Thread: Aleppo soap

Read some comments on this type of soap in another forum and decided to order a couple of bars from here Aleppo soaps . Anyone use this type of soap before? Also interesting is this rotating soap dispenser Provendi's rotating soap .

Bob

Not only I use them, I actually make them:



The one in the left and the one in the front are made by me. They are made with 4% and 8% laurel seed oil respectively and they are cured for about 18 months.
The one in the right, the darkest one, is made in Aleppo, Syria. It is 40% laurel oil and it is aged for several years.
I have made many others at high percentages in laurel oil, from 20% to 50% laurel oil but they are not ready to use yet. They are curing in my house in the country. They will be a year old this summer.

Aleppo soaps are made in various percentages of laurel seed oil and olive oil in Aleppo Syria. Good quality laurel oil and good quality olive oil, plus curing them for years in the right climatological conditions, will result in a fantastic soap. I really love them!

Thanks for posting that. It is an interesting and practical hobby you have in soap making. Have you tried using the soap to make lather with and shave?

Bob

I do not use this as a shaving soap but as a hands and body soap.
I have never tried to make lather for shaving with it and I don't think it will make a good lather. Too much olive oil in it. Olive oil has no place in a good shaving soap according to my opinion. However, the skin properties that olive oil and especially laurel seed oil gives in the soap are excellent!

Aleppo soap is what I have been using since childhood. It is long lasting and very moisturizing. I use it as body wash and shampoo. I agree with Slur, olive oil does not lend to a good shaving lather.

BobH, If you can get your hands on some Aleppo soap from Syria "ghar soap" it is better than the French Aleppo soap which is more expensive and not as hard.
You can still find some at good prices in arabic groceries, if there are any in your area.

Aleppo soap dries my skin a lot. I used it in different laurel oil concentrations, same result. Maybe I took poor quality Aleppo soap.

Dear Arsenico, I cannot understand why an olive oil based soap such as Savon d'Alepp dries your skin. Olive oil soap has 0 cleansing value and very high conditioning qualities. On the other hand, a 100% laurel seed oil soap has 26 conditioning value and important conditioning qualities. Savon d'Alepp is something in the middle depending on the percentage of laurel seed oil. For example, a 40% laurel seed oil Aleppo soap has 10 cleansing value and high conditioning value (72) which means that it should not your skin.

In your case I would choose an Aleppo soap with low percentage of laurel oil in order to reduce the cleansing value which is responsible for drying your skin. A 4% laurel oil Aleppo soap will give a cleansing value of 1, and a conditioning value of 81. This is a very good balance of cleansing/conditioning qualities in your case.

If even this 4% Aleppo soap dries your skin, then try to use a 100% olive oil soap with 5% superfat (or lye discount). I am sure that this will not dry your skin.

By the way, does your name mean anything in Japanese? In my language "Arseniko" means "Male".

Slur thank you very much for your helpful reply.
I used percentages from 20 to 40 or 50 of laurel oil. It is so bad, because I love the "scent" of Aleppo soap. I will definitely try something with less laurel oil.
What I am using now is a japanese charcoal soap with bentonite and kaolin and no problems with it.

Arsenico means nothing in Japanese, in Italian means arsenic.

How does Aleppo soap compare to savon de Marseilles?

I'm about to order some bath soap and want to give either the Aleppo style or Marseilles style a try. I would also be interested in hearing about your trusted brands and vendors.

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

How does Aleppo soap compare to savon de Marseilles?

I'm about to order some bath soap and want to give either the Aleppo style or Marseilles style a try. I would also be interested in hearing about your trusted brands and vendors.

I just tried and it looks like they only ship to Canada.