So tomorrow morning was supposed to be the big day for my first col conk shave, but curiosity killed the cat. I decided to do a night shave with the arko instead. My first lathering attempt failed terribly, i loaded the brush on the top of the stick for 30 seconds and then bowl lathered. The lather immediately collapsed, so i proceeded to do my first face lather ever, and boy was i blown away!!! Who could think that 20 seconds of running a shave stick across your face could produce so much lather!!!! I was absolutely shocked!!!! Even after one shave, i can easily see this becoming an every day soap for me, and im truly falling in love with everything about arko, the price, lather, slickness and even the smell. At first i thought it had a sort of fanta grape smell, but after removing the top section of wrapper, i smelt quite a bit of lemon and citronella, quite a pleasant smelling soap! Lather10/10: my first attempt wont be counted towards the score, i was using it in the incorrect way so thats totally my fault. I can easily see a stick lasting months and Jimmy very very kindly sent two of them!!! Very very slick, with great residual slickness too. Scent 6/10: this is a very nice smelling soap in my opinion, but because ive seen many people say it isnt the best smelling I'll mark it down a little. I love the arko smell, but if you fall under the category of people who arent a huge fan of the scent, it isnt too overpowering and you either love the scent or just like it, i cant see many people hating it. Price10/10, one of the best priced options out there! And because its so long lasting i cant see myself using more than 1 or a maximum of two a year with every day use. Availability: 5/10: in South Africa, our main supplier for this soap is RVT, who have a very affordable price for this shave stick indeed! It would be nice however to see more vendors, especially chain stores like dischem or clicks stock this soap. Skincare: 7/10: pretty decent skincare, on par with most good shaving soaps. Overall i rate this shave stick very very very highly, and thanks a ton to Jimmy for sending me two of them to try!!! Sent from my Redmi S2 using Tapatalk
I added a photo of what it looks like, i forgot to add one lol, its definitely a great soap, many people arent huge fans of the scent but personally i like it Sent from my Redmi S2 using Tapatalk
Face lathering from the stick it the "proper" way to use it. I prefer to build my lather in a bowl so I mushed the stick into a container. Doesn't take long to load with a damp brush, and it lathers very well in a bowl. Another soap with a scent that polarizes shavers - Tabac. If you have both combine equal amounts and watch the creamy mounds of lather with a double dose of love/hate scent pile up. It shaves well and the Tabac conquers Arko's tendency to be drying. If you enjoy foods with a high fat content (Fried chicken ), an Arko shave will remove that shiny sweat. No, I haven't used it to de-grease an auto engine compartment. Yet.
Nice review. Glad you enjoyed it! I enjoy an Arko shave every now and then but the post-shave feel is drying for me.
You must be a rare breed TS: thanks for the review! The ARKO scent can be a bit polarising, but the price/performance rating is stellar.
Matthew, Arko is a fantastic soap and is certainly one of the best values in traditional wet shaving. I'm glad you discovered it. @RyX has already shared the secret properties of Arbac to combat Arko's skin drying effect. You can also use a moisturizer after your shave like unrefined shea butter (fantastic stuff), and dry skin will never again be a problem.
I have a unopened stick I bought a few weeks ago, I just cannot seem to guide myself away from the Proraso. I would love a lemony smelling soap (if anyone knows of one ?) So I maybe just open the Arko next shave, I had a 3 pass shave this afternoon and will likely be monday before I shave again, a 3 pass is very unusual for me... But I was doing well with no nicks, cuts or weepers that I went full on 3
Yep, i also definitely prefer bowl lathering, but ill stick to face lathering just with the arko. Sent from my Redmi S2 using Tapatalk
A good budget lemony smell would be col conk lime, that soap will actually be featured in my next review! Sent from my Redmi S2 using Tapatalk
Thanks for the tip!!! Unfortunately tabac is rediculously expensive here, so it will be a while till i try that. Sent from my Redmi S2 using Tapatalk
I found the Derby lemon on Amazon at £23.50 for one tube :O Then found another at £7.50...So I bought that, quite expensive for tube soap but I look forward to trying it...thanks.
You went about it the hard way. What I do is "color" the bottom of the bowl with the stick, like a crayon. Works for me every time. Just like on your face, looks like there's hardly anything there: But add water and brush, and voila! Enough shiny, slick lather to shave Rosie O'Donnell's back! Fair warning: Cannot be unseen. (Move your mouse to reveal the content) Fair warning: Cannot be unseen. (open) Fair warning: Cannot be unseen. (close)