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Our Soaps
La Maison Du Savon features soaps from leading savonneries as well as lesser-known specialist soap makers and master soap makers that have been in existence for hundreds of years.
We showcase an impressive lineup of exquisite French soaps as well as iconic Aleppo Soap from Syria.
In our French Soap House, you can buy Traditional Marseille Soaps (Authentic Savon De Marseille), buy Scented Marseille Soaps (Marseille Market Soaps or French Market Soaps as they are sometimes called) and authentic Aleppo Soaps.
Before you buy French soaps, you can learn a little bit more about them here …
Traditional Marseille Soap / Savon De Marseille
An Introduction To Traditional Marseille Soap (Savon De Marseille)
Renowned for its purity, Traditional Marseille Soap or Authentic Savon de Marseille is a traditional, hard, homogenous, multi-purpose soap made from vegetable oils.
By definition, authentic Traditional Savon De Marseille is hand-crafted, made in cauldrons in the Marseille region, contains only natural ingredients, bio-degradable, contains at least 72% vegetable oils, has no added colouring, perfume, preservatives or synthetic additives. Traditional Marseille Soap contains only 4 ingredients: vegetable oils, soda, water and salt.
Holding an important place in the cultural and industrial heritage of Provence, Savon De Marseille is made in copper cauldrons in Marseille using olive oil, coconut oil or palm oil. This versatile soap is mild and cleansing and can be used in a multitude of ways in and around the home including stain-removal, laundry and dishwashing.
A staple in French kitchens, laundry rooms and greenhouses throughout France, Traditional Marseille Soap receives accolades around the world as one of the finest soaps you can buy.
100% natural and made using traditional production methods, this multi-purpose soap is PH neutral and very kind to skin. It contains no additives, is hypoallergenic, naturally biodegradable, vegan friendly and contains no parabens, fragrances, colourings or EDTA.
Savon De Marseille is particularly gentle on the skin and can cleanse, soften, nourish and moisturise. Due to its high oil content and purity levels, Traditional Marseille Soap minimises the risk of allergies and can be used for all skin types, including very sensitive skin, dry skin and that of the very young.
In its liquid form, Marseille Soap is commonly sold as hand soap. It can also be used in agriculture as a pesticide.
Authentic Marseille Soap was originally sold only in 5kg (11 lb.) and 20kg (44 lb.) blocks but nowadays you can buy Traditional Marseille Soaps in a variety of sizes and shapes: cube, parallelepiped bar, slices, oval, shavings and flakes.
You can buy Marseille Soap as a modest 15g (0.53oz) ‘guest soap’, 300g (11oz) and 600g (21oz) cubes up to a 10 kg (22lb) self-slicing Savon De Marseille block.
Traditional Marseille Soap is frequently used for domestic cleaning including hand-washing delicate garments such as those made of wool or silk. Liquid Marseille Soap is commonly sold as a hand soap. It can also be used in agriculture as a pesticide.
Traditional Marseille Soap / Savon De Marseille – A Potted History
In the Marseille region, soap makers have been creating gentle soaps using native oil oils, the alkaline ash from marine plants from the Mediterranean since as far back as the 9th century. The first documented soap maker in Marseille was recorded in the city as early as 1370.
By 1688, Louis XIV introduced regulations in the Edict of Colbert limiting the use of the name ‘Savon de Marseille’ to olive oil based soaps. The Edict of Colbert is primarily known for establishing the rules and regulations for the production and labelling of Marseille Soap. This edict, named after Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the French Finance Minister, mandated that only soap made in the Marseille region using olive oil and soda ash could be labelled as ‘Savon de Marseille’. Marseille Soap gained in popularity throughout the 1700s and, by the 1880s, there were nearly a hundred soap makers in the Marseille region.
By 1913, Savon De Marseille production had reached 180,000 tonnes. The early 1900s saw the arrival of mass-produced synthetic soaps and detergents but many people preferred the purity and gentleness of Marseille Soap to the new mass-produced soap alternatives.
By 1924, there were 122 soap-making companies in the Marseille and Salon-de Provence region.
As of 2024, there were four main savonneries, all part of an association called Union des Professionnels du Savon de Marseille (UPSM).
Authentic Savon De Marseille At A Glance
Authentic Savon De Marseille (Traditional Marseille Soap) must possess the following qualities to be deemed authentic:
- Traditional Marseille Soap must be made exclusively of vegetable fats, no sodium tallowate (beef fat). It must be without colouring, without perfume and without any preservatives or additives
- Traditional Savon de Marseille is made to a 100% vegetable oil recipe with no added colourings, fragrances, preservatives or artificial ingredients
- Savon De Marseille Soap contains a maximum of four ingredients: vegetable oils such as sodium olivate (olive oil), sodium cocoate (copra oil / coconut oil) or sodium palmate (palm oil), aqua (water), sodium chloride (salt) & sodium hydroxide (soda)
- Traditional Savon De Marseille Soap is made in a traditional way, baked in a cauldron in line with production methods and the saponification process (‘the Marseilles process’) that have been in place for hundreds of years. The process is overseen scrupulously by a Master Soap-maker (Maître de Savon or Soap Master)
- Only fatty substances of vegetable origin can be used in the production of traditional Marseille Soap, such as olive pomace oil, palm copra oil, etc.
- Traditional Marseille Soap must contain at least 72% vegetable oil
- Savon De Marseille Soap must be produced in the Marseille region
- The Traditional Marseille Soap manufacturing process must adhere to five stages: mashing, release, cooking, washing and liquidation
- Authentic Savon de Marseille is stamped with its weight in grams. This practice dates back many years
- Savon De Marseille will often have traces of a fine white powder on the surface. This is far from unusual and the sea salt will disappear once the soap is wet. This characteristic affirms the authenticity of genuine Savon de Marseille
- Fresh Marseille Soap can be a bit moist. Allowing it to dry and harden will make it last longer
Authentic Savon De Marseille Soap Makers
There are four leading soap factories (savonneries) producing Marseille Soap in the traditional way. In 2011, these four savonneries (soap makers) located in the Bouches-du-Rhône came together, agreeing a quality charter to define the composition of traditional Marseille Soap, its manufacturing process and geographical origin.
The four leading savonneries created a central body: the Union des Professionnels du Savon de Marseille (UPSM).
The UPSM is focussed on the defence of the heritage values of Savon de Marseille and laid down a charter for Traditional Marseille Soap production with definitive rules. These four soap manufacturers are recognised as guardians of authentic Savon de Marseille production methodology and traditional Marseille Soap values.
The soaps these four savonneries produce uphold the values of traditional Marseille Soap and their soaps are truly outstanding.
66 Chemin de Sainte Marthe 13014 Marseille
72, Rue Augustin Roux 13015 Marseille
50, Bd Anatole de la Forge 13014 Marseille
148 Avenue Paul Bourret, 13300 Salon-de-Provence
Traditional Marseille Soap Types
There are only two types of Traditional Marseille Soap (Authentic Savon De Marseille):
- Green Marseille Soap – the original olive green coloured soap with a distinctive green hue due to its high olive oil content.
- White Marseille Soap – A traditional Savon De Marseille composed of sustainable palm oil, copra, peanut or coconut oil
Traditional Green Marseille Soap – Savon De Marseille
Traditional Marseille Soap is 100% vegan, made with a minimum of 72% vegetable fats – primarily organic olive oil, to which copra and palm oil are added.
Baked in cauldrons over 10-14 days, green Soap is a living and pure, traditional, authentic soap product containing no dyes, no perfumes and no lye.
By virtue of its purity, natural composition and high oil content, authentic green Marseille Soap is often recommended by dermatologists for patients with irritated or sensitive skin, dry skin, psoriasis, or eczema.
Traditional White Marseille Soap – Savon De Marseille Extra Pur
White Marseille Soap has many names including: Savon De Marseille Extra Pur, Vegetal Marseille Soap, Extra Pure Marseille Soap or White Savon de Marseille.
Authentic White Marseille Soap must be made in the Marseille region using the traditional cauldron production process, must be 100% natural, must be made up exclusively of vegetable oils contain no perfume, colours or preservatives.
Unlike Green Marseille Soap, White Marseille Soap contains no olive oil. Like Green Marseille Soap it is a 100% natural product, is hypoallergenic, contains no perfume or dye. The only four ingredients are vegetable oils, water, salt and soda.
Instead of olive oil, White Marseille Soap is composed primarily of copra oil (coconut oil), palm oil from sustainably managed plantations, oleic sunflower oil or peanut oil. These added oils are colourless and, as a result, White Marseille Soap is neutral in colour and should be either white or beige in appearance.
You can buy White Marseille Soap in cubes, chips, liquid or flakes. People who wish to make their own natural, pure, eco-friendly detergents for textile use or washing up liquids often buy chips and flakes.
The versatility of White Marseille Soap is truly astounding. As well as daily body, face and hair cleansing, there are numerous household and home maintenance applications. White Marseille Soap is fabulous for domestic cleaning including hand-washing delicate garments such as silk or wool textiles as an eco-detergent.
White Marseille Soap can also be used for dishwashing, stain removal, cleaning floors and surfaces, as a toothpaste, as a toilet cleaner, to clean an iron, as a pet shampoo, as a leather cleaner, to shine jewellery, as a cleaning spray, as an insecticide, for laundry or as a shaving soap.
Traditional Marseille Soap Production
Traditionally, authentic Marseille Soap is made by mixing Mediterranean seawater, olive oil and the alkaline ash from sea plants together in a large cauldron (usually around 8 tons). This mixture is heated for around ten days in antique cauldrons before being removed. The mixture then starts to harden and is cut into cubes and stamped before being set out to dry.
The mixture is then heated for several days while being stirred continuously. The mixture is allowed to sit until ready and is then poured into a mold and allowed to set slightly. While still soft, it is cut into bars, stamped and left to completely harden. The production process typically takes between fourteen days and a month. Production is undertaken in 5 key steps:
Paste:
The soda lye (sodium hydroxide) and the vegetable oils are heated and brought to the boil in a cauldron.
Salting:
A very dense saline solution is added to the paste in order to carry any excess soda to the bottom of the cauldron.
Cooking:
By adding a concentrated sodium hydroxide solution, the fat is turned into soap.
Washing:
Washing refines the soap paste.
Liquidation:
A final washing with clear water brings the soap to its natural state.
The fine white powder on the surface of the soap is a bit of the sea salt, which will disappear once the soap is wet. This beloved characteristic affirms the authenticity of genuine Savon de Marseille. Fresh Marseille Soap can be a bit moist. Allowing it to dry and harden will make it last longer.