First time using mug soap.

Welp, just did my first "wet shave" in about 15 years.

Picked up a boars hair brush, and some william's mug soap from the pharmacy.

First time I have ever tried a mug soap and brush myself. Took a bit to figure out how to get the lather, and then how to apply it. Once that was figured out, I just used my normal disposable razor. Don't have a safety razor, or a straight razor yet. One hint on the lather I found, was after I "broke" into the soap, I swished the brush tips through the sink water, and then went back to building a lather in the mug.

It seems to be much closer then normal, and my skin doesn't feel like it's burning off. Still a slight abrasion (burn) issue, one of the reasons I want to get to a straight razor. The smell, of william's soap, is .. odd. Will take some getting used too.

From what I read here, the brush will soften up and develop better lather over use and time. The true judge though is my lady, as she is who normally tells me if I missed a spot or not, and if it's smooth. She pointed out a couple missed spots, but nothing else. *shrug*

I will keep playing with it while I save up to get a straight razor, so that portion is second nature and I can focus on the razor itself.

Williams is tricky to lather some say, I haven't had a problem with it, used it for a few years with carts before I switched to str8s. You know you'll have a cabinet full of soaps in a few months, right? You won't be able to resist trying other ones.

I can attest to the boar brush getting softer as it breaks in. I have one and I love it. The tips of the hairs split and this is why it gets softer. It did smell a bit like a wet dog for the first week but I hear if you shampoo it you can remove much of that scent. It'll go away on it's own from use anyway.

I live in an RV with my lady and two dogs. I didn't even notice a wet dog smell, but I think I am immune to that smell. *laugh

As far as the soaps, I am glad they are small. Space is a major issue when one lives in the quarters we all do. :)

I actually don't like the scent of williams, but this is just the tip of the iceberg my friend, there are so many nice smelling soaps :)

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Originally Posted by mcgyver74

I actually don't like the scent of williams,

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Heretic!!!!

The Williams is a big upgrade over the canned foam or gel. A safety razor will do an even better job with more comfort than a disposable.

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Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

The Williams is a big upgrade over the canned foam or gel. A safety razor will do an even better job with more comfort than a disposable.

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That's the thing. I didn't use canned foam or gel. I used water. That's it.

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Originally Posted by Zolon

That's the thing. I didn't use canned foam or gel. I used water. That's it.

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Wow, your skin must be made of steel..... :)

Ps, I challenge anyone to take a whiff of TOBS Sandlewood, MWF or Tabac and tell me that Williams smells better :) (man I just love rabble rousing LOL)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mcgyver74

Wow, your skin must be made of steel..... :)

Ps, I challenge anyone to take a whiff of TOBS Sandlewood, MWF or Tabac and tell me that Williams smells better :) (man I just love rabble rousing LOL)

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I am learning as I age, my skin is not made of steel. In fact, I suspect some of the "blemish" issue I have is how I have been taking care of my face. So now, I am going to go the other direction. Hence, preparing to switch to a straight razor.

As far as the smell, I'm not used to smelly things near my face. Williams does not smell good to me, but for the price and the learning to build a lather, it works. ;)

Course, now you have listed a few I will have to try down the road of this adventure. :)

If you're looking for comfort, you cannot go wrong with a safety razor. I haven't been at straight shaving long, and I've yet to achieve a shave similar to what I can get with my old Gillette adjustable. However, I think the straight shave will eventually be better than the DE once I become accustomed. To paraphrase something Glen said a few days ago, if you've never tried either how do you know that one is any harder than the other? You've got the advantage of no perspective other than the relative hell you've had with disposables. I remember using Mach III's and how bad it was. Anything is better than that.

Williams is a water hog. The ratio of water to soap is counterintuitive. I soak the puck is hot water for about 2 minutes. I dump most of the water out and start loading a soaked brush. I mean really load it up. Transfer to a bowl and slowly add water until you get a meringue like consistency. It takes a few practice lathers to nail down. If you can, try some MWF. I believe Larry @ whippeddog.com sells samples. Williams is probably the slickest soap on the planet though.

I actually didn't soak the puck. The lather I got was very close to the pictures I see here. At least with this, I am only out time and $2. ;) I will try what you said next time. Thank you. :)

Williams seems to take a few latherings to break the outer shell. Once hydrated and lathered it's a good soap, cheap and available at most local stores. Are there better soaps? Absolutely! At $1-2, no way. If sensitive skin is an issue, MWF is the way to go. It was formulated originally with sensitive skin issues in mind and the lanolin scent is just old school clean. I like the Williams scent but it's not for everybody.

I am actually keeping an eye out for a menthol type soap. Not a cream though. I have always liked the tingling shampoos, figured that would be the same. Also, not a fan of the lanolin scent.

Try Proraso in the green tub. It's a fantastic Italian soap, lathers easily, and has a great menthol edge to it. The AS splash is a wonderful compliment as well.

im sure you will be able to take a big turn in your life with the whole shaving thing, it will deffinatly bennefit your skin! using william's and a boar brush is a great start! like others have said...its just the beginning! Keep us posted on everything...also, check out the monthly give aways...might just get lucky and get a start up kit for yourself! :)
take care

Lady gave me the go ahead. Two weeks I order a Dovo 2Bismark, hopefully. Until then, learning to lather and learning the grain of my face.

Mug Shave #2
Williams Shave Soap Puck
Boar Hair Brush
Shick Triple Disposable

Yes, I know, the razor sucks.

This time, after reading the prep people do, I changed up a bit.

First, I soaked the brush in hot water from the campground shower in a coffee mug. Puck sitting on the sink next to it.
Took my shower. Lathered my face with Cetaphil soap and left it on until final rinse.
Emptied the coffee mug and dropped the puck in.
With out shaking water from the brush, I started to build the lather.
And started to build the lather
And started to finally get a lather.
Wet my face again, as it dried out waiting for a lather.
Put a lather on.
Finished drying off from the shower, put on deodorant.
Washed lather off.
Put new fresh thick coat of later on.
Shaved once with the grain.
Put new fresh thick coat of later on.
Shaved once against the grain.
Rinsed.

Came back to the RV and had the lady check it. Her comment: "That's better."

Little bit of burn still from the cheap razor. Will be fixing that in a couple weeks. :)

If you want to try something mentholy, find a bed bath store, they have C.O. Bigelow which is a re-packaged Proraso.

Many times they have the buy one get one sales as well. Comes in two sizes.

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Originally Posted by CharlieFoxtrot

Williams is probably the slickest soap on the planet though.

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That's a very important point, one that I didn't catch on to for a long time. The slickness is key in protecting your face and allowing the razor to glide. Some of the best selling, best looking, best smelling soaps out there don't do as well as others. The way I can tell is that after I finish shaving I notice that the shave isn't as good.