Cheap Soaps - Arko vs Vitos

[Feldgrun]

I just received a 1kg (2.2lb) clay-like white brick of Vitos (red - tallow) Extra Super Coco. I wanted to test it against another budget soap, and chose Arko. In this comparison I used the same razor & blade, but shaved one side of my face with Arko & the other with Vitos. I shaved using three passes (all in different directions) with a little clean-up. The Razorock brush handles were different, but both had the same Plissoft synthetic knot. I used face lathering for both brushes/soaps.

Soap: Arko & Vitos Extra Super Coconut (tallow)
Brush: RR Bruce Plissoft & RR 400 Plissoft
Razor: GEM MMOC
Blade: GEM Personna PTFE (3)

Arko - Like: Easy to get a good lather quickly. End result was excellent.
Dislike: Not a fan of the scent (but it was much tamer after I let it air out for 2 weeks). The little 90g container is too small to lather from & the bristles spill over the edge. Shave was not very pleasant as the soap is not as slick as I'd like. Some razor burn. Post-shave feel is dry.

Vitos - Like: Nice scent. Shave was excellent. End result was excellent.
Dislike: A bit difficult to get a good lather. Loading the brush from a literal brick is strange (I need to separate it and put in containers). Post-shave feel is a little dry.

Conclusion - As I feel my face the Vitos side is just a little better (a little smoother and less dry). Of the two I prefer Vitos, but will continue to use Arko from time to time for comparison. Also, I'll pull it out when I start to wonder if the Arkonaughts have a valid point when they fire up another thread to tell us how great Arko is. Regardless of the soap, I've found that it's easy to get a good smooth shave from the GEM MMOC. A great razor!

 

[brucered]

You may be able to dial in both soaps better if you shave with each for a week, instead of 1/2 a shave with each for 1 day.

If I had to guess, Vitos will be superior,. but both will be good.

 

[lloydrm]

Before I read your post I knew Vitos would come out on top. An arko fan doesn’t wonder about superior characteristics of other soaps

 

[NorthernSoul]

You can slice a chunk from your Vitos brick and then mold it into a good container. I'd suggest something large, like an 80-90mm diameter tub. Using a boar brush with some backbone usually produces lather right away. Develop the lather on the face. You shouldn't have any trouble lathering it with a bit of practice. Similar to Cella Red.

 

[ksblazer]

Nice comparison

I just started using Vitos last year and like it a lot.

I cut a piece of the kilo and have it in an old spice mug. Store the rest of the kilo in the refrigerator.

I’ve been through a few sticks of Arko over the years and have gotten plenty of good shaves with it.

While I have quite a few soaps. I found that I use Turkish shave sticks and Italian soaps the most.

 

[emily666]

I have both and think vitos is better .It does not dry the skin and makes a creamy lather.Smell is better as well.

 

[blethenstrom]

As some has already mentioned. Make sure to not leave the entire 1kg Vitos out. Freeze or vacuum pack the portion not in use, because you might not be able to use it quickly enough before it goes bad. Arko will not suffer from this however,

 

[mmaggi]

Interesting comparison as I currently have both as well in my shave den.

I prefer Vitos over Arko but that's not a knock on Arko. If Vitos is a 10/10 then Arko is an 8/10. This morning I shaved with Arko and got a BBS shave with 2 passes (Derby blade - 2nd shave) and a couple of very minor weepers. My razor is some cheap DE Amazon razor I bought 10 years ago for $10. It's a challenge to get the blade to sit straight. Tomorrow my Merkur 33c gets delivered from Frendrihan.

 

[mmaggi]

I didn't vacuum pack my Vitos brick. I would take about 150g at a time and mash it into a left over Mike's tin. The left over brick I just wrapped up and placed it under the sink. Never had a problem. Took me 3 years to get to my last 150g.

 

[BigJ]

Good comparison!! (Especially as I agree with your conclusion that Vito’s is superior!!)

 

[SawtoothMtns]

When it comes to most of these soaps it's really interesting to see what's in them and what we are paying for. Look at Vitos

Stearic acid, hydrogenated tallow, water, potassium hydroxide, glycerin, sodium hydroxide, sodium hexametaphosphate, talc, benzaldehide. olio di cocco.

Your basic Steric Acid and Tallow soap. Glycerin for better lather and conditioning, sodium hexametaphosphate for better lather, Talc may add color and or slip. benzaldehide is a cheap almond scent. They did a superfat with coconut oil. Probably a decent soap.

 

[brucered]

When it comes to most of these soaps it's really interesting to see what's in them and what we are paying for. Look at Vitos

Stearic acid, hydrogenated tallow, water, potassium hydroxide, glycerin, sodium hydroxide, sodium hexametaphosphate, talc, benzaldehide. olio di cocco.

Your basic Steric Acid and Tallow soap. Glycerin for better lather and conditioning, sodium hexametaphosphate for better lather, Talc may add color and or slip. benzaldehide is a cheap almond scent. They did a superfat with coconut oil. Probably a decent soap.

Probably? It's widely known as a proven performer.

 

[zoidberg]

When it comes to most of these soaps it's really interesting to see what's in them and what we are paying for. Look at Vitos

Stearic acid, hydrogenated tallow, water, potassium hydroxide, glycerin, sodium hydroxide, sodium hexametaphosphate, talc, benzaldehide. olio di cocco.

Your basic Steric Acid and Tallow soap. Glycerin for better lather and conditioning, sodium hexametaphosphate for better lather, Talc may add color and or slip. benzaldehide is a cheap almond scent. They did a superfat with coconut oil. Probably a decent soap.

I find it's a really good performer and it's quite easy to modify too.

A chunk of my Vitos Red dried out and lost it's scent so I grated it, added a few drops of glycerine, and a few drops of citronella oil and it performs beautifully once again.

 

[SawtoothMtns]

Probably? It's widely known as a proven performer.

It's also interesting what the reviewer said about the other soap, and I haven't tried either of them. They said that the post shave was "dry". Let's look at it's ingredints:

Potassium Tallowate, Stearic Acid, Potassium Cocoate, Aqua, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Glycerin, Parfum, Paraffinnum Liquidum, CI 77891, Tetrasodium EDTA, Etidronic Acid, Disodium Distyrylbiphenyl Disulfonate, Amyl Cinnamal, Citronellol, Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool.

It's interesting that they say Steric Acid but all the other fatty acids are in their saponified form. I would guess that the reason the reviewer thought the soap was more drying was due to the higher levels of Potassium Cocoate which tends to be a more cleansing soap that can cause some people irritation.

I'm just saying, by looking quickly at the ingredients we can see how the soap will perform and if it's worth breaking the bank over.

 

[brucered]

It's also interesting what the reviewer said about the other soap, and I haven't tried either of them. They said that the post shave was "dry". Let's look at it's ingredints:

Potassium Tallowate, Stearic Acid, Potassium Cocoate, Aqua, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Glycerin, Parfum, Paraffinnum Liquidum, CI 77891, Tetrasodium EDTA, Etidronic Acid, Disodium Distyrylbiphenyl Disulfonate, Amyl Cinnamal, Citronellol, Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool.

It's interesting that they say Steric Acid but all the other fatty acids are in their saponified form. I would guess that the reason the reviewer thought the soap was more trying was due to the higher levels of Potassium Cocoate which tends to be a more cleansing soap that can cause some people irritation.

I'm just saying, by looking quickly at the ingredients we can see how the soap will perform and if it's worth breaking the bank over.

That, or he only used it for 1/2 a shave and hasn't dialed the water content and consistency in yet.

You can't properly judge a soap on 1/2 a shave. You can't even properly judge a soap on 1 or 2 shaves. 10-12 consecutive shaves should be the minimum before final judgement can be given.

 

[nemo]

Vitos for the win here in my den. Good stuff, great value.
Aside from the awful stench, Arko is too drying for me.

 

[SawtoothMtns]

That, or he only used it for 1/2 a shave and hasn't dialed the water content and consistency in yet.

You can't properly judge a soap on 1/2 a shave. You can't even properly judge a soap on 1 or 2 shaves. 10-12 consecutive shaves should be the minimum before final judgement can be given.

I respectfully disagree. Try shaving with DIAL soap and tell me if you need more that one shave to judge it. Super drying.

 

[brucered]

I respectfully disagree. Try shaving with DIAL soap and tell me if you need more that one shave to judge it. Super drying.

Touche

That's a whole other thread (really, there is) and debate which I am not willing to enter into. I only shave with shave soaps and creams.

 

[GR5233]

I’ve tried both. Vito’s definitely gets my vote

 

[Lane101]

I just received a 1kg (2.2lb) clay-like white brick of Vitos (red - tallow) Extra Super Coco. I wanted to test it against another budget soap, and chose Arko. In this comparison I used the same razor & blade, but shaved one side of my face with Arko & the other with Vitos. I shaved using three passes (all in different directions) with a little clean-up. The Razorock brush handles were different, but both had the same Plissoft synthetic knot. I used face lathering for both brushes/soaps.

Soap: Arko & Vitos Extra Super Coconut (tallow)
Brush: RR Bruce Plissoft & RR 400 Plissoft
Razor: GEM MMOC
Blade: GEM Personna PTFE (3)

Arko - Like: Easy to get a good lather quickly. End result was excellent.
Dislike: Not a fan of the scent (but it was much tamer after I let it air out for 2 weeks). The little 90g container is too small to lather from & the bristles spill over the edge. Shave was not very pleasant as the soap is not as slick as I'd like. Some razor burn. Post-shave feel is dry.

Vitos - Like: Nice scent. Shave was excellent. End result was excellent.
Dislike: A bit difficult to get a good lather. Loading the brush from a literal brick is strange (I need to separate it and put in containers). Post-shave feel is a little dry.

Conclusion - As I feel my face the Vitos side is just a little better (a little smoother and less dry). Of the two I prefer Vitos, but will continue to use Arko from time to time for comparison. Also, I'll pull it out when I start to wonder if the Arkonaughts have a valid point when they fire up another thread to tell us how great Arko is. Regardless of the soap, I've found that it's easy to get a good smooth shave from the GEM MMOC. A great razor!

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Nice comparison. Agree that Arko is easy to lather and I enjoy using it as part of my soap rotation. You may want to consider a follow-on test where you place a molded chunk of Vitos and the Arko puck in similar containers and then load and lather away. I've found that loading and creating proto-lather (I then face lather) in a sufficiently sized container enables creation of better lather.

Additionally this will create a more controlled test where the only difference will be the soaps themselves.