I`ve got 2 bars of 200g Aleppo-Ghar soap, 50% laurel oil on order.
I`ve used Kesabella soap many times in my travels but I`ve not had any for far too long.
I can remember the smell just by looking at the piccies ! - in a word - divine !
Trad Syrian Aleppo soap coming
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I`ve got 2 bars of 200g Aleppo-Ghar soap, 50% laurel oil on order.
I`ve used Kesabella soap many times in my travels but I`ve not had any for far too long.
I can remember the smell just by looking at the piccies ! - in a word - divine !
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- #2
Well the lovely 20 month old Syrian Aleppo Bay Laurel soap landed quick.
It is 50% laurel oil and 50% olive oil - it reminds me of artisan hand-made mature stilton cheese - and just as fragrant - will try it tonight in the bath using my little wood-handled closed comb; not tried it yet.
Got a lovely oil humidifier that runs on a phone back-up battery for the bathroom windowsill today too - only £7.
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Thanks malocchio - sorry I`m so strange !
Only 4 ingredients in the soap - that`s strange too these days.
Only 4 ingredients in the soap - that`s strange too these days.
Looks great. You suggested I try a soap with a minimum of 72% olive oil.
The blocks you’re displaying have only 50% olive oil.
Have you alerted CERN to mitigate the consequences?
The blocks you’re displaying have only 50% olive oil.
Have you alerted CERN to mitigate the consequences?
big fan of Aleppo soap here! so good for the skin...... though I've never tried it for shaving
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Sorry what I meant thombrogan is that for single oil soaps go for 70% plus and for scented soaps a 50/50 content split is brilliant because there is a lot more essential oil - which is a lot more therapeutic - at that strength it`s classed as a topical herbal medicine.
Modern soaps have 25 dubious chemical ingredients and the fragrances are formulated for candles and air-fresheners - no wonder the body goes wonky using them !
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Risk it for a biscuit reformedshavr and thanks for the thumbs up.
You might be pleasantly surprised - my advice is to go for the 50/50 2 year old soap that looks like hand-made old cheese lol !
Don`t get the cheapie 5% laurel oil stuff that looks machine made.
Dearer but so so worth it.
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Oh Jens on the bay - the smell reminds me of digging up landmines with a lucky stick in Ramallah in the West Bank in `82 - don`t laugh and I won`t cry !
I`ll dig you the link out - no problem man.
I`ve not ordered Nabulsi - I`ve just sent beads instead.
Aleppo 24 month - 50%/50% laurel/olive soap
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You`re welcome Jens - mad times Haha !
The ad in this links states " scent free " .... Is it really ? or after months of ageing does it get an "off" scent to it ?
It's got the natural scent of the ingredients, but no added fragrance. Kind of a medicinal smell that rinses away. At least the stuff I have tried.
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It`s not a really powerful herby scent until you use it in a hot bath, sink or shower and is not overpowering; then it becomes alive.
An eight year old hand-made soap is special and rare; the oils trapped inside are potentiated on use.
People not used to decent soaps might not like the scents so my advice is to get small bars to try first.
A floral or citrus soap like lavender, rosemary, lime or lemon will generally have a longer-lasting fragrance but smell completely different to so-called "nature identical" commercial soaps.
For example, it`s like the difference between real fresh cloudy home-made lemonade and cheap lemon flavoured soda pop which IMHO is sweet chemical junk; no comparison whatsoever or the marked difference between artisan whole-leaf single vintage tea and blended dry tea sweepings found in 90% plus of teabags.
Whole leaf tea vintage tea can be as good as the best wines.
A notable trait of trad high essential oil content soaps is that they are so antibacterial, and fungal and even anti viral I`ve never experienced a quality trad soap going off even in African and M.E. Summers with no air-con, cooling fans or fridges ; they are medicinal in the best sense and the essential oils go right through the skin into the capillaries then enter the general circulation and can change moods and hormones and biological stasis.Obviously some can be contraindicated; everyone is different.
The thing is with modern pressed commercial soaps with harsh artificial fragrances and cheap ingredients, a lot need chemical lab preservatives or they will not smell pleasant especially in below par storage conditions.
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I`ve recently bought some Nablus Palestinian soap and it is very mild smelling; totally different to quality aged olive and laurel soaps; that`s why I recommend getting small samples; like an assortment of razor blades.
Over the years I've run across name brand Marseille olive oil soaps that have gone rancid and I just assumed they had been exposed to high heat or maybe just too old .
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My advice is to get some little sample hotel guest curtesy soap sizes first malocchio and you`d be surprised at even the 5%-10% olive oil content ones that are employed that still make a satisfactory lubricating shaving lather and are definitely not gone "off" after over THIRTY YEARS - Imagine how good the 50%-70% artisanal soaps are !
Look for Kesabella Syrian olive/laurel or Fer et Cheval Marseille green olive and you can`t go wrong.
Kesabella Syrian traditional soap - even the 5% stuff is brilliant and the 70% is out of this World.
Fer et Cheval Marseille 72% olive oil soap - get this basic one - it can do everything.
This is the 2 KG loaf of unscented 72% olive oil soap I bought.
Left - 2022 - Aleppo 50% Laurel - Middle - 90`s Greek hotel 5% Olive - Right - 1996 - Aleppo 70% Laurel
I`ll send you a piccy of a 5% dark green olive oil 1990`s soap that`s still doing grand now from some crumby Greek hotel; used it the other week to shave in fact; no probs !
The high percentage olive oil and soaps are an order of magnitude better and have no chance of going off in decades maloccochio and have a best use by date of seven years hence plus they will only improve with age (like a good real ale, wine or cheese) and can be valuable heirloom soaps - YMMV - so try little ones before committing to larger bath soaps etc.
Don`t forget that the trad soaps were around 4000 years ago at the time of Bronze Age cut-throat straight razors in really sub-prime conditions and the old soap factories have well got the hang of it by now and weathered the vicissitudes of economic turmoil for hundreds of years ; if they were were dire; they`d have long since gone bankrupt and faded from memory.
I`m sure I sent you a good buy now link for French Marseille artisan soap ; don`t believe the web scare stories - read soap forum anecdotes and recommendations, read between the lines and even ask for free samples!
Get the lumps that look rough and misshapen or off-cuts and good grated soap by weight; they`re the best hand-made offerings available.
Looks great for the bath but a little thin for shaving . Are you getting good lubrication when you shave with it ? Have you tried just running the wet bar over your face without the brush ?
I've tried both and it works well. The soap has a high glycerine content which helps the razor slide over the skin. I don't have a heavy stubble though so it might be different for others
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The saponified olive oil and laurel oil in traditional soaps are very good for shaving - they're still used today after thousands of years for a reason - they work, are non-greasy and are excellent for skin allergies, psoriasis, eczema , vitiligo, sensitive skin, sunburn, ingrown hairs and razer rash.
High quality vegetable glycerine, coconut oil, aloe vera and shea butter soaps are also generally very good but I avoid palm oil soaps and toiletries because they are invariably adulterated and cheap with unwanted additives.
A thin lather can still work brilliantly but the soaps have to be high quality with a high oil content to work best; ie: not cheap - I'd be looking at a minimum of $4 for a plain 4 ounce bar and much more for vintage and perfumed soaps.
If the soap maker offers scents like cocoa or chocolate or coffee etc I avoid because I know that they're made in a lab.
If I see any man-made chemicals in the ingredients I avoid them like the plague; old, matured soaps with a handful of constituents are fabulous and get better with age like a good wine, brandy, mead, whisky, cheese or real ale.
The oils are cicatrisant - they speed up cell growth and healing just like lavender oil which is used in burns centres Worldwide now.
High quality vegetable glycerine, coconut oil, aloe vera and shea butter soaps are also generally very good but I avoid palm oil soaps and toiletries because they are invariably adulterated and cheap with unwanted additives.
A thin lather can still work brilliantly but the soaps have to be high quality with a high oil content to work best; ie: not cheap - I'd be looking at a minimum of $4 for a plain 4 ounce bar and much more for vintage and perfumed soaps.
If the soap maker offers scents like cocoa or chocolate or coffee etc I avoid because I know that they're made in a lab.
If I see any man-made chemicals in the ingredients I avoid them like the plague; old, matured soaps with a handful of constituents are fabulous and get better with age like a good wine, brandy, mead, whisky, cheese or real ale.
The oils are cicatrisant - they speed up cell growth and healing just like lavender oil which is used in burns centres Worldwide now.
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