Hey all. I have not been active on these forums in some time, but I thought I would post an ongoing review for Williams Mug. Yes, that Williams Mug, the soap that is polarized all over wet shaverdom. I recently ran low on my go-to soap, Van Der Hagen, and thought to give this a try. My motivation for getting Williams is the same for VDH, getting a quality shave cheap. Williams has always been on my radar for this purpose, so I popped on some from Walgreens and got it about two to three days ago.
My kit is pretty basic:
Type I Shick Hydromagic with Personna Injector Blades
VDH Shave Mug
Centaur "Pure Bristles" shave brush
Williams Mug Soap
TN Dickerson Witch Hazel (aftershave)
Day 1 Results:
My shaving routine at present is that I usually go about three to about four days before a shave with a quick one pass shave on shave day because where I work I can get away with a bit of stubble. Anyways when I had gotten the Williams my first impression was that the soap smelled like Lemon Pledge or other lemony scented chemical cleaners. This doesn't put me too off. I had already done a shave earlier in the day but since it had been a one pass I thought I could do another with the Williams for a first try out. When I used the Williams I had the initial difficulties others reported on this soap being tricky to lather. I just wet my brush fairly well and stirred until I got a lather consistency I would get from my VDH (kinda hard to describe). The lather, however, did not last all that particularly well and I did get some nicks because of the inadequate fading of the lather I had gotten. Not a good start for this soap.
Day 2 Results:
Here is where things take a turn. I waited about a day before I tried the Williams again, and tried something different I heard others had done with this soap. I did what others called "blooming" or taking warm water and placing it into the mug with the soap inside to let the soap soak for a bit. I also made sure to wet my brush very well to get it full, but not overly so, with warm water as well. After about 30 seconds to 2 mins, I dumped the warm water out and proceeded to stir for a lather like I normally do. The difference here was that the soap was producing A LOT more sudsy lather at first, but after about 15 to 30 seconds of lathering, the lather I got was pretty adequate. I felt that the Williams was producing a lather that was more thick and providing excellent cushioning protection for my shave. No nicks or cuts here AT ALL. This was one day's growth mind you, so if this lather had been lacking at all, my face would have borne the punishment. Excellent 180* for this soap!
I will be updating this thread for a couple more times before I give my final thoughts on this soap.
My kit is pretty basic:
Type I Shick Hydromagic with Personna Injector Blades
VDH Shave Mug
Centaur "Pure Bristles" shave brush
Williams Mug Soap
TN Dickerson Witch Hazel (aftershave)
Day 1 Results:
My shaving routine at present is that I usually go about three to about four days before a shave with a quick one pass shave on shave day because where I work I can get away with a bit of stubble. Anyways when I had gotten the Williams my first impression was that the soap smelled like Lemon Pledge or other lemony scented chemical cleaners. This doesn't put me too off. I had already done a shave earlier in the day but since it had been a one pass I thought I could do another with the Williams for a first try out. When I used the Williams I had the initial difficulties others reported on this soap being tricky to lather. I just wet my brush fairly well and stirred until I got a lather consistency I would get from my VDH (kinda hard to describe). The lather, however, did not last all that particularly well and I did get some nicks because of the inadequate fading of the lather I had gotten. Not a good start for this soap.
Day 2 Results:
Here is where things take a turn. I waited about a day before I tried the Williams again, and tried something different I heard others had done with this soap. I did what others called "blooming" or taking warm water and placing it into the mug with the soap inside to let the soap soak for a bit. I also made sure to wet my brush very well to get it full, but not overly so, with warm water as well. After about 30 seconds to 2 mins, I dumped the warm water out and proceeded to stir for a lather like I normally do. The difference here was that the soap was producing A LOT more sudsy lather at first, but after about 15 to 30 seconds of lathering, the lather I got was pretty adequate. I felt that the Williams was producing a lather that was more thick and providing excellent cushioning protection for my shave. No nicks or cuts here AT ALL. This was one day's growth mind you, so if this lather had been lacking at all, my face would have borne the punishment. Excellent 180* for this soap!
I will be updating this thread for a couple more times before I give my final thoughts on this soap.
