Arko Shave Stick

In the pantheon of shaving sticks, there is one little ‘engine that could’ stick that deserves special mention.

The humble Arko Shaving Stick comes out of the unlikely country of Turkey. I say ‘unlikely’ because that’s how it would seem to an untraveled Yank.

In reality, the Turks are masters of the barbershop shave. Check out some online videos of ‘Turkish Shave’ or a similar search. This is a barbershop shave I’d love to enjoy someday. The finish with flame to singe hairs thus discouraging their regrowth seems like a fun little test of manhood. I am unlikely to make it to Turkey in my lifetime, but there seems to be a number of Turkish barbershops in the UK. That doesn’t seem too far out of reach.

Anyway, back to the topic: the Arko stick. Available for under three US dollars, this product lathers like a real champ. It is a tallow-based soap stick, which should be noted for those sensitive to the use of animal products. The lather is very easy to make; it’s protective, slick and lush.

However.

The Arko stick does have a significant scent. To me, it’s more of a ’stink’. There is a range of opinion out there; many guys don’t mind the scent at all and describe it as ’soapy’. I fall into the camp that believes the smell is that of a ‘urinal puck’.

The stick works so well, though, I found a way around the scent.

In a thread at Badger and Blade, a gent posted that he’d put an opened stick under his bathroom sink and forgot about it for a few months. After recovering the forgotten stick, he found the scent had diminished significantly. He was able to enjoy the spectacular lather without being troubled by his olfactory sense.

Sounded good to me. I included a stick in a soap purchase. I anticipated smelling this stuff I’d read so many descriptions of. Yuck.

I molded the tick into a small Anchor Hocking bowl and tucked it away under the sink. I didn’t forget it though; every time I opened the cabinet door the Arko funk would rush out and announce itself. After a few weeks, I decided I was ready. I loaded the brush from the bowl as I would a cake of shave soap (essentially killing the ’stick’, but I wanted as much surface area exposed to air as possible). Wow! The stuff lathered every bit as well as I’d read.

To this day there’s still enough smell left to be unpleasant. I counter this by ’superlathering’ it, mixing in a bit of Prorasso cream to punch up some menthol aroma.

That combination works up a lather so fine, I look forward to Arko shave days as much as those using the fine, high end soaps.

Give this stuff a shot. The shipping would run more than the stick by itself; I’d recommend including one in a buy along with other soaps, a razor, some blades… you get the idea.

Arko is included in the ’soaps and creams’ category in the Amazon selection I’ve put together in the right sidebar. Pick one up and try that lather and scent for yourself today.