When I became more environmentally conscious many years ago, I decided to switch to a safety razor to reduce plastic waste. I landed on a reputable safety razor with a ‘mild’ angle, something that would be good for sensitive skin. Even with a good shaving soap, I found that I would regularly still get some discomfort from razor burn, despite learning a solid technique.
Enter: the Henson. This was touted as a ‘new’ design of safety razor that fully supported the blade, making it particularly well suited for sensitive skin, and much harder to nick yourself.
Well, I’ve been using this thing for a few months now, and I can honestly say the marketing isn’t an exaggeration, it’s been a game-changer for me.
It really is MUCH harder to nick myself with this, to the point where I can press it against my skin firmly like a disposable, and I still don’t get irritation. It’s one of the most pleasant shaving experiences I’ve had, and I can heartily recommend one for anyone who wants a truly mild safety razor.
Its made of machined aluminum, and built to tight tolerances. I anticipate I’ll be using this sucker quite literally for the rest of my life.
Though do bear in mind, If you have a thick beard or non-sensitive skin, the mild henson might not be ideal for you. As an example I still use my old razor with it’s more exposed blade to shave my head, as this henson gets clogged up far too quickly for that application (unless the hair is already really short). But for the face with light facial hair? Perfection.
You must log in or register to comment.
+1 to safety razors in general. The disposables always used to make my neck and chin look like a horror film, not for lack of research on using. Switching to safety razors, I only shave around my beard so I use the same blades for a long while and shave infrequently, and I’ve been using the same pack of blades that I bought 5+ years ago. A little cardboard and metal, way less waste, I have a huge supply of razors so I haven’t thought about buying in ages, and I get a way better shave after just a little practice.
And the waste reduction can’t be understated.
Cartridge razors are the most prevelant scam in modern society, they’re more prone to ingrowns, gunk up far before the blades are actually dull (making consumers go through them MUCH faster than blades), AND costs literally 100x per unit what razor blades do. Subjectively, I also get a much closer, infinitely less irritating shave.
I have a life pro tip for people using cartridge razors and having them gunk up: canned air. Like the kind you’re supposed to use on your keyboard or computer. Blow your razor out to dry and clear debris. It will last a shitload longer.
If you don’t like canned air, you can use a blower/duster.
Be warned, safety razor shaving can become a rabbit hole if you’re not careful. I’ve spent a fair bit of coin on various razors, brushes, soaps, blades, and numerous other accessories. I was pretty settled on my setup for the last 2 years, but really wanted to try a lighter weight razor (aluminum or titanium). These have historically been very expensive. I stumbled upon this Henson AL13 razor and decided to try it out. Still expensive for me at roughly $80, but much cheaper than options I was looking at a few years back.
It’s been a couple of months now, and I am extremely happy with it. Compared with my previous razor (Karve Christopher Bradly, which I was very happy with) I barely even feel this razor on my skin, but it gets just as clean of a shave. I have very sensitive skin, so this is a blessing for me. 100% recommend.
Outside of this, pricing wise chances are high you will spend less money on a safety razor and it’s replacement blades than most others.
Someone did the math, it’s almost exponential.
That’s a great point. I can use a brand new blade every shave and still spend far less than it would cost to buy Mach-3 heads (or similar). Even using those disposable heads for multiple shaves (I would normally go 5 shaves per head), it’s still much much much cheaper with the safety razor blades I now use.
I started using a safety razor around 10 years ago. Highly recommend it. Takes a bit to get the technique down, but then you’re golden. But what razor, blades, etc is HIGHLY personal. My face isn’t your face. You’ll have to experiment for what blades work for you, along with soap and post-shave.
But in 2015 I bought 100 blades for $22. I’m just starting to run out. So I’ve saved a ton of money and get a better shave.
Cheaper. Better. Easier (at least for me).
I use a straight razor with disposable blades by Feather. Which is faster than the safety razor but, uh, safety razors are called “safety” for a reason. Probably will go back to the safety razors.
Any ladies or theys in the chat that can attest to how good it is for legs/bits? I assume that if it’s good for faces it’s good for any other part of the body as well, but I’d love to hear any personal experiences you guys may have on that front!
My wife uses Merkur Futur (it has adjustable agression), and I use Chinese rip-off of Merkur Futur for body hairs. Those work great, as for Henson I’d say it’s a bit too mild for body hairs unless you have them very thin and soft
Face and leg razors have different contours (that’s why leg razors are more expensive) if you’re worried about cutting then stick to a leg razor
Do you have any recommendations for a non-disposable that is good for legs? I have had the same safety razor for almost a decade but still shill out too much money for disposables because the safety razor tears up my knees/ankles.
Dang, I hate to hear that. I was worried about that with a straight razor on those areas. That and poking around blindly with it in my bikini area without knowing how well it does didn’t sound ideal.
No, I am all cut up
I was worried about that, especially with a straight razor when my legs don’t have many flat planes on them. I will say, though, I’ve used men’s brand razors for years instead of women’s brands, and haven’t noticed much difference between the two. I assume the price difference is just typical pink tax.
I’ve used a safety razor for a little under 20 years. I’ve also spent maybe $30 in blades in that time. Love my merkur futur.
Though do bear in mind, If you have a thick beard or non-sensitive skin, the mild henson might not be ideal for you.
I see they have the -M class for more blade exposure for thicker and longer hair. I wonder if this would mitigate that. Did you have the AL13 non-M model?
Yes, I have the standard one. I kinda wish I’d gotten the AL13-M now, as I suspect it might’ve been able to pull double duty.
As someone with thick facial hair who doesn’t shave daily, I might still get the standard one. I have a safety razor already with feather blades. But if I could get one that more ensured a lack of nicks and razor burn when I do shave everyday, that’d be great.
I bought the aluminium and loved it so much I upgraded to the titanium. No regrets, although I can’t say there’s much difference except for the weight feels better.
I haven’t used any other safety razors, but I can’t imagine how anything could be better. It’s so good I can shave with just cold water (no shaving cream) and it still comes out perfect.
For a long time I wanted to write a post about safety razors, but this will not be the time, again. I’ll just summarize some of my experiences.
First of all, different razor blades will work differently, but the sharpest seem to work great in Henson AL13 (note: mild model).
Next, there are some cheap and good razors, like Feather Popular and Yaqi Mellon. There are also some mid-range good ones like Henson AL13 and Rockwell 6S/2C. Other razors are hit and miss in my experience, they may work well for you, they may work well for you with a specific blade, and they may also be total crap for you; you generally can guess which is which but not be sure.
The shaving in three passes along the hair growth, across the hair, and against the hair is also very important. I used to think that shaving immediately against the hair was enough and would one day get me a smooth cut-free shave, but it wouldn’t and I ended up bleeding quite a lot every single time.
Last, on a tangential point, every time I see some product being advertised I feel being scammed, especially if the comments are largely positive. With Henson, it’s probably the first time this is not a scam, but I am glad that I got the razor before seeing any of the praises online and already have tried it, otherwise I would have thought that to be another marketing bullshit and passed on it, most likely.
All-in-all, I tried about two dozen safety razors in combination with different blades, and the Henson AL13 is in my top 2.
I’ve been using the Rockwell 6s for a few years now and I’ve had a pretty good experience as well. For my everyday, the 4 setting strikes a pretty good balance
I have a 3D printer and I’ve found this to work well:
https://www.printables.com/model/475587-de-safety-razor
One big problem: I left it tensioned in sunlight and it distorted (PLA probably isn’t the best choice but I don’t print in ABS). I had to print new parts. Probably not “buy it for life” but making replacement parts is so much easier than for a commercially bought model that it’s probably now a “ship of Theseus for life”.
I love my slant safety razor. Very few nicks. Load with an Astra platinum and it’s a dream shave with some arko cream.
Been using a Dual Edge Safety Razor for a year. It’s so much more affordable and a better shave. I shave every day. I spent like $15 on my razor (1939-45 Gillette tech,) $15ish for 100 razor blades (I use Gillette Nacets) where each one I use for about a week. So what almost two years of blades? I use Arko shave soap which is like $8 a tub and it last me like 3 or 4 months. After shave about $10 again another 2 or 3 months. Most expensive thing was my shave brush which was like $35. Won’t buy another for forever.
Anyway. It’s a nice thing to do. It will take a few weeks to get used to. The shave is excellent and once your used to it you can shave just as fast as the disposable ones with a crazy close shave.
where can I buy them in europe?
The official website want >50€ for shipping alone.
They have some official distributors in Europe: https://hensonshaving.com/pages/international-retailers