Hey everyone, been using this product for a while and just thought I’d give my 2 cents on it. As is always the case, I almost always do a daily 3-pass shave and rinse my face between each pass. I rate the products I use into 4 categories (from worse to best): yuck, bad, good, and excellent. The factors that I consider are scent, performance, ease of use and post-shave. I rate the conk at a ‘low-good’ which is really just good considering the price and longevity you get out of the product. I have the smaller 66ml puck and it’ll last 4 months easy…probably longer. (note I have the new formulation).
Col. Conk prides itself on ‘natural living’ but unfortunately its formulation Imo is anything but. It says it has avocado oil and vitamin E but honestly its ingredient list reads like a pharmaceutical textbook and not in a good way. The product also contains foaming agents and a preservative. I’m not a fan of its formulation personally, perhaps I’ve been spoiled by other products but for the most part I’d like to use a mostly clean shave soap/cream. It’s a very cheap product so I’m not surprised, and I haven’t noticed the formulation negatively affecting my skin in anyway but it’s something to keep in mind.
For ease of use, it doesn’t really get much simpler. Wet brush, flick out most of the water and swirl on the puck. I do it for about a minute before face lathering and get more than enough lather for 3 passes. The lather is a very slick albeit low-structure and is not particularly dense. I prefer this type of lather honestly; I doesn’t feel like its clogging up my pores or that I have some sour-cream smeared on my face. It’s a nice, light, and pleasant feeling that offers all the slickness and protection one could need. It does not take a lot of water and it is easy to drown it out or make it foamy. Dial it in, use the right amount of water and its great. It’s not finnicky though, it’s obvious when it has too little or too much water and doesn’t take long to figure out.
Performance is good. I’ve used it both with a pre-shave and on its own and ultimately the product creates a serviceable and slick lather. I never noticed it being ‘un-slick’ and creating random areas where the razor would drag, in fact I don’t really notice a huge deficit of slickness that some people seem to associate the product with. I found it for lack of a better word, good. Not great, not bad but better than it is worse. Residual slickness is also surprisingly good. Better than Speick I would say. Plenty of slickness left after the visible lather is gone to take extra strokes with the razor, this includes going against the grain which is something I could not do with speick residual (without getting irritation). I would also say that the residual is better than Arko and Proraso. Overall, the lather goes onto the face very easily, stays on the face (no goopiness or breakdown), doesn’t dry quickly, shaves without clogging the razor, rinses off no problem, no residue left either on the razor or the sink. Good across the board though again it’s not going to blow you away. Understatement and cost-efficiency are these products themes.
The scent is my first foray into bay rum. It is a weak to mild vanilla forward herbal scent that I find very pleasant. The notes (according to my nose) are vanilla, bay leaf, caramel or melted brown sugar and a hint of clove. Make no mistake though, whilst it is a sweet scent it does not invoke candy or lollies. I’d say it’s a bit creamy and I don’t get any rum or booziness from the scent at all. I was worried I would smell alcohol, and this was a big reason in not trying the scent for a while. I certainly don’t want to be going around (especially in the morning) smelling like rum haha. Instead, the scent is masculine but not overpowering. It is a bit medicinal, but I find it appealing and it doesn’t last long at all. Wash the face after shaving and its mostly gone. The clove doesn’t create a burning sensation on the face either, it makes up a very small part of the fragrance. There is no extract in the product, just fragrance.
Post-shave unsurprisingly is also good. Not greasy, not oily, not dry, not patchy. Skin is left soft and supple. I do feel a little bit of stickiness from the glycerin, but it absorbs relatively quickly and is unnoticeable after using AS. I don't get a strange 'glossy' or 'fluffy' sensation that some other products have given me.
Overall, a good product for the price. I can recommend it. They come in a lot of scents as well so you've got choice if you want it. Especially a no brainer if you are in North America, its probably the cheapest soap you could get...period.
Col. Conk prides itself on ‘natural living’ but unfortunately its formulation Imo is anything but. It says it has avocado oil and vitamin E but honestly its ingredient list reads like a pharmaceutical textbook and not in a good way. The product also contains foaming agents and a preservative. I’m not a fan of its formulation personally, perhaps I’ve been spoiled by other products but for the most part I’d like to use a mostly clean shave soap/cream. It’s a very cheap product so I’m not surprised, and I haven’t noticed the formulation negatively affecting my skin in anyway but it’s something to keep in mind.
For ease of use, it doesn’t really get much simpler. Wet brush, flick out most of the water and swirl on the puck. I do it for about a minute before face lathering and get more than enough lather for 3 passes. The lather is a very slick albeit low-structure and is not particularly dense. I prefer this type of lather honestly; I doesn’t feel like its clogging up my pores or that I have some sour-cream smeared on my face. It’s a nice, light, and pleasant feeling that offers all the slickness and protection one could need. It does not take a lot of water and it is easy to drown it out or make it foamy. Dial it in, use the right amount of water and its great. It’s not finnicky though, it’s obvious when it has too little or too much water and doesn’t take long to figure out.
Performance is good. I’ve used it both with a pre-shave and on its own and ultimately the product creates a serviceable and slick lather. I never noticed it being ‘un-slick’ and creating random areas where the razor would drag, in fact I don’t really notice a huge deficit of slickness that some people seem to associate the product with. I found it for lack of a better word, good. Not great, not bad but better than it is worse. Residual slickness is also surprisingly good. Better than Speick I would say. Plenty of slickness left after the visible lather is gone to take extra strokes with the razor, this includes going against the grain which is something I could not do with speick residual (without getting irritation). I would also say that the residual is better than Arko and Proraso. Overall, the lather goes onto the face very easily, stays on the face (no goopiness or breakdown), doesn’t dry quickly, shaves without clogging the razor, rinses off no problem, no residue left either on the razor or the sink. Good across the board though again it’s not going to blow you away. Understatement and cost-efficiency are these products themes.
The scent is my first foray into bay rum. It is a weak to mild vanilla forward herbal scent that I find very pleasant. The notes (according to my nose) are vanilla, bay leaf, caramel or melted brown sugar and a hint of clove. Make no mistake though, whilst it is a sweet scent it does not invoke candy or lollies. I’d say it’s a bit creamy and I don’t get any rum or booziness from the scent at all. I was worried I would smell alcohol, and this was a big reason in not trying the scent for a while. I certainly don’t want to be going around (especially in the morning) smelling like rum haha. Instead, the scent is masculine but not overpowering. It is a bit medicinal, but I find it appealing and it doesn’t last long at all. Wash the face after shaving and its mostly gone. The clove doesn’t create a burning sensation on the face either, it makes up a very small part of the fragrance. There is no extract in the product, just fragrance.
Post-shave unsurprisingly is also good. Not greasy, not oily, not dry, not patchy. Skin is left soft and supple. I do feel a little bit of stickiness from the glycerin, but it absorbs relatively quickly and is unnoticeable after using AS. I don't get a strange 'glossy' or 'fluffy' sensation that some other products have given me.
Overall, a good product for the price. I can recommend it. They come in a lot of scents as well so you've got choice if you want it. Especially a no brainer if you are in North America, its probably the cheapest soap you could get...period.