How to Make Iced Arko Shaving Soap Well, I finally got around to doing a small shaving project. I have been wanting to add some menthol crystals to the venerable Arko for some time now. I think the Arko shaving stick has been in my fridge for over a month, LOL! Anyway, today I decided to finally get around to mixing up a batch of ice cold Arko. You will need about 15 minutes of spare time and the following items: Instructions Put your Arko shave stick in the fridge for a while and let it get nice and cold. This will make it easier to grate. Grate the cold Arko shaving stick into a small bowl. The cold stick will be about as hard as candle wax and will be easy to grate. Fill a small shot glass with about 1 ounce of hot water. Don't use boiling water, it is too hot. The grated soap will have no trouble absorbing one ounce of water. Stir some menthol crystals into the hot water. The crystals should dissolve in less than one minute. I used about 2/3 of a teaspoon of crystals. I think for the first attempt, you should probably not exceed one level teaspoon. Pour the menthol water into the bowl and start off by squeezing the grated soap into a ball. Once you have it in a ball shape, begin to knead the ball for a minute or two. Press the ball of soap into one of your favorite containers. Lather up. FREEZE FACE! I tried the soap this morning and it was really great! At first I thought the menthol might help reduce the powerful citronella scent of the Arko soap. Not really. The scent was still quite strong but I could also make out the menthol too. The insanely cheap Arko stick means you can have some fun without worrying about having to throw out an expensive shaving stick it things don't work out. Also, it you overcook the soap by putting in way too much menthol... No problem... just send it to Jeff (crackstar)!! He will be in heaven. So... was my Iced Arko cold. You betcha. I could feel the menthol fumes drifting up into and almost tearing up my eyes. I found my Iced Arko to be the coldest of any of my shaving soaps or creams, by far! That said, I have not tried products such as TSD Iced Sub-Zero or QCS Vostock. The menthol crystals had no adverse effect on the Arko soap and it was very easy to generate a large amount of nice, thick lather. Hope you have fun if you try making your own. Cheers, Lyndon
Interesting Experiment. How much does the Shaving stick weight and about how much Menthol crystals ( By weight) did you add?
I never used any menthol crystals in my life, but if anyone's not satisfied with the experiment I'll gladly take the soap from them. (in exchange for something in return, of course!)
I used a standard Arko stick which weighs 75 grams. I tried weighing the menthol crystals before but they are very light and didn't really register on my electronic kitchen scale. I think it's easier to go by volume. If you look at some photos from my post entitled Fooling Around With Menthol Crystals, you should get an idea of how much to add. One fairly flat teaspoon of crystals would be at the extreme end for most shaving products.
For more accurate weighing a digital postal scale is an inexpensve alternative. I got one that has a Resolution of 0.1 gram. If I remember correctly, it was under 20€...a similar model should be available in the states.
wow, very very interesting. I'm waiting the arrival of some menthol crystals for another experiment of mine and I will most certanly try this one out Great work!!!
Oh my goshh! Thanks for posting this! I have been using Arko for a few weeks now and have been really loving the results, especially because of it's price. I have a box of 12 and definitely plan on doing this to each stick when it comes time to replenish my mentholated stock. I used slightly less than a teaspoon of crystals for two Arko sticks and that was really cold and comfortable. Luckily it was more than enough without my eyes watering up like they do with this shea butter after shave i made with the crystals as well. Thanks a ton for this and I will seriously be sharing this with my wet shaving buddies.
To help the Arko dissipate the lemon/citronella smell a little, I grate the soap and let it ait out for a few weeks. I turn the shaved soap every day or so. This has worked for me, for many many batches.
This is a great idea for people that want menthol, or you could add EO or a different fragrance to alter the scent. It is fun to experiment, glad to hear it worked out well!
Batch #2. Measured less water (exactly 1 oz)+ 1 tsp of menthol crystals. Upped the game. First batch was good. Second batch better. More menthol. Could even smell it as I was mixing up the batch. Fabulous cooling effect. Perfect for the summer months! Hats off to Lyndon for putting this up
