$12
The oldest soap in the world. Aleppo soap — Saboun Ghar in Arabic, Ghar sabunu in Turkish — has been made in the Syrian city of Aleppo for at least three thousand years, predating the soap-making traditions of Marseille and Castile that it inspired. Our version follows the essential formula: olive oil and laurel berry oil (15%), cold-pressed, and cured.
After paying, contact us with your name, address, and order. Ships within 2–3 business days.
No coconut oil. No shea butter. No clay. No essential oils. Only the two ingredients of the original Aleppo formula.
Laurel berry oil is pressed from the fruit of Laurus nobilis — the bay laurel tree that grows across the Levant and the Mediterranean. It is high in lauric and linolenic acids, with a deep green color and a distinctive herbal, slightly resinous scent. The percentage of laurel oil in a bar (anywhere from 5% to 55% traditionally) determines its character: more laurel, more conditioning; less, more cleansing. At 15%, this bar is gentle and balanced.
Earthy, herbal, slightly woody and resinous — the scent of the laurel berry itself. Unlike the scented bars, this comes from the oil, not an added essential oil. The scent is subtle and fades quickly after rinsing.
Lather between your hands and apply to wet skin. The Aleppo bar lathers more gently than the three-ingredient bars because coconut oil — which drives most of the lather — is absent. The result is a richer, creamier wash. Rinse thoroughly.
Particularly suited to dry, damaged, or color-treated hair. Lather in hands and work from scalp through ends. The high olive oil content is deeply conditioning. Rinse fully. Apple cider vinegar rinse (1 tbsp per cup water) works especially well with this bar.