Aleppo soap (also known as savon d'Alep, laurel soap, Syrian soap, or ghar soap, the Arabic word "غَار", meaning 'laurel') is a handmade, hard bar soap associated with the city of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Aleppo soap is classified as a

Castile soap Castile soap is an olive oil based hard soap made in a style similar to that originating in the Castile region of Spain. History The origins of Castile soap go back to the Levant, where Aleppo soap-makers have made hard soaps based on olive ...

as it is a hard soap made from

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: ...

and lye, from which it is distinguished by the inclusion of laurel oil.

History

The origin of Aleppo soap is unknown. Unverified claims of its great antiquity abound, such as its supposed use by Queen Cleopatra of Egypt and Queen Zenobia of Syria. Although it has been claimed that soap-making was introduced to the West from the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...

after the First Crusades, in fact, soap was known to the Romans in the first century AD and

Zosimos of Panopolis Zosimos of Panopolis ( el, Ζώσιμος ὁ Πανοπολίτης; also known by the Latin name Zosimus Alchemista, i.e. "Zosimus the Alchemist") was a Greco-Egyptian alchemist and Gnostic mystic who lived at the end of the 3rd and beginning ...

described soap and soapmaking in c. 300 AD. Today most Aleppo soap, especially that containing more than 16% of laurel oil, is exported to Europe and East Asia.

Manufacturing process

Traditional Aleppo soap is made by the " hot process". First, the olive oil is brought into a large, in-ground vat along with water and lye. Underneath the vat, there is an underground fire that heats the contents to a boil. Boiling lasts three days while the oil reacts with the lye and water to become a thick liquid soap. Aleppo soap 02

The laurel oil is added at the end of the process, and after it is mixed in, the mix is taken from the vat and poured over a large sheet of waxed paper on the floor of the factory. At this point, the soap is a large, green, flat mass, and it is allowed to cool down and harden for about a day. While the soap is cooling, workers with planks of wood strapped to their feet walk over the soap to try to smooth out the batch and make it an even thickness. Aleppo soap 03

The soap is then cut into cubes. The cubes of soap are stacked in staggered cylinders to allow maximum air exposure. Once they have dried sufficiently, they are put into a special subterranean chamber to be aged for six months to a year. While it is aging, the soap goes through several chemical changes. The free alkaline content of the soap (the alkaline which did not react with the oil during

saponification Saponification is a process of converting esters into soaps and alcohols by the action of aqueous alkali (for example, aqueous sodium hydroxide solutions). Soaps are salts of fatty acids, which in turn are carboxylic acids with long carbon chains. ...

) breaks down upon slow reaction with air. The moisture content of the soap is also reduced, making the soap hard and long-lasting. And lastly, the color of the outside of the soap turns pale gold, while the inside remains green. Modern Aleppo soaps are manufactured using a " cold process" and contain olive and laurel oils, and may contain a variety of

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

s and/or

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

Ingredients

Aleppo soap is made with olive oil, the oil of the laurel berry (''zeit ghar''), water, and lye; the concentration of laurel oil, typically 2–20%, determines the quality and cost of the soap. Aleppo soap is

biodegradable Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegrada ...

. In the 20th century, with the introduction of cold process soap making, Allepian soap artisans began introducing a variety of herbs and essential oils to their soaps. Unlike most soaps, some Aleppo soap will float in water.

Skin care properties

Aleppo soap can be used daily as soap for washing and shampooing, as face mask, as shaving cream, and for bathing infants and babies. Laurel oil is an effective cleanser, antimicrobial, antifungal and anti-itching agent.

References

Bibliography

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External links

{{Commons category, Aleppo soap * Arthur, Golda
Aleppo soap: War threatens an ancient tradition
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BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

'', 15 May 2013. Soaps Aleppo