Henson Mild or Moderate for Daily Shaving, Sensitive Skin?

[Greg788]

I have the AL13 currently and I'm somewhat of a "newbie" still (started down the wet shaving path about 6 months & have technique solidly locked in now) ...

For those who shave daily and are familiar with the AL13 mild and AL13 moderate, how much more "aggressive" is the moderate? Good idea for someone who shaves daily and has sensitive skin? I like to stay to one pass, two tops (WTG, XTG)

I like the light weight, forgiveness and efficiency of the Mild, but wondering if I can can even more efficiency with the moderate without penalty? BUT, the specs indicate the Moderate is quite a bit more aggressive in blade gap and exposure. One thing about the Henson is that it'll penalize you for using force, which is hard not to do given the light weight

Does anyone here prefer the mild to the moderate and, if so, why?

Searching this forum and google hasn't provided a lot of comparison here, oddly ...

 

[spacemonkey42]

If you’re comfortable with the mild, the moderate is not not a big step up. The moderate is a bit more efficient and if you’re already proficient with a light touch and light razor, I think you’ll really like the medium.

That said, what blade are you using? You may want to try a sharper blade with the mild if you haven’t already. There’s a lot of comparison of the medium to mild in the Henson club thread

 

[ewk]

For my own comparison between the mild and medium, I achieved the same BBS result in a side-by-side shave-off. The only difference was the mild took three passes, the medium did it in two passes.

I shave both face and head. My face and neck are more sensitive, and I prefer the mild for face shaving. The medium was the first razor to get the back fringe of my head BBS. To be honest, I am lazy and do not often change razors between face and dome, so the medium gets more use than the mild.

It is a shame Henson does not offer the option of purchasing the baseplate only. I asked, and they would not consider it (back in 2020).

 

[Jens]

I have the Mild (+) and the Aggressive (+++) Hensons only, so can't speak to the Medium (++). I find the "mild" fine for daily shaving, the aggressive would work but I'd have to be more careful.

The thing with the Hensons, I find, is not the aggression in its own right. It's the aggression in combination with the unique way that the Henson razor head locks you at a particular angle. I find the aggressive Henson much harder to use than other DE razors which are as aggressive, or even more so, because most other razors will give you more flexibility in terms of the angle at which you shave (so you can easily "adjust" to and compensate for the extra aggression, by adjusting the angle, and pressure).

I think the Henson design is beautiful, I really want to love this razor, but I am not very good friends with this particular way the Henson's lock you on a particular angle. For this reason, I like the "mild" Henson best. Its basically idiot-proof. It's virtually impossible to harm yourself with it, unless you deliberately try hard to do so. Go nuts with it every morning. You can easily get a BBS shave with it too if you want. No need to go for more aggression.

If you do want a more aggressive razor, I'd go with a different model than Henson. This is in order to achieve the said flexibility with respect to the angle. You will easily be able to handle the extra aggression, given this extra flexibility.
If you like an aluminum razor and the way the Henson plates clamp down the blade (but not the Henson angle), you could consider the Razorock Aluminum Lupo. I have that, and the "SS" (stainless steel Lupo) with the .072 plate, which is fairly aggressive. The latter is one of my favorite razors. It's not cheap, but neither are the Hensons, they are quite comparable price wise I think.

 

[SalS]

I have a medium and its the perfect razor for me. In fact its my only razor now, everything else has been re-homed.

I would suggest that you use either Jack Black Beard Lube or Jack Black Supreme Cream with it.

The incredible slickness of those products maximizes the glide of the wide Henson contact patch. I have found these two products to be in a different class.

 

[Omega48]

I have sensitive skin, especially at the base of the neck. I was using the mild but I wanted to try the medium as well. The medium did not improve the shave. Same number of passes and touch ups, same time for regrowth. However it had more blade feel on my skin than the mild. I sold the medium and I am still using the mild.

By the way, you do not need to apply ANY pressure. Just what you need to keep the head in contact with your skin.

 

[srgjazz]

I have used all three for daily shaves. Prefer the mild since I find it more versatile. I can use a little more pressure and buffing where I need it without fear of irritation. As with any razor, lather quality is 90% of the shave.

 

[Fiddler]

Moderate meets the brief for daily shaving. The Mild was created mainly for women to shave their
pits and legs from what I have seen...although some guys may use them to shave their face too.

 

[StewB]

My recommendation would be to have appropriate expectations. I think I have rather coarse stubble, and some of it grows almost parallel to the skin. For me the only Henson that worked well enough to give what I consider a close shave was the "aggressive" (+++) model. I prefer heavier razors, though, so I sold it. With that said, though, many love the Henson so it may be a great razor for you.

 

[Rico Suave]

I have both the mild and the medium. If I could keep only one, it would be the mild. I don't find the medium to be much more efficient than the mild, but I do find the mild to be the more comfortable of the two.