Peppermint Arko

[Fiend606]

I was in the bathroom on the Thinking Chair and needed something from under the sink and found a bottle of Dr. Bonner's Peppermint Castile Liquid Soap I didn't recall having. I was reading the ingredients and thought they would be great to have in a shave soap especially for summer.

Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Palm Kernel Oil*, Organic Olive Oil*, Mentha Arvensis, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Mentha Piperita, Citric Acid, Tocopherol

I recalled super lathering and figured I'd give it a try with Arko and the Bonner's Peppermint soap.

I loaded my brush then put a squirt of Bonner's in my bowl and started mixing. At first the lather was very sudsy but I figured that was just the Bonners and added a bit of water. The Arko in the brush kicked in and the lather was on track as usual. Everything mixed like normal from there but seemed a little less thirsty than Arko alone. The peppermint scent was very noticeable in the bowl and on the brush. The performance was mostly the same except for feeling slightly slicker on my face. I couldn't smell the Arko at all just strong peppermint. I got a menthol feel as well on par with canned goo. The post shave feel was great. Much better than Arko alone. I'm going to do this again but try going a bit heavier with the Bonners. I'll be doing this for sure when the heat and humidity goes up here.

 

[DaltonGang]

I ordered some menthol crystals, and was thinking about mixing some in with the arko.

 

[GoneRetroInOH]

Arko. Great stuff, whether on its own or mixed creatively.

 

[TheDude82]

Interesting. I think I might have to give a shot. I think i'm out of peppermint though. I might have Citrus or Baby Mild. Yup...I'm going in.

 

[Cash_Stronomer]

Peppermint Arko. I can get into that!

 

[JaredB]

I'm surprised Arko doesn't make more scents anyway. Look at the fan base they have with their "questionable" scent now. (I personally enjoy it.). With it's performance, and at their price point, imagine if they came out with a sandalwood or a barbershop or whatever. I'd be on it the day it came out.

 

[BSAGuy]

Nice combination. Congrats.

 

[Captain Coarsebeard]

I mix Yeti Snot with Arko and it's great!

CC

 

[dangerousdon]

I too have Arko and Dr. Bronner's. I believe I shal try this. Thanks for the inspiration.

Don

 

[dangerousdon]

So I gave it a shot this morning. I have Arko pressed into a bowl and I put only a few drops of the Dr. Bronners in the bowl before I loaded the brush. I loaded the brush and began to face lather. I could still smell the Arko (which I happen to like) and the peppermint. I do agree that you probably need less water than just the Arko alone. The shave was slick an i think it performed just as good as Arko alone. My only complaint is that after I am done with my three passes, I like to queeze the rest of the soap/cream from out of my brush and spread it accross my face for a touch up/4th pass. This seemad to be much thinner than it usually is; however, still was very slick. Like Fiend, I will also tryy this again with more Dr. Bronners.

Don

 

[Fiend606]

I tried with a lot more Bonner's in the bowl and while the shave worked out the same as normal I think I used too much bonners as the lather felt too thin for my preference and felt less protective during the shave even though I didn't encounter any more irritation than normal which isn't much. The thin lather was very slick and post shave felt great. I'll dial back on the bonners to a few drops(small squirt) in the bowl for the peppermint/menthol scent and feel with the normal Arko performance. I think in this case less is more, for me.

 

[Grandpa Pipes]

I'm surprised Arko doesn't make more scents anyway. Look at the fan base they have with their "questionable" scent now. (I personally enjoy it.). With it's performance, and at their price point, imagine if they came out with a sandalwood or a barbershop or whatever. I'd be on it the day it came out.

Stop and think that "inspite of" Arko's scent it sells by the boat load it such a great shaving soap. It ain't broke don't fix it!

If I want to attract the ladies I'll haul out my 4711!!

 

[FoolishMortal]

What do you think would happen if you did the work to "fold in" the Bronner's and infuse it into the Arko rather than using a fresh application each time? I don't have any Arko, but I'm curious what would happen if I grated a VDH puck and mixed/mashed it with the Bronner's...