Arko soap dries on my face while shaving

[Beejo]

Using boar brush which I wet and then squeeze, a scuttle with warm water (q-shave) and not sure about the water quality.
I put water on the soap (it's in a container) pour the water after 1-2 minutes, then load the brush for 10 seconds and lather in the scuttle.
Sometimes when I lather in the scuttle it's full of bubbles and I get more lather than I can handle, maybe I'm loading too much soap?

 

[Ron R]

Using boar brush which I wet and then squeeze, a scuttle with warm water (q-shave) and not sure about the water quality.
I put water on the soap (it's in a container) pour the water after 1-2 minutes, then load the brush for 10 seconds and lather in the scuttle.
Sometimes when I lather in the scuttle it's full of bubbles and I get more lather than I can handle, maybe I'm loading too much soap?

If you decide to use Arko stick soap I found it has a drying effect when done shaving. Make sure to rinse well with warm water and then a cold water rinse and maybe put a dollop of balm or moisturizing lotion on should help IMO. There are better soaps that will not dry the beard skin so much and just ask for those who have a lot of soaps. Good middle of the road soaps are Razorock or Sterling soaps that are reasonably priced IMO.

 

[brucered]

Bubbles are generally not good or an indication of too much soap. It's usually not enough soap, too much water or the heat of your scuttle is breaking down the lather.

As a general rule, you can never load too much soap for a good lather.

10 sec load time is not nearly long enough load time.

Shameless plug of my own tips, here

 

[jmd]

I don't think it's a "too much of this" or "too much of that" problem.

I think it's a "this is poorly incorporated with that" problem.

Whether you do it in a bowl, on your face, or use a combo of the two, build a proper suspension. Doesn't seem like a helpful comment, but there it is.

 

[rbscebu]

Like @Ron R said, to reduce/eliminate skin drying, the trick is to thoroughly rinse off any lather residue immediately after the shave. This applies to just about all shave soaps, not just ARKO. If then desired you can then apply a moisturiser of your choice. I use to do that but now find that it is no longer necessary.

The lather drying effect varies with each individual skin type and shaving technique, not just the save soap used.

 

[tube_guy]

With Arko, I load my boar brush for about a minute. Maybe a little less, depending on how much lather I want, but rarely less than 40 to 50 seconds.

I'd say if you have bubbles in your lather, you're not mixing long enough with your brush.

 

[hydro-magic]

I agree with loading more soap in this case. It seems counterintuitive but a very thin, wet lather can actually dry very fast because there's nothing preventing the water from evaporating. I live in the desert and humidity is about 5% most of the time and if I make my lather so it's a little thicker it keeps that bottom layer of water against my skin from being able to evaporate as quickly and keeps the lather wetter for longer.

 

[ylekot]

I don't know where you live but here where temperatures are below zero Fahrenheit the humidity is so low indoors that soap will dry on your body in the shower. I have the same issue with my shaving lather. I just leave the water running ever so slightly and touch the brush tip to the stream every so often and it keep the whole mess hydrated whether face or bowl lathering. No experience with a scuttle so can't offer anything there.

 

[Al Bundy]

1.More soap (30 seconds or more loading)
2.More water (added incrementally)
3.More time spent building lather (definitely until large bubbles have gone)

 

[Medivh]

Arko does tend to dry the skin a bit, but adding more water does help a lot. I rub the stick on my face and then make the lather on my face with a bit more water than I usually do with other soaps or creams and I get great results. Since Arko is a very inexpensive soap, you don't have to worry about it and use more of it in order to make a good lather.

 

[dmshaver]

1.More soap (30 seconds or more loading)
2.More water (added incrementally)
3.More time spent building lather (definitely until large bubbles have gone)

Well said & exactly what I would have said. But I wouldn’t have said it nearly as well!

 

[BigJ]

1.More soap (30 seconds or more loading)
2.More water (added incrementally)
3.More time spent building lather (definitely until large bubbles have gone)

+1! This^ In summary, ‘more, more, more.’

 

[couch_potato]

I've been using ARKO for years (rotation with other products) and hence, my experience with ARKO is that it can be dry-on-face, but just due to it's thickness and density (will require more water accordingly). However, my rule of thumb would be:

precondition: I always squeeze ARKO stick in a small container of old cream or other soap
1. Pour some tap water (room temperature, no cold, no warm, just as is, like for regular hand wash) to a 1-2cm height above the soap surface
2. Use brush to soak it in that mixture (works both with boar or badger), gently pressing over soap and both wetting the brush, for 10-20 secs.
3. Pour out all water from container
4. Press brush to soap surface to drain excess water
5. Swirl a bit, until I see about 1cm soap penetration in brush bristles. Usually ~15 strokes are enough
6. Face-lather, bit adding more water
7. When I get "nice" lather, I tip brush bristles in water to dilute lather on face bit more

Although watery ARKO lather still provides good, if not the best cushioning for ridiculous price. Don't be afraid to use more water, just mix it until no visible bubbles are seen and when face-lather looks bit shiny.

Regarding dry-feel, agree that it might be more pronounced with poor technique (more pressure, wrong angle) but it does act astringent-wise. Will stop minor nicks, but requires good face-rinsing. I notice "dry effect" less with milder razors, and with gentle touch, but don't mind it much. Some AF balm, or Dove face cream returns moisture to the skin quite well.

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

Arko soap dries on my face while shaving​

Is the OP's issue that Arko dries his face? Or dries on his face? I thought the latter. My first impression was that he takes so long to shave that the lather dries up. @Beejo, what say you?

 

[musicman1951]

I agree the bubbles indicates too much water/not enough soap (unless it's early in the lather building process, then they could go away with more mixing.

How long to load depends on the soap, your water, your brush, the speed you swirl and the pressure you use on the puck. Nobody can tell you how many seconds to load because there is too much missing information. But this is not golf (I formerly would say brain surgery, but you can learn brain surgery), bubbles and poor lather means longer. How much longer? You'll have to experiment. Too much soap is way better than too little. With too much soap the worst that can happen is you end up with too much lather.

With my technique/brush/water I load MdC for 5 - 6 seconds, WK and SV for 6-8 seconds and B&M until the tendonitis in my elbow screams or 30-45 seconds - which ever comes first.

Soap is cheap (especially if you're using Arko), so do some test lathers. Load for 30 seconds and see what you get. Good lather but too much - try 20 seconds on your second test lather, etc.

I usually think the show me your lather posts are silly, but they might be perfect for you. Take a look and make sure you've got a good idea of what good lather looks like.