Younger women wanting to pamper themselves in the office are providing a ready market for a new breed of portable electric devices. While older generations of women may have tended to confine their crimping and preening to their own boudoirs, twenty- and thirtysomethings are increasingly demanding electric beauty equipment they can take on the go

"Men cannot even imagine the 'heat' in ladies' rooms at work places during the lunch break or after work," one female employee of an electric goods manufacturer said.

Panasonic Corp. and Toshiba Home Appliances Corp., both of which have introduced portable devices targeting working women in their 20s and 30s, say the market is booming.

Panasonic's Pocket Doltz, a portable electric toothbrush priced at around 4,000 yen ($43), has proved a hit. The company has shipped 170,000 units since its release in March, more than one-third of its annual sales target of 500,000. Most of the customers have been women.

The battery-powered toothbrush, which uses sonic vibration, is compact and quiet and is equipped with a cap that makes it ideal for carrying in a cosmetics pouch, according to Panasonic.

The company developed the product after a survey found that about 70 percent of working women brushed their teeth outside of the home. Many of them brushed after lunch. Another Panasonic appliance targeted at young working women is the Neck Refre, a portable low-frequency massage machine with a price tag of around 7,000 yen.

The battery-operated product, launched in March, resembles a headset but is worn around the neck. At 12.4 centimeters by 10.8 cm, "it is so compact that people would not notice a woman with long hair wearing it," a representative of the company said. It is exceeding the firm's sales target of 4,000 a month.

Toshiba Home Appliances Corp. is targeting its own "Face and Body Care Series" at the same market. The series includes three battery-powered portable devices priced at between 2,625 yen to 3,675 yen: an eyelash curler, a nail-care product and a facial hair remover. The company says they are selling well. (Asahi Online)