marseille soap

Big blocks of olive oil based soap have been crafted for one thousand years in the South of France. Since 1688 French law has declared that only soaps that are produced by following certain ancient methods, and containing only the purest ingredients, shall bear the famous mark “Savon de Marseille.”

Savon de Marseille is once again being rediscovered for its purity and gentle skin care, and its popularity is again on the rise worldwide.

It takes the soapmaster two weeks to make Marseille Soap. The delicate mixture of olive and vegetable oils, alkaline ash from sea plants and Mediterranean Sea salted water are heated for ten days in antique cauldrons.

Know-how passed down through the generations will reveal to the soapmaker the right moment to pour the mixture into open pits where it slowly hardens. Cut into cubes and stamped, the soaps are then set out to dry in the sun and cool winds.

Only a few savonneries (soap factories) near Marseille still make this legendary soap in the traditional manner.

Marseille Soap is traditionally green or white. The white soap is made with palm oil, the green with at least 50% olive oil. Both varieties are exquisite, ultra-moisturizing skin care. Marseille Soap is recommended by dermatologists throughout the world for dry skin and other ailments. Its incredible purity and moisturizing properties make it ideal for sensitive skins. In France it has been trusted for generations to cleanse everything from linens to little faces.

Marseille Soap is totally biodegradable, requires little packaging and its manufacture is environmentally friendly. Authentic Marseille Soap is stamped with its weight in grams - a practice left over from years ago which allowed households to compare prices and plan their inventories.