I thought I was down to just two soaps, but yesterday i decided to do some clean-up under the sink and in a drawer, and I found half a puck of something (it had been sliced down the middle). I wasn't sure what it was. A quick sniff revealed a faint lemon verbena scent, and the half puck was the exact size of half a puck of Williams, so the size and the scent both fit.
I gave it a quick test lather and it was ok, a bit airy but didn't dissipate. I thought about the rich lathers that I usually prefer, and I remembered that most of my favorite soaps have quite a bit of glycerin them; I also remembered that I had a bottle of glycerin somewhere, and i located it.
At that point, the experiment began. I took the soap and grated it. I added about three drops of lemon essential oil and about three drops of grapefruit essential oil. I then added maybe ten drops or so of glycerin. Then I mixed it all up by hand until all the soap was wet with the added ingredients. Then I pushed it down into a puck.
Couldn't wait to try it this morning. To be honest, I didn't really have high expectations. I knew it would lather well enough for a shave. Anyway, what I got, instead, was a rich, dense, shiny lather without any visible bubbles, and it was slick and protective. Nothing short of fantastic. If i had just paid $20 for this soap, the only complaint I would have had was that the scent, while beautiful, was a little bit weaker than I like it. But wow. I was blown away. Post-shave face feel was pretty good, too, and the lather that i squeezed up out of the brush was rich and unctuous.
Seems to me that all Williams needs to be a first class soap is a little bit more glycerin (and a nicer scent). I'm not kidding; this soap was as nice as Wholly Kaw, Soapy Science, Stirling, etc. Mind blown.
I gave it a quick test lather and it was ok, a bit airy but didn't dissipate. I thought about the rich lathers that I usually prefer, and I remembered that most of my favorite soaps have quite a bit of glycerin them; I also remembered that I had a bottle of glycerin somewhere, and i located it.
At that point, the experiment began. I took the soap and grated it. I added about three drops of lemon essential oil and about three drops of grapefruit essential oil. I then added maybe ten drops or so of glycerin. Then I mixed it all up by hand until all the soap was wet with the added ingredients. Then I pushed it down into a puck.
Couldn't wait to try it this morning. To be honest, I didn't really have high expectations. I knew it would lather well enough for a shave. Anyway, what I got, instead, was a rich, dense, shiny lather without any visible bubbles, and it was slick and protective. Nothing short of fantastic. If i had just paid $20 for this soap, the only complaint I would have had was that the scent, while beautiful, was a little bit weaker than I like it. But wow. I was blown away. Post-shave face feel was pretty good, too, and the lather that i squeezed up out of the brush was rich and unctuous.
Seems to me that all Williams needs to be a first class soap is a little bit more glycerin (and a nicer scent). I'm not kidding; this soap was as nice as Wholly Kaw, Soapy Science, Stirling, etc. Mind blown.