An Arko soap opera

D

db

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Oct 3, 1998
Messages
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Inspired by Gollnick’s soap opera, I am doing a Arko stick. I’ve used nothing else since Easter Sunday 2013. I do a two pass shave and shave every day. I like a lot of lather and I am a little wasteful on building my lather. I really do have enough for about 4 passes or even more. I have pressed the stick into a small bole and load the brush from there. I wait until the brush starts to lather up real good then move to my face. Looks like I have easily enough for another month and will update at the end of this month. As a reference I get about 1 month out of a puck of VDH, witch I will do next just to make sure that time frame is correct.
 
I'll be interested to see how long a stick lasts you. I use Arko all the time, used it this morning, in fact, but I rotate through a variety of soaps and creams so at best I have a vague idea how long they last relative to each other. Last fall I used a cake of Williams soap from beginning to end and it lasted just over a month.

Arko holds its own against any of the big name, big money creams and soaps. And it's cheap enough to have sticks handy in your travel bag, bug out bag, etc.

Mike
 
It makes fantastic lather, and for us in Europe it's even cheaper than for you in the USA. A value soap for sure and a very decent traditional product. I just dislike the smell of it, so I have to pass.
 
The smell is really mellowed if you use it like I do pressed into a bowl and then load a brush. I'm guessing if I did use it as a stick it would last even longer. I don't mind the smell but I'd guess it would become a bit much for me as well if I did use it as a stick.
 
No idea how long a stick will last as I use it in rotation with a number of soaps. I use it as a stick and really like it. It is my travel soap. Excellent price to performance ratio.

Bob
 
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Shouldn't last more than a week now.
 
Alright truthfully at this point I’d get another stick and press it into my bowl. I’m still easily getting more than enough lather but the stick is just a very thin ring around the bottom of the bowl. I am going to see just how many more shaves I can get out of it though. I guess the point when it starts getting difficult to load the brush is when I’ll call it quits. Please disregard any predictions I've made on how long it will last, in previous posts. :)
 
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Hang in there. The last few days of a soap-opera-style trial are both the most challenging and the most important as you deal with small bits of material. Learning to lather small bits is a valuable benefit of doing a soap-opera trial of your own. But it is challenging as you try to consistently lather with inconsistent bits. Hang in there.

The Soap Opera is as much about learning for your self as it is about contributing to the community. For the good of the community, hang in there to the end.
 
It is down to a thin half ring now. Lucky for me it was still easy to get more than enough lather. But if that half ring comes loose it is going to be hard to load a brush. My plan is to probably just take a small piece and use it like a stick on my face.
 
Well I was really hoping to get to the 4th, but I have to call it today. Done. In fact today’s lather was pretty thin. I know I posted I would use VDH next but I’m going to change that. I will do a VDH but starting tomorrow I’m going to use a tube of Proraso, Sandalwood. Mostly because I love the regular old Proraso and haven’t yet tried the new formula or this scent. Like a good Soap, to be continued.
 
Not sure how you'd count it. I used it every day since Easter, Mar. 31, up to July 2. Each day was a two pass shave and I lathered for both passes. And really I like alot of lather had easily enough lather for more passes than that. Except for the last two days.
 
I just want to comment on the Proraso. The lather is great just like the Proraso has always lathered. I take about a pea sized amount and ad it to a wet brush and lather on the face. I get enough for my two pass shave easily. The Sandalwood smells great. I like it almost as much as the original. This is good stuff and well worth a try.
 
Well this is just about done. I’ll maybe get 1 or 2 more shaves out of the tube. Proraso isn’t the most economical cream but I’d say it is one of the best. Well worth the price in my opinion. As I said earlier in this thread I will do VDH next and will post once the Proraso is completely done and I start the VDH.
 
Alright the Vdh starts today. Yesterday was the last for the Proraso. Just about 2 months for the tube. It went a little longer than I thought it would. I'm guessing the VDH should last about a month if I remember correctly.
 
A follow up, just in case anyone is currently, or in the future following this thread. I am burning through this VDH puck a little faster than I remember. The puck of VDH Deluxe is now reduced to a ring at the bottom of my bowl. At this point I’d normally put another puck in the bowl. Either right on top of this one or remelt the rest of this one on top of another puck. However, to be consistent with this thread I’ll keep using this until it is totally gone. Shouldn’t be much longer.
 
Excellent work. This will add good information to our growing database.

And yes, those last few shaves on the scraps take more time and effort to lather. But it is for the good of science!
 
Thanks Gollnick. Your correct it takes a little more work to lather. It is amazing how many shaves you can squeeze out of those last little bits of soap. I thought I'd be done with this puck by now but I'm still getting a good amount of lather from it. I'll post back when it is gone.
 
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