# Aleppo soap



## pvmtskip

I was in Istanbul, Turkey recently and fell in love with their olive oil soaps. ...the ones that small like the inside of the hamam (spa). Does anyone know where I might find a recipe for this type soap?


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## babysoap

I want to make some too. I am going to try and find Bay Laurel oil. I leave in a suburb with a large Turkish population so hope fully it won't be too hard. Did you bring any back with you?Here is a soaping 101 video : [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcaEQsynDdY[/ame]


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## heartsong

brambleberry carries bay laurel...you might check ebay and etsy, too, but brambleberry is a reliable and honest vendor with quality products. http://www.brambleberry.com/Bay-Laurel-Essential-Oil-P5398.aspx


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## DeeAnna

Be careful -- bay laurel essential oil (distilled from the leaves -- this is the stuff at Brambleberry) is not the same as bay laurel oil (infusion using the berries). They are not interchangeable. 

Aleppo soaps contain around 20% or so of bay laurel oil (speaking from memory so I might be a little off). If you used that much bay laurel EO in a soap, the odor would be overwhelmingly strong and the EO could be possibly toxic in that amount. 

From what I've read recently, bay laurel oil is difficult to source in the US and is quite expensive if you can find it.


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## dagmar88

DeeAnna said:


> Be careful -- bay laurel essential oil (distilled from the leaves -- this is the stuff at Brambleberry) is not the same as bay laurel oil (infusion using the berries).



It's actually expressed from the berries, hence the name Oleum lauri expressum. This oil contains about 1% of bay laurel essential oil, Laurus nobilis.


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## Sapwn

Aleppo soap (Ghar soap) is made in Syria with olive oil and laurel berries oil. The laurel berries oil may vary from 4% to 14%.

Pay attention to find good quality laurel berries oil.

Most products that you find are essential oils. The other thing that you find easily and they call it laurel oil is an infusion of the laurel leaves in olive oil.

None of the above is used to make Savon d’Alep.


To make Aleppo soap you need the oil from the laurel berries.

The high quality laurel berries oil is more a paste than oil and it is very highly prized. 

Here I can find it 11 euros for 100ml.


These are some Aleppo soaps that I made:








The above ones are 13% laurel berries oil and the ones below 8% laurel berries oil.




This is how they make it:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTADF_FDbkw[/ame]


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## heartsong

thank you so much for the clarification on the e/o and the soap!  with all the knowledgeable soap makers here, I can't help but learn something new each day!


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## DeeAnna

Ah, thank you for setting the record straight on the bay laurel oil, Dagmar and Sapwn.


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## Lion Of Judah

DeeAnna said:


> Be careful -- bay laurel essential oil (distilled from the leaves -- this is the stuff at Brambleberry) is not the same as bay laurel oil (infusion using the berries). They are not interchangeable.
> 
> Aleppo soaps contain around 20% or so of bay laurel oil (speaking from memory so I might be a little off). If you used that much bay laurel EO in a soap, the odor would be overwhelmingly strong and the EO could be possibly toxic in that amount.
> 
> From what I've read recently, bay laurel oil is difficult to source in the US and is quite expensive if you can find it.



DeeAnna hit the nail right on the head with her reply, she is correct . I have seen blogs and post all over the internet far back as of 2007- 2009 about the elusive "Laurel Bay Oil" . there is only two places i have found it and there are both overseas . and you are looking at something like 12-15 dollars for something less than 10 ounces i think. I refuse to make an olive oil soap unless it contains 15 - 20% laurel oil so safe to say i have never made a . castile soap . i got two bars of soap as a gift and used one and the other going with me to my grave or the shower which ever comes first  . it is a spectacular soap . the outside has one shade of green but the inside has a dazzling leaf green. 
there is a member here that uses laurel from Greece which is one of the source , they are overseas as well. one day i just may break down and just order a few bottles just to get it over with but until then i will hold out .

p.s please not that when i refer to laurel oil i am taking it for granted that it is understood that i am talking about the one used by soap makers in Syria / the other oils that i refer to is out of Spain and Greece


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## Sapwn

Lion Of Judah said:


> it is a spectacular soap . the outside has one shade of green but the inside has a dazzling leaf green.


 

Exaclty!


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## dagmar88

Strange that it's that hard to get and expensive. I pay under 40 € including shipping for 1 kg.


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## Sapwn

You may be lucky to find a cheap source.
But it is more likely that you get a non-100% laurel berries oil.


I can find it here at 10euros 1lt but I‘ve seen it and it is absolute not the same with the expensive one. Insisting to have an answer they told me that it is not 100% laurel oil because they said that laurel oil is a paste with very high viscosity and not practical to use. So they sell it diluted with some other base oil.

The expensive one that I bought was indeed a thick black paste that was quite solid and I had to microwave it to take it out of the bottle.

　
This is the reason for finding in the market soaps that say they are made with 40 or 50% laurel oil. They use diluted laurel oil, so the 50% they say is actually about 10% of true laurel oil in the final soap.


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## dagmar88

It's 100%, just more common in that region.


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## Lion Of Judah

dagmar88 said:


> Strange that it's that hard to get and expensive. I pay under 40 € including shipping for 1 kg.




Where is it coming from ?


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## Lion Of Judah

Sapwn said:


> Exaclty!




 Yes !!! that is the " Green Gold " of soaps  lol / got me tempted to look at my last bar that is hidden away .


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## robtr31

get Bay Laurel  seeds at richters,  you can  grow your own  or a few acres and sell the oil 



http://www.richters.com/Web_store/w...=&prodclass=Dried_Herbs&cart_id=3209056.15140


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## manwithbeers

I understand this soap is also commonly made with seawater. Any truth to this? If so what effect does that have on the soap quality? I would expect low lathering but maybe conditioning is better for it?

I'm interested in the style and would like to produce an homage soap even if it would not contain the elusive Bay Laurel Oil. 

My yard and most of my neighbours yards are surrounded by laurel, (Hedges). I'm wondering how hard it might be to express the oil from the berries which are quite plentiful this year.


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## lunaticsoap

Well, after making castile soap, my new aim is to make Aleppo Soap.
There are very few info about Aleppo Soap Recipe.
I already watched Soaping 101 video and there she says
78% olive oil
22% bay laurel (berry) oil
6 ounces of  ... spring water
2 ounces of lye.

Three questions (consider that I am a rookie)

1- What is the total amount of Oil ?
2- Why she mixed with lye solution with olive oil first? than she add bay laurel oil? Superfatting (maybe %5 with only bay laurel oil) ?
3- Who has recipe about Aleppo Soap? 


Thanks in advance
Mustafa


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## lunaticsoap

Well nobody answered, anyway i found a way. 

People who had done Aleppo Soap before, I have one simple question. How long did you wait for curing. I know it depends, but 4 weeks are enough, or 6 months are needed ?

P.S. I do not use dehumidifier, fans, etc.

Conditions : ~30 C average for the next 1 month, Humidity : ~%35 (I do not know if any other info needed.)


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## smeetree

Sapwn said:


> To make Aleppo soap you need the oil from the laurel berries.
> 
> The high quality laurel berries oil is more a paste than oil and it is very highly prized.



Can you describe any other properties of laurel oil, such as color, scent, texture, etc? I'd like to know if the oil I found is good quality. Thank you


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## Sapwn

smeetree said:


> Can you describe any other properties of laurel oil, such as color, scent, texture, etc? I'd like to know if the oil I found is good quality. Thank you





This is it:







It has a particular scent, but I don't know how to describe it


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## Jstar

Ahh! So Laurel oil 'is' black...


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## Margo

Bay Laurel Oil is not the same as Laurel Berry Fruit Oil.  One is an essential oil made from the leaves and the other is a carrier oil made from the fruit


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## chela1261

Sarah Milroy from Spicy Pinecone has a great video on making Allepo soap and provides a link to BeSented out of Washington State that sell Laurel berries oil between $25.95-49.95


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## shunt2011

Margo said:


> Bay Laurel Oil is not the same as Laurel Berry Fruit Oil. One is an essential oil made from the leaves and the other is a carrier oil made from the fruit


 
This post is from 2013/14 and most posters haven't been here in a long time.


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