For no reason in particular, I tried to see if Arko melts. It doesn't. It kind of makes like a Peep and grows. So I let it grow as it just kind of becomes little pieces of soap and I thought that was easier than shredding. A lot of times when I use Arko I mix in some Derby Lemon or Lavender creams as the smells are kind of complimentary to each other. So, I added a bit of water to the Arko, and some generous squirts of both Lemon and Lavender and mixed it all up. I'm calling it Turkish Delight. It smells like fruity Pez. I'm letting it set up now and I'll be using it later tonight when I shave.
Did you put it in the microwave? You should never try to melt tallow based like Arko in the microwave. You will just burn out the tallow.
Of course I put it in the microwave! It didn't cook. It softened and then started expanding. It was perfect. I just used it. I really liked the smell, and it lathered up really quick. It's really thirsty and kept thinking I was going to break the lather as I kept adding more and more water than I'm used to. It was okay. The jury is still out on whether or not it's better, the same or worse than mixing them all in the bowl.
It did, but not that much. I didn't let it go that long though. I put it in for 10 seconds, and it got really hot and kind of soft. I did another 10 and got more of the same. Then I did 23 seconds, and after 16 seconds I stopped it because it was overflowing and kind of spitting out small little pieces. When I pulled it out it was really hot, but very pliable. The whole thing had become like the little pieces that had been spitting out, and I just started mashing it with a fork. It was really pliable like a very warm wax and I put a little water and then squirted the Derby creams in and sort of mixed/whisked it all together with the fork. It hardened up in about 15 minutes or so and the consistency reminds me of the Razorock Green Tea soap I have. Very soft and pliable, like you could probably mold it in your hands.
