Hybridization of the Infamous J.B. Williams Shave Soap
So back in '07 I bought a bunch of J.B. Williams "mug" soap with an employee discount. I used one as a body soap, finished the first puck by shaving, and have one that I now keep in a container with a screw-top lid to control moisture loss. I sometimes use it to wash my hands because the tallow in it is much better for my skin than the common hand soaps.
I still screw around with Williams. I've had plenty of good shaves with it, by itself. I think it's better for DE shaving because it's slogan "long lasting lather" is a lie. Its worst attribute, its weakness, is the lather. I have taken an inadequate shave cream, Kiehl's "White Eagle" non-lathering shave cream, and combined it with a loaded brush of Williams to create a more stable, perfectly satisfactory shaving soap. I've used Avalon Organics' non-lathering "Cream Shave" Peppermint the same way. It is kind of sad to use Williams as the soap behind a cream, a non-lathering cream at that, to stabilize and improve its LATHERING properties! But hey, if it worx it worx, write?
Well, also back in '07 I ordered my first shaving soaps from eBay. From an independent soap maker "Chelsea's Garden" shaving soaps. I ordered every scent they had (about 8 at the time) and they threw in an unscented for free. 2.75 for a 3 ounce puck. They weren't bad, but they don't seem to be good enough for a real open razor shave. I used them early on in my open razor shaving because they did not allow much room for error, skipping and less protection from razor burn, etc. They were good for providing immediate feedback for what kinds of strokes will or won't work, what produces irritation, you know.. good for learning because it wasn't really good. But the stuff lathered pretty good, it did have a tendency to dry out, though.
The puck of Williams in the sealable container has been soaked overnight a few times, it's obviously larger than its original dry 1.75 ounces and it gives up the soap much easier for loading the brush because of it. I soaked it overnight, let the excess water evaporate and then sealed it. Did that a few times to make sure it was hydrated, but not gooey or mushy soft.
Yesterday I loaded my little badger brush with the "Chelsea Soap Garden" shaving soap, added a little water to whip up a dense (non-shaving) lather to make it easier to push out into the lathering bowl, then re-loaded the brush with the soft puck of Williams. Began the lathering process, adding water gradually with wet fingertips to the lathering bowl.. built up a really nice, dense, copious quantity of lather. It smelled good. I like the Williams scent. I used a straight-razor style razor that holds DE blades broken in half for this shave, for a very sharp razor's edge without the luxury of smoothing out on strops for this shaving session. Verrrrrrry nice shave. Definitely a success. Could live off that combo.
J.B. Williams has its fans and its detractors. Fine. But, if you have a puck of Williams and some inadequate cream or soap that you also find to be a dissatisfying shaving experience why not try adding them together? You may be surprised. J.B. Williams is surprisingly good at augmenting other soaps or creams. Ironically, it can be used to transform a non-lathering cream into a perfectly latherable one, even though Williams weakness is the quality of lather (especially lacking in the endurance department, which leads one to wonder why it still boasts "Long Lasting Lather" since its reformulation).
Williams' strength, to be fair, is its glide. Very good on glide, and I believe it has good cushion, too, especially over time with repeated applications (multiple passes with re-latherings). I can't tell you how many times I've laughed to myself shaving with a tarnished, five dollar eBay blade I honed myself while shaving with a crappy, crusty old puck of cheap-azz Williams! Po' Man's Shave-- leaving my skin feeling fantastic in the process!
I could have titled this post: "Williams: the Re-Lathering" a parody of "Magic: The Gathering". It can be that good.
Williams may not be a top tier, or even middle tier, shave soap by many people's standards. Maybe its water hardness, or user error, or whatever. But there are many detractors. I for one see its utilitarian value not in its low price, but in its usefulness in creating surprisingly good lather when combined with sub-par soaps or creams. Ironic it can be the lathering factor behind a crappy non-lathering shave cream. A non-lathering cream can provide the stability, the structural integrity, to the collapsible Williams. If it doesn't work plain, try it as a hybrid.
All hail Williams! :bow
