I think I've found a good soap for me!

D

dalee100

Joined
Mar 15, 2008
Messages
1,539
Hi,

Thanks to the generosity of Markksr, who not only sent me a few sample blades to try, but totally surprised me with a stick of Arko shaving soap.

Being pretty new to soap and brush, I was a bit taken aback by this stick. I had to resort to a bit of googling to learn about it. What I learned was many people dislike the strong soap smell. But to me, it smells very much like the home-made soap we had when I was a child. When I showed it to my Wife, she thought it smelled fine also.

I have been learning to lather with an inexpensive VDH boar brush and VDH Deluxe Soap. I have't been able to face lather very well. But when I changed to working it in my hand, I've been getting good results. I like the soap, but not the brush so much.

Until I tried the Arko. I was a little reluctant to go back to trying face lathering after not having good results. But the bits I read stated all I needed to do was rub the stick against the grain of my beard for maybe 30 seconds or so. And then hit it with the brush.

I wasn't too sure if I was getting the right amount of product applied while rubbing it against my beard. And I was less than impressed as I started in with the brush. At first, I got a few thin bubbles in a thin, runny film. Then boom! A really nice thickening lather just exploded on my face. I was impressed! So this is how face lathering is supposed to work. But the final proof is in the shaving.

I loaded a Merkur blade into my old Gillette Slim and had at it. I will have to admit, the Arko did a great job of providing protection to my face from a less than stellar blade. I switched it out for a red Personna.

Again tonight, the Arko stick gave a fast and thick lather for this rookie soaper. It's just simply amazing to me how easy it is to make it work. Coupled with the red Personna, I got a very nice and very smooth 2 pass shave. I now find the VDH boar brush works just fine for face lathering. It just ain't too pretty like Markksr's are.:D

I will be buying a supply of this soap. I might try other soaps, like DR Harris, but there is always going to be a stick of Arko in my cabinet.

If you haven't tried Arko, I think you should give it a try. It's inexpensive and easy for newbies to use yet gives a fantastic shave.

Thanks Markksr! You really helped me out!

dalee
 
Face-lathering generally does not produce the rich, thick, abundant lather which building a lather in a bowl can, working it for several minutes and adjusting the mix bit-by-bit. But face-lathering is faster and doesn't leave you with dishes to do after your shave.

I've never used a stick myself, but it seems a) very nice for travel, and b) the ultimate expedient lather technique.

With any lather product, soap or cream, it takes a few tries to "dial in," to find the right mix and the right technique. Some products have very narrow process windows; if you don't get everything just right, it's not going to work at all. Other products have wide process windows and are easy to work with. A face-latherer needs a product with a wide window since we can't be so exact with the mixture and process.
 
Hi,

You maybe be right about the face vs bowl lathering. I simply don't have enough experience with soaps and techniques yet. So far, I tend to get a poorer lather in a cup than I do on my face or hand. I suspect my tools aren't quite up to that task just yet. The mixing cup I have is straight sided and kind of deep, not a good shape to work in. And the cheaper VDH Boar brush may not be helping much either. But I've been requested to hold off those purchases as birthday and Christmas is coming.

The Arko seems to have that wide process window, (from other's reports I've read and now my own limited testing), that a newbie like me can abuse and still get a good shave. Though it does appear to reward careful technique. And it made enough for two rich coatings with enough left for a thinner 3rd round had I wanted.

I still want to pick up a cookie or two of your DR Harris to try. And I have my eye on a couple other brands too. I want to compare the inexpensive soaps I've tried so far with something a bit more 'up-scale'. I fear I could become a soap-junkie.:D

dalee
 
Stick soaps are very handy indeed, they can be used for face-lathering or for mug/bowl. It's a pity you can't get hold of soap holders, I suppose the older ones cost a good deal unfortunately. Arko produces deeply impressive results, but the scent is not to my liking at all!

My lather cup is a discarded tea-cup that was rather too dinky for my liking-to drink tea out of-but is a first rate lather maker. Sort of 'V' shape, very wide top narrow base so you can whirl the brush around. A straight sided cup or mug is much more difficult to whip up lather in. Nor does it take long, 60-90 secs produces a rich cup that overfloweth, provided it's warm enough. My problem is I generally whip up too much so a lot goes to waste.
 
I use a cappuccino cup to mix my lather in
white-ceramic-cappuccino-cup-saucer.jpg
 
Yes, that would be good too, broad top narrow base lets you whip up a storm.
 
Hi,

I have a smaller cup like that. I tried it for mixing, but it's a bit too small and shallow for that, but works great for holding my cookie. I do need to go to town tomorrow so I might hit up the Goodwill store and the second-hand shop if I have some time. My Wife says she used to see soup cups like that cappuccino cup at Goodwill all the time, but now I want one they are gone.:grumpy:

But I have been putting off just ordering something because of the up coming holidays. My Daughters want easy and inexpensive shopping.:D Maybe we should have a discussion about cups vs. bowls. vs scuttles? Cups and bowls I understand, but scuttles are confusing.

dalee
 
I used a cheap dollar store bowl for awhile, but there is nothing to hold onto while mixing. I scoured Winnipeg looking for a large soup/cappuccino cup and came up empty handed. I went to work the next day and someone had brought in a bunch of stuff that they didn't want to move to their new home and the cup was in that stuff, didn't cost me a thing:thumbup: I have also scored a few razors that way too.
 
dalee, I'm in the same boat as you (as it were) with scuttles. Very confused by them. I got hold of one on the Bay for very little but I can't see how to use it...it has this perforated area I assume you put a bit of soap on, then pour hot water in the spout? Can't whip up much lather when I tried, must be doing it all wrong...
 
Hi,

Isn't that the way it goes unky_gumbi, you look and look and don't find anything when you want one, then bingo there it is. Maybe I'll get lucky tomorrow.

I have the same impression about using a scuttle. And I haven't found much information them yet either. It looks like some how they were meant to heat the soap and others seem to have a place to set the brush too. But they all have the hot water reservoir. I think they look elegant. They must have been more of an upper class item. The new ones I looked at on line are certainly priced as such. Perhaps I may do some trolling for one too at some point.

dalee
 
I occasionally use Arko. It's a good shaving soap and my first choice for a travel soap since it is convenient for face lathering. I mostly use a cappuccino cup (a bit different from unky_gumbi's but the same basic design) mostly now even though I have about 8 or 10 shaving mugs of differing sizes. I haven't been interested in a scuttle partly because it seems to be an added complication to the process.
 
Hi,

I'm still using the Arko and liking it a lot. I guess I should just order up a box of them. I think I'm going to give up on the VDH Deluxe cookie. I just cannot get a consistent lather from it. I think I'm going to try Col. Conk and DR Harris next.

dalee
 
Forgot I had some L'Occitane du Provence Cade soap. Whipped that up today and it really goes about its business well. Pleasant Juniper/cedar scent too.
 
I love Arko. I bought a case of it off Amazon.com. It's one of my favorite soaps. I like the scent, too.
I like Godrej Shave Rounds, from India, also. They're cheap and good. The scent is different. Kind of medicinal.
VDH soap works well for me. I sometimes rub the puck all over my face, just like a shave stick, and face lather with it.
 
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