Williams with a few drops of Aqua Velva Ice Blue, who knew?

[Topgumby]

ChevyGuy posted in the Week of Aqua Velva thread about how he added a few drops of Ice Blue to his puck of Williams before lathering. I figured I'd give it a try.

I usually face lather, but decided to make this lather in a bowl, because the face lather seemed to be different than what I usually get with Williams, a thick, slathery coating that does the job but doesn't look like much.

What I got was picture book lather that didn't seem to have the usual Williams tendency to try and dry out on the face.

I'm not sure if it's just the glycerin in the AV, but it might be worth a shot for those who just can't get Williams to work for them. Hey, they are both from the same company, so it's not like it's cheating too much...

 

[bythbook]

wow!

drops directly on the soap? pretty dry brush to start...?

I'm interested in ways to flavor my old soaps whose scents are long gone....

 

[natchez]

Thanks for the pics. May be I will give a drop or two a try.

 

[FiXXXer]

Have you tried bowl lathering Williams before? It could just be the difference between bowl and face lathering.

 

[Topgumby]

wow!

drops directly on the soap? pretty dry brush to start...?

I'm interested in ways to flavor my old soaps whose scents are long gone....

If your Williams is old enough, it probably doesn't need any help lathering...the stuff made before the late 1970's is easy to lather.

The current Williams is a different critter, and can be made to perform, but it's not always easy. The AV trick seems to make it much easier.

What I did was the usual routine I use for Williams. I soaked my Omega #49 in hot water, and put about a teaspoon of hot water on the puck. At this point I added four drops of AV Ice Blue to the puck, and let it sit for a minute. I shook the brush, then squeezed it out (it's a water holding hog) and started loading the brush, swirling and pumping, and turned the mug upside down for the last few swirls. I face lathered, noticed the difference and started building lather in a bowl, adding a little water, maybe a half teaspoon...and got the big, classic looking lather.

The results were odd enough that immediately after my shave, I tried to replicate it. This time I skipped the face lathering, and went straight to the bowl. I added too much water (about a tablespoon) and had to whip the lather in the bowl a little longer, but this is the stuff that is pictured.

Yes, I've bowl lathered modern Williams before, and never got it to work this way, and just settled on face lathering since it gave me a thick, gloppy lather that worked pretty well.

It's a valid question, however....I hadn't tried bowl lathering with this Omega brush. More experiments are in order!

 

[FiXXXer]

It's an interesting experiment for sure. I'd also be interested in seeing what it looks like with a drop or 2 of pure glycerin. I don't care for the scent of Williams, so I haven't actually tried it, but the experimenting process is definitely interesting to watch.

 

[Topgumby]

I rinsed off the puck, washed out the brush and had at it again....this time no Agua Velva at all.

The results were interesting. I got lots of lather, more than what I remember getting with my badgers, but it's been awhile since I tried to lather Williams in the bowl with a badger brush.

The lather was lighter and much more airy than the AV batches. Having shaved today, I didn't compare how it worked, but I put some on one cheek for the two minute test. It was starting to break down after two minutes, but still there.

After all this, I'm ready to speculate -

1. The Aqua Velva, or probably the glycerin in it, does help modern Williams lather better.

2. The Omega #49 Boar, now reaching a nice state after the break in period (Christmas gift) is a natural for Williams.

3. If you have modern Williams and AV Ice Blue, it couldn't hurt to try, and if you aren't a fan of the out of the box bug repellent scent of modern Williams, it's an improvement right there.

4. Barbers of yore who made lather for customer after customer must have had Popeye style forearms of iron. Whipping up three batches of Williams in one afternoon is a minor workout.

 

[Deltaboy]

Thanks I have been using Williams with a peanut drop of CO Bigelow to get lather like that. I will give this a try.

 

[Saltchuck]

1. The Aqua Velva, or probably the glycerin in it, does help modern Williams lather better.

Sometimes I use a few drops of glycerin on the Williams puck before face lathering, but I haven't tried bowl lathering with Williams. Maybe I ought to.

 

[azmark]

I milled Palmolive stick into a dish and added Pinaud Bay Rum....

 

[Topgumby]

I milled Palmolive stick into a dish and added Pinaud Bay Rum....

For the scent, yes, but Palmolive stick needs no help lathering. I'm suggesting that AV tames the wicked Williams and makes it accessible to lathering lubbers like me.

 

[Chevyguy]

If your Williams is old enough, it probably doesn't need any help lathering...the stuff made before the late 1970's is easy to lather.

The current Williams is a different critter, and can be made to perform, but it's not always easy. The AV trick seems to make it much easier.

What I did was the usual routine I use for Williams. I soaked my Omega #49 in hot water, and put about a teaspoon of hot water on the puck. At this point I added four drops of AV Ice Blue to the puck, and let it sit for a minute. I shook the brush, then squeezed it out (it's a water holding hog) and started loading the brush, swirling and pumping, and turned the mug upside down for the last few swirls. I face lathered, noticed the difference and started building lather in a bowl, adding a little water, maybe a half teaspoon...and got the big, classic looking lather.

The results were odd enough that immediately after my shave, I tried to replicate it. This time I skipped the face lathering, and went straight to the bowl. I added too much water (about a tablespoon) and had to whip the lather in the bowl a little longer, but this is the stuff that is pictured.

Yes, I've bowl lathered modern Williams before, and never got it to work this way, and just settled on face lathering since it gave me a thick, gloppy lather that worked pretty well.

It's a valid question, however....I hadn't tried bowl lathering with this Omega brush. More experiments are in order!

Thank you for the credit Topgumby. I actually load up my boar brush with the williams and then I put a few drops of the velva in my lathering mug. I don't think it matters too much if you apply it to the soap prior to loading your brush. You got the same result I did. At first during the week of williams I used my pure badger but it produced weak thin lather. So I switched to the boar brush and I've been making monster lather ever since. It amazes me also how the aqua velva actually improves the quality of the lather. At first I thought the alcohol in it would cause the lather to break down, but it didn't. I have to admit I wasn't expecting the results I got. I was just trying to scent a soap with an aftershave I really like.

Clayton

 

[Blondie]

This is an interesting post. Not only with the addition of Aqua Velva, but TopGumby's observation about the boar brush. My first crush was the same Omega Boar you have, and after "graduating" to badger, I didn't look back. I have since started using it again, and have to say it just murders soaps. I always get thick lather, just like you got. I just bought another omega boar with a little shorter loft, so I can have more control. Will be interested to see how long it will take to break in.

 

[redwing]

yes i've done this,but 1 better-
grated 2 pucks of williams - put 1/2 in my bowl, added 2 drops of glycerine, and 5 shakes of AV ice blue, put the 2nd 1/2 on top& mixed then compressed it with a coupl;e of books;

one compressed, toothpick the top to make holes all over it& poured AV onto surface and into all the holes;


nice & icy!!!

 

[The Nid Hog]

I'm going to give this a try with face lathering. It's like the perfect reunion of Williams products of yore.

 

[The Nid Hog]

Well, I tried it for my shave tonight. I didn't think that four or five drops of Aqua Velva would make a difference, but it did. I face lathered and got the richest Williams lather that I've ever produced. Nice close shave. I followed the whole thing up with another splash of Aqua Velva. I'll have to try this again tomorrow!

 

[Topgumby]

I vote that we name the Williams-Aqua Velva trick the "Clayton Combo".

Or maybe the "Redwing rope-a-dope".

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Gave this a try this morning and it was very nice. I have had good luck getting Williams to lather so I can't really say that it helped much, but the smell was nice. Used a GEM G-Bar with a Personna/Walgreens blade that might have one shave too many on it. Started to change it midshave but gutted it out.

Might try this with VDH next.

 

[Chevyguy]

I vote that we name the Williams-Aqua Velva trick the "Clayton Combo".

Or maybe the "Redwing rope-a-dope".

Thank you topgumby. You sir are A-Number-1 in my book and I enjoy reading all your postings.

Clayton

 

[wksimple]

I would love to try this but alas I have no Aqua Velva. I DO have plenty of Skin Bracer with "Glycol". Is this the same as glycerin? (Maybe I will simply go buy a bottle of AV.)