To Earn Trust, Show Your Work

The aerospace machinists who invented and built the Henson AL13 thought that good blade support; keeping a blade rigid, would limit flex and chatter. ? After putting it to the test, they were happy to discover that less chatter leads to a safer and smoother shave. ? Thousands of customers have echoed this belief.???

We also know that just about every razor company is going to make claims about delivering a smooth shave. ? In the shaving category there is a lot of regression that’s dressed up as progression. ? Innovative new designs or features that tout functionality but often just serve as a means to sell new product. As a relatively new player in the category, making boastful claims just plays into customer skepticism. We also genuinely didn’t feel good about making claims on something that seemed so subjective: how someones’ face (or legs) feel after shaving.

This was our main conflict – we felt that we had mechanically solved part of the problem, but weren’t sure how to quantify it, or if anyone would really believe us. ?So we looked for a way to measure irritation.

We got introduced to a Toronto medical startup that specializes in multispectral imaging. ? Basically they are experts at seeing under the skin. ? Looking for things like damage or oxygen supply.? ? Which is neat, because your skin will generate a capillary response if there is damage during shaving.? Meaning, they believed it was something they could measure with their technology.

Razor burn (or erythema) isn’t always visible on the surface – people may notice a burning sensation a few minutes after you shave even if you don’t notice any redness. ? This tool allows us to quantify the increase (if any) in erythema after shaving.

So we set up a test. ? Sixty volunteers shaved one side of their face or neck with a Henson razor and the other side with a leading multi blade razor.? ? We took multispectral images of their face before and after shaving. ? We had to know: would the razor burn caused by shaving can be significantly reduced by reducing blade chatter. Almost all the participants had never used a Henson razor before, and most had never even used a safety razor. We didn't want to 'teach' them how to get the best shave though, we really didn't want to introduce any bias at all into the test. It was one tool vs another tool.

The results of the experiment were super interesting. ? Turns out there was in fact a statistically significant improvement in the erythemic response for the portion of the face shaved with the Henson Al13. ? Does that mean it works for everyone? No. ? Did all 60 participants have less razor burn with the AL13? No.? ? There are a bunch of variables that lead into the results which we will be exploring over the coming months and likely years to come. ? On aggregate though, the results were in our favour.

Ok great so now we can just tell everyone we DO give a smooth, irritation-free shave like all the other razor companies -- right?

Sort of. Any ads we’re building that discuss these results aren’t that dissimilar to this post. ? We want to let customers into our thinking, and share the results in an accurate way.? Our hunch is that customers want honesty and transparency almost as much as they want the result.? ? While we can’t control the shaving experience of every individual out there, we can control the content we put out. ? We actually use the words ‘statistically significant improvement’ in our ads when talking about this. ? There’s no regulatory reason we need to be that specific. We are choosing to be. ? Both as a reflection to our own mindset, and in an effort to be distinct in a category that wavers on trust.

We get that people have been burned before, and not just in shaving.? ? We believe people deserve products from brands that actually move the needle and deliver on their product claims. And if some of those product claims are a work in progress, then invite the audience in on that journey.

Supporting the blade to eliminate flex does statistically reduce your chances of getting irritation when shaving.? And we’re now confident enough to start to talk about it. No superlatives, no definitive statements, just what we currently understand.