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I got a sample of Henks #6 ASB with some soap I bought, I like the soap a lot but that is for another thread, the arrival of the balm was quite timely as I had been trying a few balms, moisturisers and after shave treatment in a clinical way to see which works better for me.
After trying a few they seem to fall into 2 categories, at least for me they do.
There are balms that are quite moisturising and thick in consistency, balms such as Nivea, T&H, and DR Harris aftershave milk are all quite thick and I use these when I have a little bit of a rash or just a bad shave for whatever reason. These thicker ones tend to cool the skin more and offer some degree of calming effect to razor burn. I have found the down side is sometimes my skin gets a little oily later in the day, so When I do use these balms I use with caution and try not to use too much of them.
The other group are light and easily absorbed; these have little or no calming effect on my skin. I use these when my skin is just a little dry or when I have used a soap that leaves my skin tighter. Proraso green tub is the most noticeable one that does this to me but sometimes it is not just the soap, other factors come into play like the effects of the weather and so on.
Henks #6 fits between the two categories and I can't quite pin it down, it is thick but not as thick as Dr Harris milk and it does posses the calming effects usually found in the thicker balms. I have used it when my skin is not irritated and it doesn’t feel greasy later on. In the same situation using a thicker one like DR Harris my skin is a little more oily later in the day, if my face was on fire I would go for something different but normal day to day shaving this is a nice in between balm.
I asked Henk what made up the scent of my sample and it is Bay Rum, oil of bergamot, bornyl acetate (a pine scent) and patchouli. The predominant scent to me is Bay Rum and Bergamot but the sum of them ingredients is quite different to the individual smells. It is the longest lasting scent of any balm I have tried so far, coral skin food is stronger on application but doesn't last as long as this mixture. This can be both good and bad, some days I just put some of the balm on and that serves well as a scent for at least a few hours. At the weekend this is great, shave in the morning and stick some of this balm on; by the time I am going out a few hours later it does not interfere with any cologne I choose to use.
When I tried it one day before going to work I used a spray of 1805 cologne and I could get the odd whiff of Bay Rum which clashed in my nose but I am sure the scent was only noticeable to me. Using something like Tabac obliterates any remaining scent but then it does this without prejudice with everything.
There have been a few scent revisions so mine may not be reflective of some of the other ones out there. Henk assures me that other scents are perfectly possible without messing with any of the properties of the balm. Once I have finished my sample I would like to try either a unscented version or one that is just a light scent, there are not many balms that smell as good as this (assuming you like Bay Rum) but parking the scent preference to one side this is a top performing balm.
I had a huge haul of products and samples and still have a few to work through, I don't expect to find "the one" that will make me ditch all the others, rather I expect to find a few that will work better to fulfill different requirements. This balm is a contender for the "ARRGGGHH my face is hot" treatments but it is also a decent one to travel with as it has a degree of moisturising effect as well.
After trying a few they seem to fall into 2 categories, at least for me they do.
There are balms that are quite moisturising and thick in consistency, balms such as Nivea, T&H, and DR Harris aftershave milk are all quite thick and I use these when I have a little bit of a rash or just a bad shave for whatever reason. These thicker ones tend to cool the skin more and offer some degree of calming effect to razor burn. I have found the down side is sometimes my skin gets a little oily later in the day, so When I do use these balms I use with caution and try not to use too much of them.
The other group are light and easily absorbed; these have little or no calming effect on my skin. I use these when my skin is just a little dry or when I have used a soap that leaves my skin tighter. Proraso green tub is the most noticeable one that does this to me but sometimes it is not just the soap, other factors come into play like the effects of the weather and so on.
Henks #6 fits between the two categories and I can't quite pin it down, it is thick but not as thick as Dr Harris milk and it does posses the calming effects usually found in the thicker balms. I have used it when my skin is not irritated and it doesn’t feel greasy later on. In the same situation using a thicker one like DR Harris my skin is a little more oily later in the day, if my face was on fire I would go for something different but normal day to day shaving this is a nice in between balm.
I asked Henk what made up the scent of my sample and it is Bay Rum, oil of bergamot, bornyl acetate (a pine scent) and patchouli. The predominant scent to me is Bay Rum and Bergamot but the sum of them ingredients is quite different to the individual smells. It is the longest lasting scent of any balm I have tried so far, coral skin food is stronger on application but doesn't last as long as this mixture. This can be both good and bad, some days I just put some of the balm on and that serves well as a scent for at least a few hours. At the weekend this is great, shave in the morning and stick some of this balm on; by the time I am going out a few hours later it does not interfere with any cologne I choose to use.
When I tried it one day before going to work I used a spray of 1805 cologne and I could get the odd whiff of Bay Rum which clashed in my nose but I am sure the scent was only noticeable to me. Using something like Tabac obliterates any remaining scent but then it does this without prejudice with everything.
There have been a few scent revisions so mine may not be reflective of some of the other ones out there. Henk assures me that other scents are perfectly possible without messing with any of the properties of the balm. Once I have finished my sample I would like to try either a unscented version or one that is just a light scent, there are not many balms that smell as good as this (assuming you like Bay Rum) but parking the scent preference to one side this is a top performing balm.
I had a huge haul of products and samples and still have a few to work through, I don't expect to find "the one" that will make me ditch all the others, rather I expect to find a few that will work better to fulfill different requirements. This balm is a contender for the "ARRGGGHH my face is hot" treatments but it is also a decent one to travel with as it has a degree of moisturising effect as well.
Thanks Martin
