Williams Mug Soap: Cracking the Code

I admittedly have a soft spot for Williams Mug soap.  Maybe it was all those decades of having to get the most out of clunker cars.  Having to make do with ramin noodles, rice and raisins.  I dunno.  But ever since I tried it for the first time, and having read all the less than stellar opinions of it, I've been determined to see what I could get from this soap that is only $.99 at our local Wegmans.  And that's key.  It's only a buck.  I know that on its best day, Williams will bever match the artisan soaps we all love.  But still...  So here's what I've come up with.

A couple of things I've heard and read has been my main focal points in this windmill tilt.

1. Don't give up too soon on your lather.
2. For non tallow soaps, more water and less brush load, but for tallow soaps use less water and a heavy brush load.

And that has been the trick for me.  Especially for bowl lathering.  Loading that brush and working it in the bowl for at least a full minute.  I've been getting a thick, rich lather consistently this way with this stuff.  All my other soaps made by artisan makers are pretty much no brainers for getting good lather.  But this stuff has been a fun project.  It doesn't make me want to resurrect my old Mercury Topaz with the busted drivers seat and cracked windshield.  But this budget soap does get a permanent spot in the rotation.  In the pic below, the glob of lather was what was left after I lathered for my 3rd pass.

Thanks for the great post! I like learning new stuff! Maybe I'll have to experiment with Williams Mug soap, too!
- Bax

Ron, thanks for the report. I tried and tried, but was never successful creating a beautiful lather like you’ve shown us. It seems my friend, that you have indeed, cracked the code. Nice work 

Ron, there's nothing wrong with Williams!. That's why it's a classic and still survives.

It is a soap that I really like its smell, I have not problem making lather, but it disappears very quickly on my face and I have to constantly apply more foam, could it be that mine is faulty?

I wondered what a "Wegman's" is. 
So I looked it up online. 
It's a grocery store chain (with 126 stores).
It's primarily found in the mid-Atlantic eastern region of the US and up into New England.  
Huh!  Who knew?  
I've never seen "Williams mug soap" on a shelf anywhere in the Midwest.
The Walgreen's drug store chain shows it on their website, but it's not on the shelf at the corner Walgreen's near me -- I checked last night (it can be ordered online, though).
I learn stuff all the time...
- Bax

 

(07-29-2021, 10:56 PM)Wolf Wrote: It is a soap that I really like its smell, I have not problem making lather, but it disappears very quickly on my face and I have to constantly apply more foam, could it be that mine is faulty?

Same here. No problem making lather.
But it disappears. Same with all the the English soaps with the junky formula.

So the consensus seems to be that it's thin foam that doesn't last.
But does it give a protective layer for shaving?
Does it do a better job than canned goo?
Even if it's not as good as TOBS or artisan soaps, if it's superior to canned lather, then it has a place on the shelf, I should think!
   :-)
- Bax

I disagree with the idea that the lather from William's Mug Soap is thin and don't last long - care is needed to build the lather. I do however have reasonable soft water, that is likely to affect my opinion. And if anyone want more of my opinion on WMS, here is a review I did last year.

And once more thank to Charlie for shipping it to me, since you can't buy it in Europe as far as I know

(07-30-2021, 10:32 AM)Nero Wrote:

(07-29-2021, 10:56 PM)Wolf Wrote: It is a soap that I really like its smell, I have not problem making lather, but it disappears very quickly on my face and I have to constantly apply more foam, could it be that mine is faulty?

Same here. No problem making lather.
But it disappears. Same with all the the English soaps with the junky formula.

Thank you very much Matt for this clarification.

(07-30-2021, 10:50 AM)Bax Wrote: So the consensus seems to be that it's thin foam that doesn't last.
But does it give a protective layer for shaving?
Does it do a better job than canned goo?
Even if it's not as good as TOBS or artisan soaps, if it's superior to canned lather, then it has a place on the shelf, I should think!
   :-)
- Bax

If there is a protective layer left, but for me it is very annoying that the foam disappears so quickly.

(07-30-2021, 12:11 PM)WegianWarrior Wrote: I disagree with the idea that the lather from William's Mug Soap is thin and don't last long - care is needed to build the lather. I do however have reasonable soft water, that is likely to affect my opinion. And if anyone want more of my opinion on WMS, here is a review I did last year.

And once more thank to Charlie for shipping it to me, since you can't buy it in Europe as far as I know

Yes, I remember the review you did right here on TSN, that's why I bought itr the review.

@HMA, du er hjertelig velkommen 

My lather's from Williams never dissipate, even in my hard water.

I think dissipation can happen if you add water too quickly. Or if you didn't load for long enough.

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Foaming the soaps is not a problem for me, to the conclusion that I came after reading the comments, is that it may be due to the fact that there are very irregular lots.

(07-29-2021, 10:56 PM)Wolf Wrote: It is a soap that I really like its smell, I have not problem making lather, but it disappears very quickly on my face and I have to constantly apply more foam, could it be that mine is faulty?

It could be the batch your puck came from.  Until I took the time to figure out how to get good thick lather from it, I had inconsistent results too.  Sometimes it was thickish, sometimes thin.  But it always gave me a good shave.  Slick but necessarily thick and cushy.

(07-30-2021, 05:54 PM)sgrdddy Wrote: My lather's from Williams never dissipate, even in my hard water.

I think dissipation can happen if you add water too quickly. Or if you didn't load for long enough.

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Agree.

I looked for Williams Mug Soap after reading about it here.  I gave up trying to find it... it wasn't on any drug store shelves near me!  I'd forgotten about it until I was wandering through a small town grocery store (very small) and they had it on the shelf!  A Williams soap puck sold for the princely sum of $1.59 (USD).  I grabbed one.  Tried it out this morning. 
     I let it "bloom" with hot water for a minute or two while I steamed my whiskers with a hot washcloth.  I dumped out the bloom water and loaded up my VieLong horsehair shaving brush, then moved to a Dirty Bird lathering bowl.  It worked up a great lather very quickly.  After reading about how difficult it was to lather, I was surprised at the ease with which I was able to whip it up!  I grabbed a beat-up old Gillette X2 (1952) Tech razor and dropped in a Wilkinson Sword (India) blade.  I lathered up my ugly mug and started in with the old Tech razor. 
     The lather SEEMED thinner that I'd get with an artisan soap, but where it mattered (against my skin), I couldn't tell the difference between Williams or any other soap; it FELT the same.  I raced the Tech down the sides of my goofy face, around my cute little chin, around my manly jawline, and across the grain under my nose.  Pass #1 complete.  Williams worked out fine.  I did my ATG pass and made no new observations.  I gave myself a 3rd pass (a mix of WTG, XTG, ATG, as well as buffing and goofing around), just because I had so much lather left over (Williams made a LOT of lather - maybe I bloomed it too long). 
     In the end, I concluded that this was a shaving soap that wasn't anything to write home about, nor was there anything bad about it.  It was just a regular ol' shaving soap that did what it was supposed to do.  That's probably why it's still on the shelves after 160 years.  It's certainly passed the test of time! 
     I think I'll grab a puck or two just to have on hand, in case I run out of the fancy, expensive, smelly, foofie, luxurious soaps I have in my shave nook.  I made another discovery this morning, too!  Alum blocks don't taste very good (don't ask).
  :-)
- Bax

P.S.  WegianWarrior did a great write-up on Williams Mug Soap; he mentioned it with a link in the thread above.  I should have read before trying it out.  Oh well.  Hindsight 20/20!  Good review, Hans!

It is the perfect shave soap, I do prefer the vintage though.

Look for the ones with "mug" in blue letters, that's the really good stuff.