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Arko shaving soap stick

To begin, Arko smells like the cabinet under your sink that you keep all the chlorox and ammonia in. When I first whiffed it I thought it was the worst smelling shaving product I had ever used. The scent lingers quite a bit, and might even be too much if you don't use a masking aftershave or cologne. Over the course of the day though, my opinion of the scent improved somewhat; I felt it was invigorating almost, like as long as the scent lasted I was still very clean. Still, I wasn't too crazy about smelling like that. I think I'll keep the use of this soap to when I'm going to work, since I don't work with any ladies. So I decided not to rate the scent since I really must say I'm at a loss as to whether I like it or not.

Other than that, the product is really quite good. Shaves great, lathers up easily and better than a lot of other budget products like Williams. Not as well as Real Shaving Co. cream, but that isn't a soap and is a bit more expensive. Arko isn't very moisturizing though, and I'd recommend teaming it up with a good balm aftershave.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
1.00 star(s)
Lather
4.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Efficacy
3.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
2.00 star(s)
I received this in a PIF and boy was I pleased I did!

The first thing that hit me was the scent. I'm sure that it is not for everybody (my wife is not a fan) but I really like it.

I'm not a great fan of soap sticks per se. A puck is much easier to use without all the hassle of the wrapping. I understand though that this is a common packagng form and have a Speick stick so this is not the only one I use.

I face lather and wet face, rub stick directly on face then grab the pre-soaked brush and work up a lather. The brush I've mostly been using lately is a Semogue 1305.

There was not problem getting a really good lather with the Arko. Thick and moist, nice and slick - great lather. Not sure that it is meant to be moisturising - so gave it a n/a for that.

Overall an enjoyable experience and I will be back!
Price
1.00 star(s)
Scent
4.00 star(s)
Lather
3.00 star(s)
Quality
3.00 star(s)
Efficacy
3.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
1.00 star(s)
Got one the other day. Peforms good, has a good soapy smell to it. Nothing special but you get all the value for your money.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
4.00 star(s)
Lather
4.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Efficacy
4.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
An excellent soap for some, a terrible choice for others, and the rest should find it unbalanced. You can't beat the price. Smells like detergent.

As with most soft-feeling soaps, it doesn't seem to be very soluble. I can only guess that this is caused by excess unsaponified fat, but that's neither here nor there. The lather feels like an emulsion of fat and water. A more balanced soap would have a more consistent feel that smoothly and seamlessly blends the soft feel of the fatty qualities with the watery side. The result is that Arko feels fluffly on the face, like a canned whipped cream, but lacks the luxurious richness of some better soaps. I'd compare it to an ice cream made with gums and air--not a bad thing every day, but no luxurious treat. The real down side of this lack of solubility is that it doesn't work into the beard as well as it could. The lather ends up more fluffy than lubricating and softening. This also makes it a bit finicky with water. Not that it's hard to lather. Quite the opposite. I found it rather easy to lather. It's just that Arko doesn't work well over a large range of wetness. I wouldn't use it very dry or very wet. But the range is large enough that you won't have trouble finding the sweet spot. If you have especially water resistant hair, gray hair for example, you don't want to spare on the prep, and you might want to do the prep with pure water. I often do my prep with a small amount of soap in the water, and sometimes just do a very quick water prep and lather up and wait a few minutes. The light mix actually works okay with Arko, perhaps because the water's available (instead of bound to the lather), but I wouldn't skip straight to a real lather with Arko.

Palmolive is another inexpensive stick that errs on the opposite side. It favors slickness over softness, and is highly soluble. It would be interesting to blend these two very inexpensive tallow soaps. Perhaps a marriage of the two would produce a perfect balance. But I bring up Palmolive for another reason. These are both viable soaps that lean one way or the other instead of aiming for a balance. If you favor one property, and don't need the other, either of these can be terrific soaps. But if you want a more balanced lather, you'll need to look elsewhere.

Arko provides a fair amount of protection for the face. After using it, my face feels surprisingly good. This is mostly a fatty feel. I wouldn't call Arko moisturizing. It doesn't add moisture, but it doesn't leave a dry feeling either. It leaves a nice, supple, and protected feeling that should work well in both humid and dry weather. Still, my face does feel a bit scraped afterward. Plenty of other soaps offer better protection. This might come down to Arko's "gum and air" quality. Surprisingly, it cleans off rather easily.

Scent is a very personal thing, so I almost wish I didn't have to rate it. Still, there's a couple of things worth noting. The hints of spice don't cover a frankly soapy smell. There's a strong detergent smell that reminds me of dish washing powder and always makes my nose twinge as if a sneeze was soon to follow. Fortunately, this is volatile, and doesn't last through the shave. It's really only overpowering when you smell the stick itself. It might be better to put it in a bowl to avoid having the stick near your face. Unfortunately, I'm rather sensitive to certain chemicals, so I can't get beyond this chemical scent to whatever lies behind it. I'd say it smells frankly of a harsh commercial type soap.

For those of you that prefer your soap in a bowl, or if you just don't want to keep it near your nose, Arko is quite soft, so you can easily press fit it into a bowl. There's no need to mill Arko to fit.

For the record, NYC water is one of the softest in the world, with a mineral content almost dangerously low.

If you can put up with the scent, Arko can be an excellent product for some people. For these people, Arko can stand up with the bulk of good soaps in the $8-15us range. Think of the low price as a bonus. No, Arko's not for everyone. It's actually a terrible choice all around for those that need a harder, more soluble product. For most people, it's merely unbalanced and lacks any luxurious qualities. If you're on a budget, it's a compelling option to consider, either alone, or blended with other things.

My rating for this soap is averaged out for people in the middle that will find Arko satisfactory in many ways, but lacking in some important qualities.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
1.00 star(s)
Lather
2.00 star(s)
Quality
2.00 star(s)
Efficacy
3.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
3.00 star(s)
Old shaving must be for everyone. Free oldschool soap for everyone :)
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
4.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
5.00 star(s)
This soap is a great find. Applies easily, lathers well and provides nice cushion. The price is a terrific bonus. On a lark, I ordered 15 sticks of this soap from Amazon for $17 shipped. Scent is nice and clean. Package presentation is truly spartan. I wrapped the stick in aluminum foil to retain the scent and moisture. This is just a no-nonsense shaving soap that really works well. I plan on using/gifting all 15 sticks. I recommend this product.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
3.00 star(s)
Lather
4.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
This is the only shave stick that I have tried to date, but I really enjoy this using soap. Its very easy to use, just prep your face, wet it, rub the stick over your stubble until your get a good layer of soap on it. Then grab your prepped brush and face lather like there is no tomorrow! Using this method with this soap I have more than enough soap for 3 passes.

PRICE Considering that this soap cost me less than $3 shipped, I would have to say the price is an excellent aspect of this soap.

QUALITY One of the better "cheap" soaps that I have used. Its very slick, and I have never actually nicked or cut myself while shaving with Arko.

SCENT This is where most wet shavers would agree that this soap lacks. Not to say it doesn't have a scent because it does! But after I used it a few times I grew to enjoy it a lot.

LATHER No problems here. It explodes it to lather quite easily, with hardly any effort at all! Lasting too. I usually have more than enough for a 3 Pass shave.

EFFICACY Very effecting! I have never since using this soap, cut or nicked my face while shaving. It provides plenty of glide and slickness for me.

MOISTURIZING It doesn't dry out my face, but it doesn't overly moisturize either. I find that its better if I use an ASB after.

All in all, I really enjoy using Arko to shave in the morning. It's quick and easy to get a great lather using it. I rated it (1-10) against most other soaps that I have used and its in my top 5. I will never give anything a 10/10 as nothing is perfect. But this is a really great soap, very cheap and highly effective!
Price
4.00 star(s)
Scent
3.00 star(s)
Lather
4.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Efficacy
4.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
3.00 star(s)
Pros: price/quiality
Cons: Not sold in local pharmacies.
This has to be the best value (price/quality) on the market. I've used this for over a month now and don't have a single complaint. I had been an avid Williams user before trying Arko.

The scent is fine and mellows in just a few days, the lather is excellent and the shaves are close. I gave Arko a 10 on moisturizing because it seems to land in the middle, neither particularly moisturizing or drying, which is a perfect 10 for me.

I bought a dozen sticks and and am contemplating buying another dozen while the price is so low. I can't think of any reason not using this as my "go to" soap from now own with an occasional something for variety.

Update 09/24/11: I've been using this for months now and I haven't changed my mind from anything I said before. The last couple of weeks I've been using Cello and Proraso and while both are good soaps neither justify the additional costs. Certainly no waste in packaging here. Shaving isn't complicated so neither should shaving soaps be. It seems to last well because I've got a lot left. I think I've used two sticks which I use in a bowl - maybe three so far. I'm going to order another dozen just in case Turkey gets into a war or something.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
4.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Efficacy
4.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
5.00 star(s)
I was given this soap as part of a trade a while back and have been really torn about writing a review for it.

Price: As far as price goes Arko is extremely cheap, so if you are extremely poor then this would be a huge selling point. The problem is that if you are really so poor that the price of a $2 stick of soap is an issue then probably having shaving soap is the least of your worries.


Quality: It comes in a simple foil wrapper. As shave sticks go the packing is very basic and utilitarian, even BEA sticks come with a plastic holder of some kind.

Scent: The real killer for Arko is the scent of the soap before it is lathered. I know that there are many opinions on this, but after having used the soap many times it is basically true that the soap smells exactly like a lemon fresh urinal puck that you find in public washrooms. On occasion the scent is reminiscent of actual urine combined with urinal pucks. However, once you actually lather the soap the offensive aspect of the scent disappears.


Lather: People rave about the lather. The lather is good, but IMHO it is not significantly better than Palmolive shave sticks or Valobra. It is OK, but not amazing. The cushion the lather provides is respectable, the glide is about the same as Palmolive I would say. I should note that I found the lather when you try to use the Arko as a stick was actually quite poor, to get a real lather you absolutely have to mill the stick into a mug in order to use it as a puck of soap.

Efficacy: It does the job, this cannot be denied.


Moisturizing: Whilst it does not dry out your skin, its moisturizing capabilities are sub-par when compared to other shave sticks such as Palmolive and most certainly Valobra.


Conclusion:

The soap is certainly a respectable shave soap when used as a puck and not in stick form. However when you consider the issues regarding the scent, the question I ask is "why bother". There are so many better soaps out there, which in many cases are almost as cheap (for example Palmolive is only $4!), that I see no reason why anyone would use Arko unless they were desperately impoverished, in which case I would say grow a beard and use the $2 to buy food. Honestly, I would never purchase this product.
Price
3.00 star(s)
Scent
0.00 star(s)
Lather
3.00 star(s)
Quality
2.00 star(s)
Efficacy
3.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
2.00 star(s)
If you are on a budget, or a minimalist, this may well be the soap of choice. Does the job. Does it well. No luxury here, just a well performing product at a reasonable price. Smells like soap, because that is all it is- soap. Makes a good lather for me. I prefer MWF, but 8 sticks of Arko ~= 1 MWF refill. I used this exclusively for an extended trip, 17 days, and it performed very, very well.

I would recommend this to any new wet shaver looking to keep their costs down and wanting a good, reliable product.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
2.00 star(s)
Lather
4.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Efficacy
4.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
3.00 star(s)
I finally tried Arko this past week, and have used it several times already, sending an ample den of products back to wait their turns.

Price: Ridiculously cheap.

Quality: I'm not quite sure how to judge this. Presumably, it would lose out to some true high-end soaps; but, to me, that margin of victory appears to be surprisingly small.

Scent: I gather this is where the shooting starts, so I went with just over the "board average" in order to keep my impact very low on the ratings. If scent matters to you, this might not be your product. Admittedly, my sense of smell isn't particularly impressive, so I clearly lose out on products that let other gents rhapsodize about hints of this or that blending with hints of something else. Other times, however, I can use my superpower for good, and this is one of them. The smell is almost absent, and certainly inoffensive, to me. Moreover, my wife, who can (seriously) identify my choice of shaving soap from **another floor in the house**, and is entirely capable of being annoyed by a sub-par scent, says it just smells nice & clean, like soap. Just to be safe, I've left the stick out in the air each day to help dissipate what I've heard is a vaguely citronella scent.

Lather: This might be the easiest lathering product I own. Lather seems to appear as I raise my brush toward my face, and I always end up looking like the guy on the wrapper, with gobs of very good quality lather. I'm seriously amazed at how easy it lathers.

Efficacy: I see zero difference in my shaves when compared with my 15 or so mid-to-high-end products, including most of the usual suspects. It might be better than some of them, and holds its own with my top-performers.

Moisturizing: OK with me. It's not MWF; but, it's also not at all drying. It does enough, no more, no less.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
3.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
ARKO is good stuff. I had to have few sessions before I was able to master the magic of Arko. I pressed a stick in a shallow mug that I use for my soaps to begin with.
When I used a badger ARKO was ..... just OK. I got razor burn and dry skin....:angry:
With my Omega boar.......OMG! :biggrin1: Such a difference. I got the mounds of creamy lather and the result was DFS, no irritation, and zero dryness. Just goes to prove that a brush can make the difference in my case.
I like it so much that I ended buying two cases of ARKO for 18.00 each
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
4.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Efficacy
4.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
I tried out Arko last week and was very impressed! The smell wasn't as offensive as I think most people describe. I'd go more along the lines of it smelling like Lemon Pez candy.

Nice lather & cushion. I'll always keep a stick of this in my arsenal!
Picked up a stick at the bazaar in Skopje virtually for nothing

Good stuff, makes a nice lather, lubricates well, great shave, and of course very cheap.

Smell is a bit over the top - very strong and lemony, cheap mass produced scent used in loads of stuff from laundry powder to (unfortunately) toilet cleaner and urinal pucks.

Won't be buying any more because I can get Palmolive sticks which are at least as good and don't have this scent issue but I wouldn't have a problem with Arko if it was the only cheap soap I could get hold of, I'd use it quite happily.

All in all a good workhorse soap but there are better.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
1.00 star(s)
Lather
4.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Efficacy
4.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
I quite like this one, although there were a few areas for potential problems.

First, it's very cheap at $2 a stick. It's good quality soap, but the lower score is due to the cheap packaging. The stick is bare inside the wrapper, no holder or cover included. I solved this by wrapping it in some tinfoil and leaving about 1/4th exposed. The scent is one that *I* find to be very pleasing, a nice "clean" scent...That said, it does vaguely remind me of the "sterile clean" smell that hospitals and doctors offices tend to have, and while it doesn't bother me it may bother other people.

It practically explodes into lather for me, works like a charm, and leaves my skin feeling pretty good. I like it, and I'd suggest you at least try it if you can afford it.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
2.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
3.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
This is an excellent product at a price that's unbelievable.

I've always liked how soap smells, and I like Arko's scent.

I've used it with a straight razor as well as a DE. Cushion, protection, slickness, staying power, moisturization, latherability, they're all at the top of the range.

If I was stuck at some lonely outpost with just one product to shave with, not of my own choosing, I'd consider myself very fortunate if that one product was Arko.

Running down my list of soaps, they're all good, including Arko. It's not Trumper's, but you can buy a whole case of Arko for the price of one Trumper's refill.
Price:
Ridiculously cheap.

Quality:
Very good, ridiculous performance if you consider the price point. Bonus points for the almost cheesy, retro packaging - I love it.

Scent:
Smells like the hand soap you'd get in a hotel room. Not particularly bad smelling, but very, very soapy.

Lather:
Lathers easily and quickly into a thick, creamy lather.

Efficacy:
Very slick lather, allowing for a close, easy shave

Moisturizing:
Average. Paired with an aftershave, my face is left comfortably soft and smooth.

This is a very bare-bones type soap. If all you care about is price and performance, this soap is amazing; however, I personally look at wetshaving as more of an "experience." As a result, I prefer soaps with a more satisfying scent.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
1.00 star(s)
Lather
4.00 star(s)
Quality
3.00 star(s)
Efficacy
4.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
2.00 star(s)
I really like this stuff. Even the scent i find i like. The lather is fantastic. It does make my face feel the teeniest bit dry. But, hey, its ahaving soap not a moisturisure. Pound for pound its hard to beat.

After Wool fat & Tabac its #1:wink2:
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
4.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
First off, shave sticks in general are easy as hell to use. Just like a chapstick but for your face, just rub the end of the shave soap on your face and away you go. As a matter of fact someone should make one in that kind of package...with a twist on the end of the stick.

Anyway, all this talk about Arko...good and bad. Maybe I'm not very picky but I just love this product. It does exactly what it is supposed to do very well.

As far as the huge argument about it's scent is concerned..I don't get it. It smells like candy to me, kind of like Pez candy to be exact. So I love it.

I use it as part of my daily routine. Pre oil, then Arko shave stick, then a dab of shave cream on my brush (whatever cream I want to use that day) and brush my face into a great lather.

It would work on it's own as well, I just prefer using it this way.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
5.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
Arko is not a fancy product.

It will not leave your face feeling like it has been anointed with exotic oils by angels. It's not very moisturizing, it smells ever so slightly like a urinal, and the foil wrapping is cheap and annoying.

What it does do is give you a ridiculous amount of great lather with nearly no effort. It's also so cheap that you can buy years and years worth of great shaves for less than the cost of a large pizza.

I find it works much better as a stick than squished into a bowl, but either way a good brushload will give you at least 4 passes. One stick will last you a long, long time.
Price
5.00 star(s)
Scent
3.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
3.00 star(s)
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