I've been a HeadBlader since 2005. I'm very happy with the quality of their products, but the cost, especially the shipping cost, has gotten prohibitive. Especially with the change to the smaller 5 oz. size, I started looking for alternatives. I found this site thanks to my search and watched Tyler's review of Bee Bald and decided to give it a try. I ordered the sample sizes and used them in place of my usual HeadBlade regimen (Scrub, Shave and Smooth instead of Shed, Slick, Lube glossy). Here are my findings
Scrub vs HeadShed - Like all Bee Bald products, Scrub has a slight, pleasant honey scent. I like the scent of HeadShed also. Different but equally nice. As for the actual use of the product, Scrub is much less abrasive than HeadShed. There's a much lower density of the gritty stuff in Scrub, and the cream is . . . creamier. Sometimes HeadShed leaves my head feeling raw. Didn't happen with Scrub, but Scrub also didn't exfoliate as well. There were skin particles in the blade and a flake or two on my head post shave, which never happens when I use HeadShed. ADVANTAGE: EVEN. It depends on what you value more. If you want complete exfoliation and have tough skin, go with HeadShed. If you'd like something gentler at the cost of a few more flakes, Scrub is your product.
Shave vs HeadSlick - Shave has the same honey scent as the other products but it's probably the strongest. My wife really, REALLY likes it. In fact, I didn't get to test Heal (the after shave) right away because she
interrupted me ifyaknowwhatImean
. As for the shave, it was very, very smooth. There's on old bump scar on the back of my head that usually bleeds when I shave with HeadSlick. With Shave, I glided over it without incident. My only complaint is that it goes on almost invisible, so there's the chance of missing a spot or over-shaving. I started working in smaller sections of my head and that mostly relieved the problem. ADVANTAGE: BEE BALD. It handled the bump scar like a boss, and you can't argue with wifey's reaction!
Smooth vs HeadLube (glossy) - This was a huge disappointment for me. The base of the lotion feels like the same thing they use in Scrub. It went on with a pasty feel and left a dull-gray look on my dome (fwiw I'm a dark-skinned black guy). It looked more ashy AFTER I used the moisturizer than it did before! Advantage: HEADBLADE by a friggin' country mile.
Since I had the samples, I also used Clean and Heal. Clean is pretty nice. It has the same scent as the other products and some exfoliating beads. Heal didn't move the needle for me one way or the other. I'll probably stick with my store brand witch hazel product.
My final verdict is a split decision. I will switch to Scrub and Shave while keeping HeadLube as my moisturizer.
