Arko shaving soap stick

Arko is one of the single best shaving items that I've ever found. It lathers if you glance in it's general direction. Okay, not quite, but it is easily the best and quickest lathering soap that I've ever used. The smell has a lemony scent that smells somewhere between clean Ivory soap and lemon PEZ. The lather is thick and slick and very protective. I would recommend everyone at least try it to see how nice of a lather it can make.

Having grown up in a third world country where the cheap soaps have the same smell, the smell of Arko evokes significant nostalgia though I suspect this may ultimately grow old. I love it's generous lather and the fact that it gives me an easy and very generous lather while face lathering after a brief application to my face.

Having heard so much about Arko, and its retro packaging, I tracked some down through Amazon.

Firstly, the price is very good. The smell of an unwrapped bar, however, is a little disconcerting but it changes to a clean scent once applied.

After wetting face, I rubbed the soap stick across my whiskers and used a boar brush to build the lather on the face. The lather was pretty good - thick and wet - but the third pass was a little thin.

Using a Gillette Super Thin 'Mejorada' blade in my Merkur 34c I found the shave (three passes) to be smooth and comfortable. The brush was held in a scuttle to keep warm and I did not experience any drying during shaves.

For the price, this is a GREAT soap and will definitely replace the VDH I have been using up to now as my daily soap.

I've seen 12-packs of these for around $12 excluding shipping. One stick lasts upwards of 3 months, so that's $4 a year for shaving soap. You can't beat that!

Regarding the soap itself, it lathers nicely and is great for travel (stick 1/4 stick in a makeup jar and you're set). I've noticed that it's a lot more thirsty than other soaps and the lather becomes quick "sticky" if it's too dry, but keep it moist and it'll work with anything.

My first experience with this was in the UK at a Turkish barber getting a straight shave. I had no idea what soap he used, but asked if I could buy some from him. He got me two sticks and a little blue plastic cup he used. Smashed one stick down into the cup and gave me the other. He asked for 5 quid - I had no idea the cost of the soap and was quite happy with the shave, the feel of the lather and in the retro scent. That was in May 2012, it's now July and I have used it just about every day since. My other soaps and creams are just sitting there crying for use. I just ordered more from ebay, and gave a stick to my son. There are some things I don't skimp on when it come to price, and I would be willing to pay more for Arko (don't tell Arko that!) It's a great value, lathers very well for me in hard water. Some don't like the smell, but it does not bother me at all.

Seven weeks ago, I started my wetshaving adventure with Arko because I saw it recommended as a good, low-cost shaving soap. I ordered one stick, and with shipping to Norway it came out at over $4, but I can live with that. I still remember when my first stick arrived, and how the smell instantly took me back to my travels in Italy (for some reason, I don't know exactly why, the smell just reminds me of Italian houses... ). Oh, how awesome!

Now, I'm quite new to wetshaving, but I have been trying out some different stuff over the last seven weeks, and so far it all comes down to this: Arko is THE BEST! I've tried Old Spice shaving cream (from India) - I love the scent, but it hasn't given me a better shave than Arko. I've also bought a sample pack of stuff from GFT, and tried some of the shaving creams. I've liked those too, great scent and great shaves, but there is just something that Arko provides which these do not. I don't know what. Is it the tallow? I don't know, but so far it's my impression that Arko gives me a better shave than the other products I have.

I find it gives me excellent lubrication and protection. With Arko, my Omega badger brush, my cheap Lord L6 razor and an Astra blade, I'm good to go. Two passes (WTG+XTG) give me a really good shave, three passes (WTG+XTG+ATG) gives me a friggin' awesome shave! I've been touching my face all day, it's so smooth I can barely believe it.

So this is a review from a relatively new and inexperienced wetshaver's perspective, so you might want to take it with the proverbial grain of salt. (And oh, I just ordered a 12-pack of Arko!)

It's truly outstanding. It could be sold for $10 a stick and it would still be a good buy. 10's across the board, except scent. It's like shaving with toilet cleaner, which isn't that bad, but it's definitely not a luxurious scent. It's just a bit out of place for a shaving soap.

I was amazed at how much lather this soap generates! Just a light coating directly on the face builds into mountains of creamy, protective lather on the face and brush. It creates enough lather for 4 or 5 passes. It feels wonderful to build the lather on your face with a quality brush and some hot water. Pure luxury! I have been using soaps and creams that I lather in a bowl (or load the brush directly in the shaving container and then face lather)...and I loose a lot of the warmth while building a lather/loading the brush. The lather produced by this "shaving stick method" avoids any cool down period while loading the brush or creating a lather in a bowl and your face is treated to warm, slippery, protective goodness! A real treat! The smell, however, is something that may not please some. It smells like a strong soap with just a slight hint of "artificial lemon flavor". I also detect a note of black licorice. That's the best description I have. I don't mind the smell; if you do not like the smell, there are many tips to reduce its assault on your nose in the many other tips and reviews on the internet. This soap reminds me of Cella, but I like the smell of Cella more. I bought this soap in bulk and also purchased some twist-up containers for storage/application. This soap gave me an extremely close shave with 2 passes, a Merkur 34C HD razor, and an Astra blade. I did not feel the need for an aftershave balm, but applied one nonetheless. One stick contains 75 grams or about 2.6 ounces. Highly recommended!

This has quickly become my favorite soap. The smell took some getting used to, but now I actually love it! It is a wonderful soap for face and bowl lathering.

Very economical. Too soft for its intended use as a stick (it would probably squish in your hand) but great squished into a mug with the bottom of a large prescription bottle. Easy to lather, great protectiveness from nicks and irritation. Yes, it smells like an old-time laundry soap but that dissipates within two weeks after opening.

There are some things that work remarkably well for how much they cost. The paperclip. Scotch tape. Shoelaces. Butter. Well, butter ain't cheap nowadays, but you get my drift.

Add Arko Shaving Stick to that list. Costs next to nuttin'. In return for your buck and some change, you get a shave stick that goes on comfortably, lathers like falling off a log and provides fine glide and cushion, and leaves your face feeling like you just got out of a Turkish bath.

So, what's the catch? First of all, it's not going to dethrone the top of the line soaps in the lather, efficacy and moisturizing departments. It's merely quite good, not eye-poppingly excellent.

And, to quote Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Ooooh, that smell!" When you first open a stick of Arko, you're going to think that either somebody's been doing lines of Lemon Kool-Aid in your den and they had a sneezing fit, or maybe that Ivory Soap and Country Time Old Fashioned Lemonade had a love child and tried to hide it with that Arko wrapper. Woooohhheee, that's some scent!

Thankfully, it calms down a whole bunch after a day or so of exposure to the open air, and, perversely enough, I kind of like it.

If you can get by the first blast of Arko's unique scent, there are a lot of fine shaves to be had for chump change in this stick. You owe it to yourself to find out if it's for you, and if it isn't...PIF it or use it to cure your dry, cracked heels. How many soaps can make that claim?

I received this free with the B&B 2011 brush. I didn't have high expectations, but it is okay stuff. I soak it with the brush while in the shower. Rubs on in sufficient quantity and lathers nicely. I am not tossing my scuttle, but I am starting to appreciate the face lathering technique. The scent is not at all offensive, nothing special, but it doesn't stink up the place.

I tried it once without soaking it first. yawn.

I think this is far superior to cheap soaps being with the letter "W." I think I will buy more.

I decided to give Arko a try. I had not tried a new soap in a while, and wanted something a bit different. Plus, I had never tried a shaving stick before either.
It is easy to see why so many people like the Arko shaving sticks. This is a very affordable product, that does a good job! Of course there will be its critics too, but at this price, come on.
Instead of rubbing it on my face, I load my wet brush directly from the stick, and then work it on my face until I get a nice lather ( Arko reminds me of Cella a bit in the way the lather forms very quickly ). I am sure some people like to criticize the scent, I did not find it that bad actually. For the money I really can't complain about this product. I did not even realize it comes from Turkey. Why not give Arko a try, at the total cost of an energy drink, or a cup of coffee

Easily one of my favorite soaps. It's super cheap, lathers like a dream and I personally find the scent clean and sweet. Sometimes it reminds me of a lemon flavored Jolly Rancher. I understand the scent isn't for everbody so I gave it a 9 there. Don't miss out on this one!

A nice and reasonably priced product overall. Nothing extraordinary but for the price it retails, one should definitely sample it.

I'm glad I tried the best bang for the buck shaving stick soap. Now I can move on. First the good part, it is relatively inexpensive in terms of 12-15 count sticks for around $15-17. That's less than $2 per stick. It lathers easy and creates wonderful fluffy cream without any effort. Now the bad part, the lather. Even though it creates creamy fluffy lather, it lacks good lubrication. This soap doesn't like water and too much of it, produces fluffy lather and no lubrication. But once the soap/water ratio is mastered, it provides good protection for close shaves. The scent is clean and strongly resembles Pledge. I think there are better soaps out there for a couple of dollars more but for those who don't fuss, this is a good every day shaving soap.

Kyle;23644 said:

Scent - Ho-hum. It is plain and utterly unfantastic. Additionally, there is a hint of something (I wish I knew what) in it that makes me feel like I just spent the night in a hotel that charges by the hour.

Click to expand...

Maybe cheap detergent?

While I don't give many reviews, I have to chime in on the Arko stick review.

This is a stick you can use as a stick or smash it into your favorite cup or bowl
and use it that way if you like.

This soap provides excellent lather, is slick, and provides excellent protection
and great shave.

The scent, I would agree with the laundry detergent/cleaner type stated above but I think of it as a fresh/clean scent and it should not deter you from trying it.

The Price - I am not sure it can be beat.

I have tried may soaps and creams and and have avoided this for about 2 years.
My thinking was, how good can it be because it is so inexpensive. I generally try not to think that way. Boy was I wrong.

I believe this stick has shut down any SSAD I have had, well unless you consider acquiring copious amounts, than I guess I still am afflicted.

I would recommend all!

Just recently purchased Arko for the first time. I must say, I have used many shaving soaps and creams and this ranks up there with the best. The only soap I've used that performs on par with Arko would be Tabac, and, at the risk of being excommunicated, I think the winner might be Arko for me, taking the price (I paid 16.99 for 15 sticks shipped) and ease of use into account. Others have commented about the scent, it was a little laundry detergent/household cleaner-ish at first, but I've grown to really like it, just a real nice soapy smell. I wouldn't say it's moisturizing, but its not drying at all either.
If you're thinking about trying Arko, give it a shot, you don't have much to lose, and if you don't like it, you can just send it my way

Great lather I love the smell. A working mans best buy in shaving soap.