Most would agree that Williams shave soap is a decent soap that will deliver a decent shave. However, most anyone who has used it will also admit that it is a fairly quirky beast with regard to water content, lather drying between passes, etc. I must admit that I really wanted to like this soap but the quirkiness made it...well...just OK, especially when compared to the VDH line which seems to effortless produce copious quantities of lather regardless of water content, etc. Then I decided to give Williams another go. I decided to use it just like I would a shave stick. That is wet my face, rub the puck over the shave area and lather my face with a fairly wet brush. This worked like a champ and rendered nice thick lather and a great shave. I've decided to try this out for a week just to perfect this soap. Initial indications are fairly encouraging. This is the best I've done with Williams thus far.
You can do this with just about any soap. How they are package and marketed seems to have nothing to do with how they work best.
My father in law said he rubs the cake on his face during a shower as it softens up. Then proceeds to shave without lathering it up with a brush or anything. I haven't tried this since I have so many other soaps/creams/superlathers yet to try.
In the shower is the only place I have success with Williams soap. It gives me not enough good lather for shaving.
If I'm not mistaken Williams is a glycerin melt and pour soap. You can get 2 oz shave stick holders that twist up. I have two. I f you melt the soap very slowly in a glass measuring cup you can pour it in and have a wonderful shave stick. It works for me. PM me is you have any questions.
I've been using Williams when my beard is mostly stubble. The lathering process takes work to get that nice coverage.
Well I will just stir the pot here.... I use Williams Mug shave soap a lot more then I use anything else.. Never seem to have the trouble that some do with it. It is a great soap. It is also one of the oldest soaps around. It was the first soap made for mugs around 1840. Been around that long for a reason. But then again I like the Gem Micro Matic some too so take it as you will heh.
Williams is hard and tallow-based. VHD is soft. The reason is lathers so profusely is the presence of SLES in its ingredients.
Williams was the first soap Grandpa gave me. He put it in a mug. He would fill the mug with hot water stick the brush in it and shower or bathe as they did then. When he was ready to shave he would pour out the water while pressing the brush against the puck squeezing most of the water out of the brush. Then continue stiring the brush in the mug. Some times he would add a drop or two of water. He would then get his face wet and have at it with the brush. The mug always was full of lather. I do the same. No problems. I believe the key here is to whip it on the puck in the mug. That I understand is the way it was designed.
Interesting.... I've never had any problem with Williams. YMMV appears to be the most important word for this forum. lol
i had given up on Williams..til i read this..in fact i had just tossed it in the trash before i read this..so i dug it out, washed it off and bam..nice lather..finally after 8 months of off and on trying i got it to where it didnt fade away 5 secs after applying. so in tinkering i do the above but i shake the brush one good time first instead of letting it drip..i start swirling and right when it starts to make creamy lather i scoop it up and transfer it to a bowl and finish whipping so in between passes i can put my bowl in the sink and let it float in the hot water while shaving. today was actually the first time i shaved with it since trying this and the lather stayed nice and thick and didnt fade.
