, I have only used it once, to test it out. I don’t want to have to carry it around the house to make the Echo work.

Echo is not good at picking up my voice if I am facing away from it. And it is not good at hearing me say her name if I talk too fast. So, I’ve learned to say her name, pause, then give my command. And the Echo is not good about picking up commands if there is other ‘noise’ nearby. For instance, I play my audiobooks off my phone into a wave radio when I’m home, both in the kitchen and in the master bedroom. I usually have to turn the book off for Alexia to hear me.

Why, you ask, don’t I just use the Audible reader on the Echo? Because its command set is way too limited. Being able to tell it to read, stop, forward 30 seconds and back 30 seconds is not enough. The command set should match the Audible app. Until it does, I will continue to listen via my phone Audible reader rather than the Echo reader.

Have I reached the limits of what I plan to use my Echoes for? No way. Every week something new is coming out and many times I find I can take advantage of it. Soon, my Echoes will completely control my home. Can’t wait!

One person found this helpful

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'Revernd Jim' (Ignatowski)

Doesn't cut as close as one might wish

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2023

Color: BlueVerified Purchase

It seems to be well built. On/off switch works smoothly. Battery compartment is not bad. Cap and blade are easily removed and replaced. The unit runs much more quietly than others I have had. That being said, the Vortex system does not operate nearly as efficiently as described/pictured. Fortunately, despite that the unit can be cleaned via disassembly and reassembly and use of the included brush without problem. The brush is a nice touch and is definitely a needed item. But the major downside is that the unit does not cut nearly as close as I would prefer, and it takes considerably longer to use in order to do a decent job because of this. Improve the close cutting ability of this unit and I would give it 5 stars even with the somewhat poor Vortex system.

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3dtheaterman

Four Years Dissatisfied But I’m Back and Finally Very Happy!

Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2023

Color: BlueVerified Purchase

This Panasonic is my top pick (period). Over the past 6 years or more I’ve been buying other name brands. I wasn’t happy from day one with any of them. They all do last for quite a while but I wanted to try other brands so I bought a few on Amazon. I learned how to clean very well from one brand so the blades run quickly. Sometimes the motors didn’t go at all but it was always the cleaning. Regardless, the cutting was inferior on everything but this Panasonic.

This Panasonic model trimmer is smooth and has a close cut in all directions for me. The angled cutting end is terrific for the ears and nose. I had purchased an earlier Panasonic model plus two of these ER-GN30 models (including this one) since 2002 and always been very happy. Glad I made the choice again!

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Rachel on the Lane

Starts off great, but doesn't last at all

Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2018

Color: BlueVerified Purchase

The trimmer was very effective. However, after continued use (once every 2 weeks possibly for 2-3 months) I had run into many instances that the product wouldn't turn on; the battery was not the issue, as I encountered same issue whether it was a new battery or not. I had to open the battery port and rotate the battery without rhyme or reason in the hopes that the product would turn on... sometimes it did, and other times it didn't.

In some instances, I noticed upon opening the battery port that there was a foul smelling odor coming from inside. It seemed to be leaked battery acid. I don't know how or why this would've happened, but that's the most rational deduction I can make based on the smell and where odor was coming from.

My guess is that the battery terminals corroded and did so very quickly. As for the battery acid odor, I can't really think of the cause of this. With the nose trimmer being advertised as waterproof, it doesn't seem to pass that litmus test.

I'm stuck with this terrible product that doesn't work because Amazon refers you to Panasonic for being out of your return window. Panasonic is a pain to reach support because it is only available during working hours and when you're at work, it's difficult to contact Panasonic because you're, well, working. Panasonic offers a poor discount to more below average products unless you're willing to fork over some cash to buy something really nice. Overall, I would not recommend this product, as you'll have to replace shortly thereafter.

465 people found this helpful

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PAPASTAG

Great for nose hair, easy to use, safe. Uses AA batteries.

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2016

Color: BlueVerified Purchase

I've known these have existed, and had one at one point, but for years I've just been yanking out nose hairs with a tweezers. Saw this on sale and figured I'd give it a try and I regret not doing it sooner. It's so much less of a hassle to groom now, and so much less painful that going back to the "old fashioned way" is inconceivable.

I'm can't comment about comparisons to other similar products that others have made, referencing this item's particular drawbacks as opposed to others, as I've only really used this one. However, I will say that for me, in the relative void of my inexperience, it works perfectly. It doesn't hurt, it trims what I need it to, and it only takes seconds. I haven't had an issue with it not working. The only complaint I have is that it's not rechargeable, as it would have been nice, but at this price point I can understand why it is not a feature.

It does get hot, but I've never been burned. But I'm not holding it against my skin for any great length of time either. I suppose you could burn yourself if you were trying, but I really don't think it's likely to come up otherwise. This is something that's inexpensive (especially if you wait for a sale), that anyone should have for grooming purposes. If used as intended, for your nose or ear, it's perfectly easy and safe to use.

Also, as I've noticed some people ask, I wouldn't say this is really appropriate for anything else other than your nose or ears. While you probably COULD, maybe, use it on other areas I wouldn't recommend it. For people trying to do eyebrows, there are specific grooming tools for that which will work a lot better. For those trying to use this on your face or sideburns, again, just get an electric shaver or razor blade. And for the people trying to use this "down below" for their private bits and pieces, I definitely WOULD NOT suggest you use this - there are a great many specific electric and traditional shaving tools (that you can find just by searching on Amazon) that will work better, without causing potential injury. Seriously, you'd have to trim one or two hairs at a time, and "down there," that would just be a nightmare.

2 people found this helpful

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Ken Khoo

Good Trimmer!

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2023

Color: BlueVerified Purchase

Good trimmer and this is the second one I purchased, the first having been purchased in Japan about 4-5 years ago. I recently was cleaning out my old and dropped it in the sink and then the motor died. Lasted a good long time, so I purchased one from Amazon, exactly the same one.

I do have to give a word of warning, I had to return the original purchase because it looked used. The plastic bag that was holding the trimmer itself was ripped and the head had all this crusty brown stuff around the shaver part (inside and out) as well as the switch. Pretty gross. I request a new one and it was shipped to me by the next day. When I got the new box, I learned that the trimmer I returned was indeed missing a cap for the shaver as well as the cleaning brush. Definitely used. Just make sure that those items are in the box when you purchase this trimmer.

Still the problem was fixed very quickly and I am very happy with the service as always!