Terrible lather!

[humber burns]

Ok this whole thing started with another thread I have going about skin irritation from shave soaps http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=97474, but seeing as this is a separate but connected issue I decide to start a new thread.

I have found a soap that doesn't irritate my skin (Williams, I believe it's called) and I'm trying to build good lather but failing miserably. The results are overly thick lather that is drying on my face, or when I add the slightest bit of water thin runny lather. I switched back to my boar for the soap, and I have followed all the steps in the "soap lather building" and "face lather" tutorials, but the ensuing results were just as bad if not worse than they were before I followed the tutorials. Now, there is the potential that I'm making some sort of catastrophic error but I think not. My guess is that there is a slightly different process for using a boar brush than a badger? Any help/suggestions are appreciated.

Kev

 

[MrGuy]

I think that the key to getting good lather from Williams, is to forget what good lather is
You will never be able to get the same lather from Williams as other soaps, but you can get the same shave results, and you'll need to put in more effort. Williams won't give you a lather that lasts beyond three passes, lasting through one pass is tough enough. You'll have to go back to the puck a couple of times. I actually like to use Williams like a stick, as in soak the whole puck for about a minute, then rub the whole thing over your beard, then go at it with the brush. When you need more soap, charge the brush from the puck. One final step for Williams is to figure that if it costs a tenth as much as the average shave soap, you need to use 10 times as much

As always, YMMV... and whatnot.

 

[humber burns]

I'll giver a shot. Thanks.

 

[Luc]

You could always start with a shaving cream to build your lather instead of soap... Cream is a bit easier. I would recommend Proraso. You could always get the Proraso soap also...

From what I heard, William isn't that great for lather but since I do not have any access to it I cannot verify myself.

 

[humber burns]

I've been using proraso shave cream for about 4 months now and it works well, but I have found that soaps provide me with a smoother shave. Even with my poor lather building technique, and i have tried a couple other brands... I just need to work on it.

 

[Luc]

You could always try to make superlather...

 

[Jethro1984]

I've tried lathering Williams and it was really difficult to get a good lather. I also found the lather to be rather drying and as a result I got an irritation filled shave. There are a couple types, though, if i'm not mistaken so this refers to the Deluxe (I believe it was)....the white puck.

 

[humber burns]

Thats the one.

 

[MrGuy]

I've tried lathering Williams and it was really difficult to get a good lather. I also found the lather to be rather drying and as a result I got an irritation filled shave. There are a couple types, though, if i'm not mistaken so this refers to the Deluxe (I believe it was)....the white puck.

There's only one Williams, not saying that's good or bad, but just one. The common soap that comes/came in varieties is Van Der Hagen. There is the white (Select), pink (Deluxe), and clear glycerin. VDH comes in green and white packaging, Williams comes in blue and white.

 

[studioguy]

Ok this whole thing started with another thread I have going about skin irritation from shave soaps http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=97474, but seeing as this is a separate but connected issue I decide to start a new thread.

I have found a soap that doesn't irritate my skin (Williams, I believe it's called) and I'm trying to build good lather but failing miserably. The results are overly thick lather that is drying on my face, or when I add the slightest bit of water thin runny lather. I switched back to my boar for the soap, and I have followed all the steps in the "soap lather building" and "face lather" tutorials, but the ensuing results were just as bad if not worse than they were before I followed the tutorials. Now, there is the potential that I'm making some sort of catastrophic error but I think not. My guess is that there is a slightly different process for using a boar brush than a badger? Any help/suggestions are appreciated.

Kev

There's been lots of discussions here about Williams lather, some people love it others hate it. I used to hate it, but I've found if you take a fresh puck and put it in the mug then put hot water on it and let it soak overnight then put more hot water on it for a bit before you use it, it will work great. It seems to work best with a boar brush.

 

[_JP_]

I have found a soap that doesn't irritate my skin (Williams, I believe it's called) and I'm trying to build good lather but failing miserably. The results are overly thick lather that is drying on my face, or when I add the slightest bit of water thin runny lather. I switched back to my boar for the soap, and I have followed all the steps in the "soap lather building" and "face lather" tutorials, but the ensuing results were just as bad if not worse than they were before I followed the tutorials. Now, there is the potential that I'm making some sort of catastrophic error but I think not. My guess is that there is a slightly different process for using a boar brush than a badger? Any help/suggestions are appreciated.

OK, so ya got a puck of Williams, a boar (Omega?) brush and you wanna face lather? Here's what ya wanna do with those...

The first step of the shave should be putting a little bit of hot water on top of the puck and let it sit while the sink fills, the brush soaks, and you wet your face.

Remember that when using Williams it takes water to dissolve it and charge the brush, it's a hard soap. HOT water makes a real difference with this soap.

When you're ready to build the lather, pour the water off of the puck, let your boar brush drain and get to work. Now here's a trick that really helps when creating lather with a boar brush - use pressure? Making the bristles splay out a bit really hurries up the process. Work the brush to charge it up with the soap and then got work on your face. If the lather seems thin, add more soap. Thick, add the slightest bit of water by dipping just the tip of the brush into some hot water (I keep some in a separate mug for that purpose, which is where I also soak the brush). And keep working it between additions. It'll take you two or three minutes to build a good lather which is time well spent because that gives it a chance to soften the beard.

After the shave there is one final step to perform to insure that the Williams will be even easier to use the next day, or even a week. Put it away wet! Don't rinse it, don't dry it, just cover it up in the mug when you are done with your shave. That step alone makes it seem about as easy to lather up as soaps that cost a lot more than Williams does. I'll bet that you'll be surprised.

 

[SiBurning]

I think Wiliams works better without lathering it at all. I used William's for a decade before even buying a brush, just rubbing it on my face. After I got a brush, and tried it for a while, the lather looked okay, but I stopped using the brush because... See sentence #1. Anyway, you're better off moving beyond Williams. It;s okay, but almost anything people like here will work better.

 

[Matsuey37]

I would recommend adding a little dab of shave cream to the soap lather. I have used many different soaps and some of them don't need extra help but some do. The resulting mix will usually be smoother and slicker than either cream or soap alone.

 

[Ferannia]

I'll giver a shot. Thanks.

If you live in an area with hard water, forget Williams'. The soap is very good with soft water, ie, with not as much magnesium and calcium in it. Otherwise... try Arko or Palmolive stick.

 

[humber burns]

not worried there. The water os very soft.

 

[kzoo1]

Try the "Zach Method". I believe this is the definitive guide to lathering Williams.

YMMV and all the standard disclaimers...

 

[Eighties]

There's been lots of discussions here about Williams lather, some people love it others hate it. I used to hate it, but I've found if you take a fresh puck and put it in the mug then put hot water on it and let it soak overnight then put more hot water on it for a bit before you use it, it will work great. It seems to work best with a boar brush.

+1 For a buck a puck, you can't beat it.

 

[koso]

I notice that what Zach is stressing is getting enough soap into the brush.

This seems to me to be the overriding theme, and problem people have with soap lathering: Not getting enough product into the mix.

I prefer my own 'load the face' pseudo-stick method which seems to me less wasteful than what Zack is doing, but it amounts to the same thing: However you can get a good charge of soap with which to make your lather.

 

[Rusty Jackknife]

IMO, I would suggest passing on Williams and spend the extra dollar or two and move to another soap/cream.

If you need to keep you soap to the $1.00 range, I would seriously suggest using a bar of Irish Spring. I can achieve far better shaves with a bar of Irish Spring than I can with many low end shaving soaps.

 

[Bucnak]

One thing I do with my Williams experiance is use Kiss my Face and pump a squirt into the soap, stir around and your lather is a nice quantity, I use both Mint and Pear, great stuff.
Good luck.