Ever tried african black (bath) soap? Its shea butter based but extremely drying. Raw shea butter by itself is very moisturizing.
People harp on the scent yet I wonder how much of this is just forum programming. There is a hard party line on the forums regarding the scent that newbs read and form a receptive opinion of even before they use " a two dollar " soap. The forums have made the scent the one defining feature, not being tallow, slickness, protection etc. When I started on the forums in 2008 , Arko seemed to be just thought of as a solid performer everyone should try. No one commented on the scent, it smelled like Ivory soap to me. It was only in later years that the Arko Scent Brigades began a reign of terror with over the top denunciations and nauseating comparisons. The same holds for Lilac Vegetal, a harmless old timey smell that no one cared about when I started became at the hands of opinion makers abominable. Forum guys seem to delight in finding new outrageous ways to describe LV, out of all proportion to its actual scent. We rely on the opinions of others on the forums, newbs more so and it seems here we are pre-programmed to think negatively about Arko because of what some say about the scent and this echoes . I/ We don't know it stinks until we are told it stinks and since we'd like to fit into our community we embrace the propaganda line.
And can the same be said about products that people rant and rave over saying it's the best thing since sliced bread? When I joined the big thing was Derby blades and how wonderful they were. Then came the Voskhod blade kick. Neither of those blades work for me. Bottom line is YMMV, and I'd put money on it that that phrase is in at least 98% of the threads that talk about any product mentioned, so newbies are being warned, if you will, let the buyer beware.
Some say the Derby's were a lot better in the old days and somewhere along the line the product changed? I dunno.. but I do know that the blade anno 2013 I tried was horrible. To everyone who has not tried Arko but dismissed it over the scent due to descriptions like "urinal puck", "house cleaner" etc.... please.... please... forget what you read and try it for yourself! No it does not smell like urinal pucks and no it does not smell like the house cleaning stuff.. Get a stick, face or mash it and form your own opinion on the scent. All scents are YMMV and so are Arko. It's not a bad scent like wet new brush or dogpoo or something on that line. It's a true YMMV that one need to form own opinions on.
Please, I did not intend for this to turn into a Derby thread. My point was that an opinion is an opinion - and newbies have a right to know the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Arko is certainly worth a try for every wetshavers at some point as inexpensive as it is. I had read about the 'bathroom cleaner and urinal puck' scent descriptions before I tried it. Maybe it's a regional thing but I really do think it is an accurate description. After a few weeks of being out in the open the scent really subsides and your left with a great inexpensive and solid performing soap. I'm almost at the end of my second stick and when its gone I doubt I'll replace it not because of the scent but because I find it drying.
One reason I have so many different soaps is because of all the different scents. If you're telling me that Arko loses its scent if left uncovered, make that reason three that I won't buy it.
Well Arko is the only soap that I don't cover to protect the scent but I'm sure the scent would still have its punch if I did cover it. It really doesn't lose its scent entirely just the intensity it has when you first unfoil it, which makes it more palatable in my case.
"TO ALL NEWBIES" All things shaving are YMMV.....The absolute only way to know if you like anything is to try it..Luckily with something as inexpensive as Arko or Williams the're almost must try soaps...You won't break the bank and who knows you just might like them.. Certainly when someone writes an opinion about a product consider it, research it, but always realize you must actually try it to really know if you like it or not...For instance all these thing I've tried and so can give my opinion on, "BUT" it's still just my opinion... Derby,Merkur and Feather blades suck, while PolSilver Super Iridiums,Astra SP's and Viking's Sword blades ROCK... I like Arko,Williams, VDH soaps and Pinuads Lilac Vegital in smell, performance and price.... To me the smell of all these things is unique, which I think is one reason I like them... All these are legitimate, honest opinions of mine based on my actual experience, but again "the're still just my opinions".... The most "IMPORTANT" thing to remember: It's "YOUR" shave "ENJOY" it "YOUR" way....
I really like the smell of Arko as I find it an enhanced Williams scent. I still don't like the performance, for me there are better products.
Funny but I don't really scent anything from the Arko anymore. Maybe just a touch of "soap" but really it's defining quality as regards scent seems to me to be neutrality. I remember a light lemon-y/general (non-specific) citrus quality when I unwrapped my first stick, but as I remember it faded quickly thereafter and wasn't a strong or unpleasant scent in any case. I see where this topic of the Arko "scent" has definitely caught fire on these internet shave forums though! :rah: :rah: :rah:
Just opened my first stick tonight. To me, the smell is pretty mild, but if that fades then there won't be much to it at all. I know it'll take this thread in a different direction, but what's your preferred way to use it? I got my first mug for Christmas and still haven't used it. Can I just, like, jam the stick into the circle in the bottom of the mug? Is it worth it?
To me it's worth it. It's the only way I use the stick. I haven't found the holy grail in face lathering, so I'm a bowl-lathere exclusively. I've mashed mine into a tin can with screw on lid. But don't mash it into the mug if it's the mug you use for building the lather. A mug/bowl/can for the soap, and a separate mug/bowl for the lather process.
I recently pressed some Arko remnants into a mug and rediscovered Arko's goodness. The only stick that beats it so far is Palmolive, but not by much.
I don't know why so many people despise the smell of Arko. To me it just smells like Ivory soap or a cheap lemon cleaner.
