It does have great post shave feel, I agree. Did you order it from ItalianBarber? I just saw it on their site and it's on sale as a deal of the day.
Thanks for for that, Robert, I only paid 2x that price If I would have seen that yesterday; I'd have two on the way. One things certain; I won't be without LaToja
I might try a tube of the cream. Been kinda avoiding more tubes, but I also plan to keep one thrown in the dopp all the time this summer, so I expect to be using them a quite a bit more. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
OK......Shave complete. Arko on my right face and neck and La Toja on my left. Face lathered with 2 very similar synthetic brushes. Pre shave.....hot shower Razor: 34c Blade: Crystal SP RR Alum stick Thayers Cucumber WH AS: Fine AB My 1st observation is that the Arko to me has a more soapier clean scent over the LaToja...but it's very slight. The La Toja smells the same to me but not as strong. My 2nd observation is that the Arko lathers up so easy and thick it's comical. A 6 year old could do it. The La Toja is very close behind it though. Arko does as others have mentioned act a touch "thirsty" in that it likes a tad more water than others. No big deal. The La Toja lathers with a slightly slicker feel to me than the Arko. It also seems a touch less of a thick lather. The shave was done as equal as I could and trying not to overlap parts of my face with the soaps was a bit quirky. La Toja side felt a nano bit slicker but adding more water to Arko side matched it. My face has a spot on my right lower jaw line that is undoubtedly my thickest spot but my neck on my left side is also a trouble spot. Both areas seemed to be smoothed out as normal. I think maybe the biggest tell tale was the post shave Alum. The La Toja side had a significantly more noticiable sting than the Arko side even though the shave felt equally comfortable on both sides. Post shave face feel had a slight....(very slight) edge to La Toja, nothing some WH and AS didn't fix. All in all these 2 sticks perform amazing considering the cost. I honestly do not think one is overwhelmingly superior over the other. YMMV
From my limited La Toja experience I can tell you that it is a light bar soap scent that doesn't lather quite as easily as Arko but it slicker and less drying. I like it but I tried it mashed into a sample jar. I think I would like it more as a stick and my plans for the future are to try more inexpensive sticks like Palmolive, La Toja, Speick, Lea, Bea and Wilkinson if I can find it. I already have Arko and Tabac in stick form.
That was awesome, thanks for taking the time to perform the experiment, guys like you make this board special!
I have the stick, when face lathered for me it becomes something close to KMF consistency. I think some folks are biased or just can't get water ratios down. Sorry guys but i find La Toja to be idiot proof. Apparently, YMMV.
It was really nice but I think loaded onto the face via stick would've made it lather easier. Arko explodes with first contact of the brush. When I said it was harder to lather then Arko I just meant that it needed at least a full swirl to start being a great lather. Arko almost lathers at a harsh stare.
That wasn't geared towards you Mark. The stick lathers on contact, it's like magic...BAM!!**LATHER CLOUD**
It sounds like you're not rubbing the stick directly onto your face? Using the stick like it's meant to be used is to be (to quote @Robyflexx) "idiot proof"
I'm very glad that we don't have to choose between these two excellent soaps -- I love both of them. Arko is basically a scent issue for some folks -- completely subjective, but I like it, and the performance is superb. In fact, the only other complaint I remember reading about Arko is that it isn't moisturizing -- maybe so, but I almost always use an aftershave balm anyway. La Toja is incredible stuff too! Definitely a more luxurious feel for me, with a lovely aroma and abundant lather -- and that O so cool little cylinder it lives in! Of course, it costs a bit more, but nothing really worth mentioning -- we won't quibble over a few cents a shave, will we? I believe my budget allows me to have both.
Shaveabuck has a pretty good deal on soap sticks. I think one of every one of his soaps and creams comes up to $20 + shipping.
I can't comment on Arko as I have yet to try it, but I used my La Toja soap stick today and am very impressed. I'll say first that this is the first soap stick I've used. The smell is clean and fresh, the lather is a little thinner than I'm used to but in NO way does it detract from the glide, cushion, or overall shave comfort of the shave. In fact, those qualities just mentioned were as good or better than I've experienced with my conventional soap pucks, or shave cream for that matter. And the post-shave feel....very comfortable. I'm very pleased with this product. BTW, I used my Semogue 620 brush and as expected, the light scritchiness of the brush worked the lather perfectly, as well as the 50mm or so of loft. I'm planning on using the soap again Monday after a shaving day off tomorrow. As an aside, I like that my latest two brushes come from Portugal, and this soap comes from Spain. Adds to the coolness factor.
I use it mostly with my Semogue 620 also! It's perfect for it. I'm glad you liked it, I will gladly join you for a La Toja shave stick Monday!
