Arko Shaving Soap Stick 75 Gram

I have thick coarse stubble. My set up in the past was either proraso, col conk, or kiss my face. I decided to try this arko shave stick based on all the reviews and plus its so cheap. I use the main Merkur everyone has, I think its the 180 and I used a derby blade that had one shave under its belt already. I purposely didnt shave for about 4 days to get some nice stubble. I also didnt shower before this shave. I wanted to see how it works without the benefit of a hot shower with steam. I bought a plastic twist up container from west coast shaving for $1.75 and easily put the arko shave stick in there. This device is the icing on the cake, everyone should get this if you get an arko stick. Will make it so much easier to carry when traveling and no mess on your hands either. I wet my face and applied the stick directly to my face. I then took my badger hair brush, wet it and started rubbing it around. LATHER EXPLOSION. So much lather in fact, there was enough for 3 passes on the brush. I went to town and there was no nicks, cuts and no irritation afterwards. Plus, I can only imagine how long one stick will last if I shave 4 times a week. My guess is a few months at least. Also since I apply directly to my face, there is no bowl or scuttle to mess with and have to clean later. Less mess overall! The smell. Yes the other reviews are right, it smells like commercial soap. However, this stuff works so well and is so cheap, I could care less. Throw on some cologne or aftershave afterwards and problem solved. So long Proraso, Conk and all the others. We had fun while it lasted but I have moved on and my face and wallet will be better off for it. 10/18 UPDATE: My shaves are still great and the strong commercial soap smell has greatly subsided, now its just smells like a hint of lemon. So don't be put off by the smell, it goes away. 10/31 UPDATE: Been shaving with this minimum 5 times a week since it arrived. Its barely made a dent in the stick and I have so much lather per shave that I end up not using most of it and just washing it off the brush when I am done. I couldnt shave everyday with conk or proraso or kiss my face because of facial irritation. None with this at all. Plus this will end up lasting longer than the others and thats with me shaving almost everyday. Read more

Thought I try this stuff out; heard it performs very well and I have to say that it is in fact true. I've never face lathered before, but did so for the 1st time with this and a Wee Scott. I was very impressed with how much lather I got. Not only is the amount of lather great, but the quality was great too; very slick, which really helped in allowing the razor glide smoothly across my face with every stroke. It did dry up from time to time, but that was easily fixed by adding some water to the brush and 're-painting' it to add moisture. The scent was alright. I can understand why some people may be put off with it. It does kind of smell similar to that of urinal cakes when you unwrap it, but I think it has to do with the soap's concentration. Once applied to the face and diluted with water the smell mellows out a bit and smells more 'citrusy' & clean. I would recommend for anyone who is either traveling, looking for a small supply at a reasonable price, or just wants to try something different. Read more

First, I have to echo the other reviewer's sentiment about the picture being misleading. The text does state that you're buying a single stick, but the picture makes it look like you're buying a box of 'em. I was initially disappointed with my Arko Shaving Soap Stick . I prefer using a brush and mug, so I unwrapped the stick, cut it into shaving soap coins (which I believe are legal tender in Venezuela and Costa Rica, and certain counties in Arkansas), put them into my mug and stuck it in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt them. What a mistake! That's what I do with Van Der Hagen Deluxe Shave Soap, 2.5-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12) , and it works great--the soap liquifies, adheres to the bottom and sides of the mug, and once it resolidifies, I'm good to go. This stuff softened, yes, but it didn't really liquify. Instead, it kind of foamed up and over the top of the mug. I tried to use my knife to moosh it back into the mug, but it resulted in a very rough, craggy top surface. Figured I'd just use the brush on it anyway--eventually I would wear down that rough surface and leave behind a smooth top that would work perfectly. I'm glad I did! This soap lathered up like nobody's business when I put the warm, moist brush to it. It made a little thinner lather than I usually get from VDH, but despite it's thinness, it wasn't runny at all--it stayed right where I brushed it, and didn't dry out before my razor got to it. My habit is to do three shaves in different directions, and the Arko lather held out for all three. I used an older blade, an 100 Astra Superior Premium Platinum Double Edge Safety Razor Blades , probably about two shaves past when I would usually have replace it, but I was being lazy. I kind of expected to nick myself a couple times. But with the Arko shaving soap, that did not happen. My blade glided across my face as smoothly as I could ask. No nicks at all. As many have mentioned, the scent is kind of strong, and not entirely pleasant. Some have compared it to citronella, which I can understand. I though it was kind of a cross between the original Old Spice scent from when my dad used their cologne, and some industrial chemical smell. VDH is more or less unscented, so I usually mix a few drops of my favorite cologne ( ASPEN by Coty ) into the liquid when it comes out of the microwave, but I didn't think that would be a good idea with Arko. I didn't think the cologne scent would mix well with the cloying scent the soap came with. But while the scent isn't my cup of tea, after you rinse your face well, it's not very strong at all, especially if you wash your face afterward and use a scented after-shave balm. The bottom line is, for a single stick, the value isn't great. It's a lot more affordable, and just as usable a product, as some of the much more expensive soaps out there, but at the single stick price, plus shipping, you could buy several pucks of Van Der Hagen locally. When you buy more sticks at a time, the per-stick price comes down, and if you can manage to get free shipping in the deal, it starts looking really attractive. The lather is very nice, the scent, not so much, but all in all, you can't go too far wrong with it. I'm dinging it one star only because of the scent. While I would rather it liquify in the microwave like VDH, that's not how the product was designed to be used, so it wouldn't be fair to dock it for that. Read more