Product Review: Williams Mug Shaving Soap

Ah Williams. I was requested by a friend to use this and to share my findings as this is a product that (playfully) divides the shaving community on B&B. Some people love it, some people hate it. So how did I find it...?

Well I figured to give it a good run I'd have a 'Week of Williams'. This means getting 3 full leg shaves out of it which is usually a good indicator of it's performance. Firstly some people claim that lathering Williams is like banging your head against a brick wall (only wetter) but personally I found it very easy to lather. Getting an amazing lather- no. But to get a good workable lather - yes. A 10 second swirl-and-twist load on the soap with a damp brush and then straight to the leg for a quick building lather. Here's a picture of some bowl lather I made to show you all (I'm so good to ya!):

Admittedly the lather was not very thick or cushioned (it's a bit 'foamy' for my liking) but surprisingly my shaves were some of the closest I've had, so clearly it did the job regardless. (I was using my SE Gem GBar if anyone is curious. A bit more about this razor is found here ). I would imagine this lather may not be great for coarse facial hair as it's not very thick but it did the job for me. Where it did lack however was in the moisturising category. Each time I used it it dried my skin out a little and so I had to apply some cocoa butter cream to them. 
So while its not way up there amongst my favourites I think Williams gets too tough a rap. It's very usable and for those of you who claim it's un-latherable... work on those skills!


-BE


P.S. Sorry I didn't have a review product last week but I was test running a shaving soap for a new soapmaker and couldn't post my reviews publicly. Top secret workings! Oh lah lah!