Thread: Leaning away from William's -- what's a good soap?

I like Tabac, Pre de Provence, Van der Hagen deluxe, and Saint Charles Shave soaps. They all do a pretty good job moisturizing. I'm still working my way to ordering soap from Mama Bear and QED.

can i get glycerine at a drug store?

And cwrighta -- too much water is what makes it dry out -- it has no subtance once too much water is involved. That's what makes it dry

yes try Walgreen's also pm gssixgun he is the king of lather.

Originally Posted by cannonfodder

Anything from Mama Bear or The Gentlemen’s Quarter. I have had no reason to go elsewhere and both ladies are a joy to deal with. If you can’t find a fragrance you like, it is not made. Rich microfoam lather that is slick as all getout.

I'll second that motion.

I agree with every soap recommendation up there, and many others too...
Doc is exaggerating with the "King of Lather" remark but thanks for the compliment.
One thing to keep in mind Williams is a great soap, and you can make an excellent lather with it, I still use it on occasion just because it brings back fond memories of watching Pops shave when I was a kid.
At less than $1.00 it can't be beat even at double that it can't be beat...
You can, add about 5-10 drops of glycerin to any lather to make it much better...
If you want the Williams to really perform here is the trick, treat it like you would any other high end hard milled soap...
Place it in a small container and put 2 tablespoons of water on it and let it soak in, just like people recommend for Mitchell's, or better yet use a cheese grater and shred it, then re-pack it into a small bowl then put the water in and let it absorb...
This will make great lather from a "cheap" soap....
There are three types of lather that can be made from any soap/cream
You can make "Lather" just water and the product
You can make "Superlather" a mix of shave cream and shave soap (very rich) with Williams and a very inexpensive cream such as the Gillette Sensitive cream ($2.97 at Wally World) or you can use any other combo that pleases you...
You can go all out and make an "Uberlather" with Shave cream / Shave soap / Glycerin... This is the richest, most comfortable way to ever shave, and yes it costs more, but personally I am worth it
It all depends on just how far you want to take your shaving experience..
After the first time I read this thread, I tried a Uberlather with Williams / Gillette / Glycerin and loved every minute of that shave!!!!!
Experiment with the lathers and see what you can find...
Another great source of info that is very under used by Newbies is the SOTD, we post exactly what we used to shave each day in there, besides the pretty pictures!!!!!!

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I agree with every soap recommendation up there, and many others too...
Doc is exaggerating with the "King of Lather" remark but thanks for the compliment.
One thing to keep in mind Williams is a great soap, and you can make an excellent lather with it, I still use it on occasion just because it brings back fond memories of watching Pops shave when I was a kid.
At less than $1.00 it can't be beat even at double that it can't be beat...
You can, add about 5-10 drops of glycerin to any lather to make it much better...
If you want the Williams to really perform here is the trick, treat it like you would any other high end hard milled soap...
Place it in a small container and put 2 tablespoons of water on it and let it soak in, just like people recommend for Mitchell's, or better yet use a cheese grater and shred it, then re-pack it into a small bowl then put the water in and let it absorb...
This will make great lather from a "cheap" soap....
There are three types of lather that can be made from any soap/cream
You can make "Lather" just water and the product
You can make "Superlather" a mix of shave cream and shave soap (very rich) with Williams and a very inexpensive cream such as the Gillette Sensitive cream ($2.97 at Wally World) or you can use any other combo that pleases you...
You can go all out and make an "Uberlather" with Shave cream / Shave soap / Glycerin... This is the richest, most comfortable way to ever shave, and yes it costs more, but personally I am worth it
It all depends on just how far you want to take your shaving experience..
After the first time I read this thread, I tried a Uberlather with Williams / Gillette / Glycerin and loved every minute of that shave!!!!!
Experiment with the lathers and see what you can find...
Another great source of info that is very under used by Newbies is the SOTD, we post exactly what we used to shave each day in there, besides the pretty pictures!!!!!!

Superlather is a lot of fun....!!

Don't add glycerin to my shaving soap lather tho.. it has a ton of extra glycerin already added in...like 20% extra.. it doesn't need any more..

Just got Van der Hagen at Walgreen's, produces an UNBELIEVABLE lather!

Originally Posted by Gags1892

Just got Van der Hagen at Walgreen's, produces an UNBELIEVABLE lather!

I used Van Der Hagen for almost 1 year . I recently tried some TGQ soaps , and now I'm using the VDH for hand soap . VDH is good soap , but it can't compare to TGQ soap .

I always liked the lather from Williams much better than the VDH lather. Of course after a few pucks of Williams (it was my go to for 15 years, then I discovered TGQ )
I thought VDH was way too runny I never did get VDH to lather right, then after one puck it was back to Williams.

Once you try one of the truly premium soaps you will not really want to use Williams or VDH again.

not many people have heard of it, but Chelsea's Soap Garden shaving soap must be used to be believed. lathers better than any other soap I have tried, period end of story. she runs a store on eBay if you want to try it.