I don't mean at all to be sacrilegious - after all, I have prerequisite Italian shaving brush, bowl and Italian soap. But I'd at first bought a 3 pack of Arko sticks, which I might have used once and then "progressed" to chasing the alleged perfect and classic brush lathering and shave with a DE. But then months later and feeling lazy, I needed a quick shave so I picked up the Arko and had at it, first using a brush, and feeling even lazier, my hands.
I LOVED it. Yes, I know, but I loved it. I discovered the following:
1. You don't need the usual mountain of the hopeful, creamy lather.
2. Using my brush after the Arko did foam up a little, but so what.
3. Hand lathering was just fine - I didn't need an 1/8th inch of lather, and my DE rinsed off easier.
But here's the cool part - hand lathering gets you just as good a shave. I can add another swipe of the Arko as needed. And here's the biggie - I LOVED that my face and beard were also getting a nice massage. I may be wrong, but the massage seemed to also soften my beard more and led to - gulp - a better shave with fewer passes. I recommend trying it...
I LOVED it. Yes, I know, but I loved it. I discovered the following:
1. You don't need the usual mountain of the hopeful, creamy lather.
2. Using my brush after the Arko did foam up a little, but so what.
3. Hand lathering was just fine - I didn't need an 1/8th inch of lather, and my DE rinsed off easier.
But here's the cool part - hand lathering gets you just as good a shave. I can add another swipe of the Arko as needed. And here's the biggie - I LOVED that my face and beard were also getting a nice massage. I may be wrong, but the massage seemed to also soften my beard more and led to - gulp - a better shave with fewer passes. I recommend trying it...