Henson AL13 Mild vs. Medium: A Head-to-Head Shave Comparison
Hello everyone, welcome back. Today I’m finally doing the comparison I’ve been wanting to run: the Henson AL13 Mild against the Medium, head to head.
Big thanks to my buddy Brett from Make It a Great Shave for letting me keep his Medium for a bit longer so I could make this happen.
The Two Razors
Both are aluminum. Both are three-piece design. The top caps and base plates look identical, same three-pin construction, and the handles are interchangeable. Side by side you have to look closely to spot the difference.
The fastest way to tell them apart: flip the top cap over and check the underside. The Mild has one plus indicator. The Medium has two. Same goes for the base plates. That’s it.
Henson moved the blade gap and exposure specs off their main product pages. They’re on a separate Technical Data page on their site now. What I remember from the older specs is that the Medium has a slightly larger blade gap and blade exposure than the Mild. I’ll try to pull some spec comparisons and put them on screen.
Quick note on the full lineup: there’s a third option, an aggressive AL13 in a dark gray color, available through third-party retailers. And there’s a titanium version available directly from Henson. Today we’re focused on the aluminum Mild and Medium.
The Setup
Inside both razors I loaded fresh Personna Comfort Coated blades. These are my go-to for comparisons because they’re a solid middle-of-the-road option. Not particularly sharp, not aggressive, just good and comfortable, as the name suggests. When the blade is a variable, it’s harder to compare razors fairly.
For soap, I already had a lather going: Amaretto by Moon Soaps. Cherry and almond. Fantastic scent. Loaded it up with my Tan-Z brush into my Brusso and Dove bowl, which always makes me happy when I bring it out. Three days of growth on the face.
The Shave
I started each pass on the Medium side first, then switched to the Mild, to keep the comparison as close to back-to-back as possible.
First pass, with the grain. After the first pass there’s a clear difference. The Mild side has noticeably more stubble remaining. You can feel it. Both razors were comfortable throughout. The Medium’s slightly larger gap moves through longer growth more cleanly on that first pass.
The other thing I noticed: the Mild needed rinsing more often. The Medium clogged a little slower. With three days of growth, that matters. The Mild handles it fine, you just need to be a bit more attentive.
Worth mentioning for aluminum razors in general: there’s no weight working in your favor. You have to be deliberate about maintaining the angle. The Mild asks for a bit more focus in that regard.
Second pass, across the grain. The gap closes fast. Both sides felt smooth and comfortable. We’re working on shorter stubble now, so the efficiency advantage the Medium showed on the first pass doesn’t play out the same way. By the end of pass two they’re very close in feel and result.
Third pass. Both sides came out BBS. I picked up a weeper and a small blemish, but that’s not the razor’s fault. I fly over that spot every time. Three passes, both sides clean.
Post-Shave
Finished up with some Amaretto splash. A little tingle at the weeper, very light around the nose, and the skin felt happy. One small detail I noticed: detailing around the goatee was slightly easier with the Medium. The slightly bigger gap means slightly better efficiency at the edge work, which means less buffing. A small thing, but I appreciated it.
What the Off-Camera Shaves Showed
I had Brett’s Medium here long enough to do several back-to-back shaves off camera too. The pattern I kept noticing: after shaving with the Medium, the stubble starts poking through a bit later. Not dramatically, but noticeably. That makes sense. Slightly bigger gap, slightly bigger blade exposure. I can’t feel the difference in blade feel during the shave compared to the Mild, but the result afterward confirms it. The Medium does provide a closer shave, even when you can’t detect it while it’s happening.
Mild or Medium?
Going into this, I was expecting to feel a bigger difference, because during my off-camera back-to-back shaves the Medium always felt noticeably more efficient. And it is, but mainly on that first pass. By passes two and three, they land at essentially the same place.
If you have very sensitive skin or you shave every day or two, the Mild is an excellent choice. If you shave every three or four days and want that first pass to go more cleanly through longer growth, or if you like the idea of stubble taking a little longer to return after the shave, the Medium is worth the step up.
Both are available in a variety of colors directly from Henson and through retailers. Great options for beginners, with that well-defined shave angle that makes it hard to go wrong.
I’ll see you in the next video. Until then, stay safe.