What's new

First Impressions of Arko

So after reading numerous post about Arko I decided to finally order a stick off Ebay for $3.29. Received it on Saturday and promptly opened the stick. My first impression on the scent was lemon pez candies, then soap, then soapy lemon pez. I understand the urine puck reference. I smashed it into a bowl and lathered it up. It was one of the easiest soaps I have ever lathered. Got thick yogurt lather fast. The scent to my nose changed at this point it went from a soapy lemon pez smell which I liked to more of a citronella smell. Similar to Williams but not so strong. The scent is like eating lemon pez candies while burning a citronella candle. The scent was not as strong as posts lead me to believe but it did linger for an hour or two after the shave. The shave was good cushion and slick. Overall I would say that this was a good soap, not great as I don't like citronella. I would recommend this soap to people new to wet shaving due to how easy it is to lather.
 
I just tried my first stick. Had an overwhelming desire to pee. Not sure it was better in any way than Ivory unscented. Sure the smell was much worse. I washed my face and hands thoroughly after the shave, then put the box out in the garage. Maybe 6 months from now.
 
I enjoy seeing Arko gaining more and more popularity you do not need to spend alot of money to get a fantastic shave !!
 
Don't leave your brush too close to the Arko. You may come in and find it self lathering :nonod:

proxy.php
 
Next time you want some Arko, buy it by the 12 pack as it is only about $13 not that crazy $3.29 a stick! WOW! LOL
 
I couldn't get past the smell. It lathered fine but the scent just isn't for me. I love the smell of Tabac and I know some people hate it's scent. Classic YMMV I guess.
 
I couldn't get past the smell. It lathered fine but the scent just isn't for me. I love the smell of Tabac and I know some people hate it's scent. Classic YMMV I guess.

Might be worth trying to let air out for a bit. I made my stick into a croap and the scent is significantly subdued. Others have put the stick out in their garage for a week.
 
Next time you want some Arko, buy it by the 12 pack as it is only about $13 not that crazy $3.29 a stick! WOW! LOL

I didn't want a whole box of something I might not like. Like I said it was good soap but it wasn't great. Too may other soaps to try to be stuck with a whole box of Arko. I thought $3.29 wasn't bad.
 
The Arko scent fades in time. I had two sticks left that I bought a few years ago. I opened one and the original scent was not there. However, it still provides a great lather. I know of one individual who loves the soap but hates the scent. So he puts the soap in a plastic bag containing unused coffee grounds. He says it smells great in the a.m.
 
I couldn't get past the smell. It lathered fine but the scent just isn't for me. I love the smell of Tabac and I know some people hate it's scent. Classic YMMV I guess.
Might be worth trying to let air out for a bit. I made my stick into a croap and the scent is significantly subdued. Others have put the stick out in their garage for a week.
The Arko scent fades in time. I had two sticks left that I bought a few years ago. I opened one and the original scent was not there. However, it still provides a great lather. I know of one individual who loves the soap but hates the scent. So he puts the soap in a plastic bag containing unused coffee grounds. He says it smells great in the a.m.

I so tried to like Arko. I tend to favor bang for the buck deals but I can't stand the synthetic/bad counterfeit citronella scent.
I tried the airing trick: 4 months opened in a ventilated storage room in a middle shelf to avoid dust. The scent was still there. Then I shaved a couple of times with each, let air dry, nothing. Then inserted in a ziplock bag with Mistral Black Amber soap as I really like its scent and thought it would be strong enough. Well it wasn't. It almost ruined the shower soap ... HA! Will PIF it one of these days.

Yes some can stand it, some tolerate it, others say it smells like Ivory soap and so they say people should like it and there's those who like it. Lucky you! It is a great performer.
 
...others say it smells like Ivory soap and so they say people should like it and there's those who like it. Lucky you! It is a great performer.

I use Ivory daily for shaving. No way it smells like Arko. Not even SLIGHTLY like Ivory.

Urinal pucks pretending to be shaving soap. I don't understand the fascination, unless it is all a scam to trick people into buying the same nasty stuff you were tricked into using. Snipe...
 
I decided to try Arko because I heard others say it just smelled like plain soap. Trust me, it smells nothing like plain unscented soap. I make soap and unscented soap smells very nice. This stuff is terrible and not at all like Ivory either, which also doesn't smell like unscented soap, but which I can handle.

I'm thinking of soaking a stick in a solution of baking soda to see if I can somehow draw out the stink, so it can used. Has anyone tried heating a stick to high temps to see if the scent can be forced out? I have a can of pine tar that I put into some soaps. The smell is very strong, but not repulsive (to me). Maybe I'll take a stick and melt pine tar into it. There's a decent chance that the pine tar will cover the smell, though I suppose there is also a chance that the combination will triple the stink.
 
I bought 2 sticks of Arko to use in my travel kit. I really wanted to bowl lather with a puck at home. Face lather with the stick on the road. Well, I tried the Arko when it arrived, to make sure it was going to be ok on my trip. Smell was ok, lathered easily, figured out the right amount of water to make it work well. Then I stuck it in my travel kit and didn't think about it. Went on my week long trip a few days later, and enjoyed the Arko and how easy it is to use and how hassle free face lathering is. When I got back home, I found myself grabbing the Arko stick when I was feeling too lazy to bowl lather. Now I'm using the Arko at home about 50-60% of the time. I actually kinda like the smell. Reminds me of laundry detergent.
 
Top Bottom