Thanks for tips, I soaked the soap for about 30 mins and then lathered with a lot of water and put even more while lather on. This time the lather was a bit thicker and lasted a bit longer and seemed very slick. I ended 2 passes with major burning and a few nicks not as much as last time. Had to finish the 3 pass with proraso. My face was on fire on that third pass like the first time I started DE shaving. Proraso saved my shave. My face is still burning 3 hours later. In my frustration I took the soap closed the container and chucked it in the back of the drawer. I'm done for a while. My loss I guess.
Williams Institute for Shaving Excellence (WISE)
- Thread starter TheVez2
- Start date
Thanks for tips, I soaked the soap for about 30 mins and then lathered with a lot of water and put even more while lather on. This time the lather was a bit thicker and lasted a bit longer and seemed very slick. I ended 2 passes with major burning and a few nicks not as much as last time. Had to finish the 3 pass with proraso. My face was on fire on that third pass like the first time I started DE shaving. Proraso saved my shave. My face is still burning 3 hours later. In my frustration I took the soap closed the container and chucked it in the back of the drawer. I'm done for a while. My loss I guess.
Sorry this is happening. I had something similar happen with Valobra Almond. As soon as I stopped using it, the problem went away. It is also related to technique and how much skin is being removed on each pass. For this reason, I look for soaps that do not irritate, blades that are sharp and smooth and I have a 3 minute prep before lathering up for pass #1 to get the hair softened up. Using a blade that is sharp enough to cut the hair cleanly should allow for the minimum number of passes.
Give your face a rest and come back and try the Williams at later date.
You may have to cycle through a few products to see what is agreeable with your face.
Generally it is the scent in a soap that causes trouble. There are other chemicals that are not skin friendly also.
Consider the history of your shaves and see what led up to the event.
Other soaps that are agreeable with my skin include: Tabac, VDH Deluxe, VDH Luxury scented or unscented. MWF might be OK but I have not shaved with it for a month or two.
Check how the blade is positioned in your razor. If the gap and exposure is not even on both sides, you need to fix that.
One last thing. Try a different blade. Sometimes you can get a bad blade or a bad lot of blades.
Best of luck,
Gene
Ive given the williams puck 3 solid shaves now.
I use an omega pro 49 with it. I might try my vulfix 404 badger if that seems to work better. I soak the puck and palm lather. My opinion is that this soap takes some work. i have to soak and resoak the puck to build lather for each pass. i know everyone says this soap loves water, but i find that not to be the case after a decent lather is built. i find that too much water results in a glycerin soap break down. I will not give up on williams yet, as it is the least expensive soap available, but i find better results from other cheap shavesticks such as arko and palmolive.
I use an omega pro 49 with it. I might try my vulfix 404 badger if that seems to work better. I soak the puck and palm lather. My opinion is that this soap takes some work. i have to soak and resoak the puck to build lather for each pass. i know everyone says this soap loves water, but i find that not to be the case after a decent lather is built. i find that too much water results in a glycerin soap break down. I will not give up on williams yet, as it is the least expensive soap available, but i find better results from other cheap shavesticks such as arko and palmolive.
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I've got at least 30 on the omega. I'm not giving up on the Williams or saying it's a bad soap, I'm only comparing it to the best with other value soaps.
generally my lather routine follow the super stick route. Face load Palmolive and brush load tabac, or face load Arko and brush load cella or TOBS avocado. So I have a pretty high standard.
generally my lather routine follow the super stick route. Face load Palmolive and brush load tabac, or face load Arko and brush load cella or TOBS avocado. So I have a pretty high standard.
Just used Williams for the first time. Wow that stuff is THIRSTY!
After reading recommendations here on B&B, I put just enough warm water in the bottom of my mug to cover the new puck, and let it soak while I showered. Kept all of that water, and added more while building my lather. Made enough for four passes, and some left over. Shave went pretty well, no notable difference from the Proraso green I've been using recently (that's neither a good or bad thing). I'll use the Williams on my next few shaves to make sure I get a good feel for it. Don't see any reason to not keep it in my rotation though!
One question, once I was done, I ended up with a soggy puck in the bottom of my mug. Do you WISE gents leave the wet puck in your mug for next time? Try and dry it a bit?
After reading recommendations here on B&B, I put just enough warm water in the bottom of my mug to cover the new puck, and let it soak while I showered. Kept all of that water, and added more while building my lather. Made enough for four passes, and some left over. Shave went pretty well, no notable difference from the Proraso green I've been using recently (that's neither a good or bad thing). I'll use the Williams on my next few shaves to make sure I get a good feel for it. Don't see any reason to not keep it in my rotation though!
One question, once I was done, I ended up with a soggy puck in the bottom of my mug. Do you WISE gents leave the wet puck in your mug for next time? Try and dry it a bit?
Just leave it wet. That will keep the puck more hydrated and perhaps easier to load your brush on the next shave.
Alright, I hit up a dollar store to prepare myself, this week I will dedicate to Williams.
Found all these items at a BUCK apiece!
The after shave smells horrid! I bought it for the little glass bottle, I'm going to print a vintage Velva label for it...
Found all these items at a BUCK apiece!
The after shave smells horrid! I bought it for the little glass bottle, I'm going to print a vintage Velva label for it...
A Williams puck for a buck?
Which chain? Dollar General? Dollar Tree? Family dollar?
The box looks different to what I am used to seeing.
Could it be vintage? Counterfeit? Or just newer packaging?
Those plastic ware with lids would keep the puck ready to go.
Tabac, Arko, and Cella are convenient to use.
Arko builds very nice lather but irritates my skin.
Tabac per oz is about 5x the price of Williams.
Williams is slicker than Tabac in my view.
It was a Dollar Tree, a step up from Dollarama sometimes.
...
I'm actually going to label that container, the puck is a perfect fit and the round part of the label is sized right. Score
...
I'm actually going to label that container, the puck is a perfect fit and the round part of the label is sized right. Score
It's defineatly real. Smells like camping
It's (around here anyway) the only box style you can find.
Here we go, a new Williams container that almost looks like I bought it that way...
It's defineatly real. Smells like camping
It's (around here anyway) the only box style you can find.
CVS has been selling the Williams as shown.
Left to right: Semogue 2000, Weber PH, Williams boxes, B&B Essentials boar, and Omega #10049.
Gene
Could be just different boxes for different countries?
Perfect fit. Nice find. I have some Pyrex SnapWare that my next puck is going into. That way the puck stays ready.
Gene
I absolutely love reading the posts throughout our institute. I am glad to inform my fellow wise men that I turned to Williams to make my first De-funking lather with my recently finished custom made brush....even with the funk of the badger, the Williams prevailed.
love it!I am saving the Williams to shave with. I can De-funk and break in boar brushes with something I can't use. The list of well liked stuff I can't use is growing. I do not think the animals donating hair for brushes will care which brand.
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