# Aleppo Soap



## Ellacho (Oct 7, 2014)

I made my very first Aleppo soap using salt water. 

70% - Organic ex virgin olive oil 
30% - Laurel berry oil 
No EO/FO

Everything went well until I was ready to cut the soap. It was as hard as a rock after 24 hours and it started to crumble as I was cutting. Salt may be the culprit.

I am not sure what those white spots are in the middle. Could they be air bubbles? 

I hope it will turn into a green center in a few months. Will it?

Next to my fresh new soap, the brown soap is real Aleppo soap that I bought from a local Pakistani grocery.


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## Ellacho (Oct 7, 2014)

Here is one more picture.


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## snappyllama (Oct 7, 2014)

Nice!  I've never tried Aleppo soap before, how is it?


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## KatsKreations (Oct 7, 2014)

I could not find where to get the laurel oil. I have been wanting to try to make this soap. I was reading it takes about 8 months to cure. Is this something you have made before?


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## Ellacho (Oct 7, 2014)

snappyllama said:


> Nice!  I've never tried Aleppo soap before, how is it?



This Aleppo soap(from a Pakistani store) has 7% laurel berry.  I did not see much of bubbles(like castile or bastile) but it was gentle to my skin and did not dry out the skin. Overall, I like it.


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## Ellacho (Oct 7, 2014)

KatsKreations said:


> I could not find where to get the laurel oil. I have been wanting to try to make this soap. I was reading it takes about 8 months to cure. Is this something you have made before?



No, it's my very first time making this soap. I had no idea about Aleppo soap until I joined this forum. Right here in the forum, I learned about Aleppo soap and where to purchase the laurel berry oil! 

 If you are interested, here is where I got my laurel oil. Since the company is located in Canada, I took the advantage of free shipping on an order over $50.00. I ended up buying 2kg! But I think it was worth it. 


http://sinfullywholesome.com/

But you can also get it from here too:

http://www.newyorksoapmakingsupplies.com/


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## KatsKreations (Oct 7, 2014)

Thank you so much!!! I have been looking like crazy. Maybe I can hint at a Christmas present LOL


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## nframe (Oct 7, 2014)

Ellacho said:


> I made my very first Aleppo soap using salt water.
> 
> 70% - Organic ex virgin olive oil
> 30% - Laurel berry oil
> No EO/FO



Your soap looks lovely.  You say you used salt water.  How much salt did you use?


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## Ellacho (Oct 7, 2014)

KatsKreations said:


> Thank you so much!!! I have been looking like crazy. Maybe I can hint at a Christmas present LOL



You are welcome .


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## Ellacho (Oct 7, 2014)

nframe said:


> Your soap looks lovely.  You say you used salt water.  How much salt did you use?



Thanks Nframe. I added 25% salt to the water.


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## nframe (Oct 7, 2014)

Ellacho said:


> Thanks Nframe. I added 25% salt to the water.



Sorry to be a pain.  Is that 25% of the water weight or 25% of the oil weight?


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## Ellacho (Oct 7, 2014)

nframe said:


> Sorry to be a pain.  Is that 25% of the water weight or 25% of the oil weight?



Sorry for the confusion. It's 25% of the water weight.  

59g(2.1oz)-  Sea salt 
234g(8.25oz) -  Distilled water


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## Ellacho (Oct 7, 2014)

I dissolved the salt in the water first & then added the lye.


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## nframe (Oct 7, 2014)

Ellacho said:


> I dissolved the salt in the water first & then added the lye.



Thank you so much.  I have made Aleppo-style soap before but I never added salt.  This appeals to me.  I'll give it a try.


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## LunaSkye (Oct 7, 2014)

Ellacho said:


> No, it's my very first time making this soap. I had no idea about Aleppo soap until I joined this forum. Right here in the forum, I learned about Aleppo soap and where to purchase the laurel berry oil!
> 
> If you are interested, here is where I got my laurel oil. Since the company is located in Canada, I took the advantage of free shipping on an order over $50.00. I ended up buying 2kg! But I think it was worth it.
> 
> ...



I actually wanted to buy a soap combo from Sinfully Wholesome. It makes little sense to do so, but a part of me didn't want to risk a mess-up from making an aleppo soap.

Your aleppo soaps look like nice and they already have a greenish tint to it.  I hope to see more pics down the line.


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## Ellacho (Oct 7, 2014)

LunaSkye said:


> I actually wanted to buy a soap combo from Sinfully Wholesome. It makes little sense to do so, but a part of me didn't want to risk a mess-up from making an aleppo soap.
> 
> Your aleppo soaps look like nice and they already have a greenish tint to it.  I hope to see more pics down the line.



LunaSkye,  I look forward to seeing your Aleppo soap !


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## LunaSkye (Oct 7, 2014)

Ellacho said:


> LunaSkye,  I look forward to seeing your Aleppo soap !



Until I can get my funds up, it will be a long way coming.


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## CanaDawn (Oct 7, 2014)

It won't turn bright green.  Aleppo that will be brilliant green in the centre starts that way and the outside changes to gold as it ages.  The colour you have will be the inside, and the outside will age to a more golden colour.


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## Ellacho (Oct 9, 2014)

nframe said:


> Thank you so much.  I have made Aleppo-style soap before but I never added salt.  This appeals to me.  I'll give it a try.



Hey Nframe, I forgot to ask. Did you like your Apleppo-style soap? Did it feel like a bastile soap? Or even better?


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## nframe (Oct 10, 2014)

Ellacho said:


> Hey Nframe, I forgot to ask. Did you like your Apleppo-style soap? Did it feel like a bastile soap? Or even better?



Sorry to reply so late but I did not see your message until now.  I have just washed my hands with my first Aleppo soap and the lather is lovely.  It lathers more than a Castille soap that I made shortly after.  It still smells lovely and I like it better.  Here is a picture of the first Aleppo soap - it is a lot greener than the last one.

The second picture is the latest one, following your recipe.  It is a sort of mustard yellow rather than green.  The colour is due to the laurel bay oil.  The first one I purchased was a very deep green whereas this one is a more browny-green.  The first soap contained 35% laurel bay oil whereas the second one contains 30%.   Both are scented with laurel essential oil.  The addition of salt has made this second one a lot harder.  Now I have to be patient before I can use it...  That's the hardest part!


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## katz2711 (Oct 10, 2014)

Wow, the color of that first soap is incredible!

I just got my laurel fruit oil in and will make some Aleppo soap soon. Your picture has me even more excited about it


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## Obsidian (Oct 10, 2014)

For those who have made or bought aleppo soap, does it have the slime of plain castile?


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## nframe (Oct 10, 2014)

Obsidian said:


> For those who have made or bought aleppo soap, does it have the slime of plain castile?



I don't think so.


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## Ellacho (Oct 10, 2014)

Thank you nframe ! Wow, I love the light green color of your first batch of the soap! Yeah, my laurel berry oil is a more browny-green so my soaps look like your second batch. I also poured the soap batter into two individual molds when I made the Aleppo soap and these two came out really lovely, not crumbly at all.


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## Ellacho (Oct 10, 2014)

Obsidian said:


> For those who have made or bought aleppo soap, does it have the slime of plain castile?



No, it does not have the slime.


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## CanaDawn (Oct 11, 2014)

katz2711 said:


> Wow, the color of that first soap is incredible!
> 
> I just got my laurel fruit oil in and will make some Aleppo soap soon. Your picture has me even more excited about it



I always feel like I have to warn people that it will NOT stay that colour....:smile:
The outside will age to brown/gold.
I'll stop now...


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## katz2711 (Oct 11, 2014)

@CanaDawn: it was simply a compliment which doesn't mean I'm ignorant regarding Aleppo soap. People assume things too quickly.


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## CanaDawn (Oct 11, 2014)

katz2711 said:


> @CanaDawn: it was simply a compliment which doesn't mean I'm ignorant regarding Aleppo soap. People assume things too quickly.



Relax.  I didn't assume anything, and I added in at least two smileys.  I never said you were ignorant - something you assumed I meant....   I was KIDDING....poking fun at MYSELF.  :roll:


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## katz2711 (Oct 11, 2014)

Alright, maybe just not my type of humor.


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## LBussy (Oct 11, 2014)

So the only place I've seen the Laurel oil is that place in NY and that is PRICEY stuff.  Are there any other sources?

I was watching the news and realized the bombed out buildings I was looking at were in Aleppo.  It may be that once the supply chain runs out it's done (for real Aleppo soap anyway).


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## Ellacho (Oct 11, 2014)

LBussy said:


> So the only place I've seen the Laurel oil is that place in NY and that is PRICEY stuff.  Are there any other sources?
> 
> I was watching the news and realized the bombed out buildings I was looking at were in Aleppo.  It may be that once the supply chain runs out it's done (for real Aleppo soap anyway).



From my research, only those two places sell laurel berry oil in bulk in the US/Canada. Yeah, it is one of the expensive oils... . But then I realized that I sometime buy organic jojoba oil and pay about the same price and size as laurel berry oil in US (plus shipping charge).  So I figured with the free shipping charge, it was worth it to buy it when I could. I really don't think I would purchase it again - at least not for a long time. Right now, I keep them in the freezer.


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## katz2711 (Oct 11, 2014)

My bet is that there is a trade embargo with Syria right now which makes real Aleppo soap pretty much impossible to get. I say this because the soap is readily available in Europe through several websites:

http://www.lorbeer-de.com/index.php?route=common/home

Also, on my laurel fruit oil it says "Product of Turkey" so hopefully it means the oil remains available for purchase.


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## CanaDawn (Oct 12, 2014)

LBussy said:


> I was watching the news and realized the bombed out buildings I was looking at were in Aleppo.  It may be that once the supply chain runs out it's done (for real Aleppo soap anyway).



Yup, the cost of war isn't just human....so much culture and art and architecture, too.  And economy.    Nothing good about it.


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## smeetree (Dec 3, 2014)

nframe said:


> Sorry to reply so late but I did not see your message until now.  I have just washed my hands with my first Aleppo soap and the lather is lovely.  It lathers more than a Castille soap that I made shortly after.  It still smells lovely and I like it better.  Here is a picture of the first Aleppo soap - it is a lot greener than the last one.
> 
> The second picture is the latest one, following your recipe.  It is a sort of mustard yellow rather than green.  The colour is due to the laurel bay oil.  The first one I purchased was a very deep green whereas this one is a more browny-green.  The first soap contained 35% laurel bay oil whereas the second one contains 30%.   Both are scented with laurel essential oil.  The addition of salt has made this second one a lot harder.  Now I have to be patient before I can use it...  That's the hardest part!



Do you think the 5% difference in laurel bay oil is what caused the dramatic difference in color between your two recipes?


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## smeetree (Dec 3, 2014)

I've been trying to answer my own question regarding color. If you watch this video, note (at the 30 second mark) how rich and dark green the oil is: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTADF_FDbkw[/ame]
I've never seen olive oil like that...it's like Army green. 

That is an awesome video, btw. It's worth watching the entire thing.

Here is some more on color. What we need is oil from *unripe olives*.  

*Colour*  : The colour of olive oil varies from light to dark green or dark  yellow or light. The colour is determined by the substance of dominant  colour of the fruit at harvest. For an olive green, the fruit was picked  early, when he has not had time to mature or half-ripe. The oil usually  has a bitter taste. Olive oil can also have a vivid green colour if the  leaves or twigs of olive trees have been added during grinding. A fruit  not Colour: The colour of olive oil varies from light to dark green or  dark yellow or light.

 The colour is determined by the substance of dominant colour of the  fruit at harvest. For an olive green, the fruit was picked early, when  he has not had time to mature or half-ripe. The oil usually has a bitter  taste. Olive oil can also have a vivid green colour if the leaves or  twigs of olive trees have been added during grinding. An unripe or  half-ripe fruit resulted of the apparition of chlorophyll blue-violet.  Olive oil yellow means that the fruit has ripened before being  harvested.

 If the vivid yellow, this may be the effect of oxidation. When the  colour is dark brown or black, then the oil comes from olives that fall  from the tree branches. Such oil has a lighter taste, sweeter. The  technique of crushing and oil extraction also plays an important role in  determining the colour.


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## Jstar (Dec 3, 2014)

Now THAT is a soap mold baybay!

Awesome video.

As for the OO..I'm thinking it must not be filtered..its too opaque to be so.


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## nframe (Dec 3, 2014)

smeetree said:


> Do you think the 5% difference in laurel bay oil is what caused the dramatic difference in color between your two recipes?



No, I think that the difference in colour is due to the laurel bay oil. The first one I purchased was a very deep green whereas the second one was a more browny-green.  I am not sure where the first one came from - I bought it from a chemist in Germany.  The second one comes from Turkey.


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## smeetree (Dec 3, 2014)

nframe said:


> No, I think that the difference in colour is due to the laurel bay oil. The first one I purchased was a very deep green whereas the second one was a more browny-green.  I am not sure where the first one came from - I bought it from a chemist in Germany.  The second one comes from Turkey.



If you watch further in the video, the laurel bay oil brownish/gold.


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## smeetree (Dec 3, 2014)

Someone in this thread says the mix up the subtitles in the video. That the first dark green is laurel. hm
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=37062


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## Jstar (Dec 4, 2014)

Hm, I didn't get that..here is what was stated:

"The first oil is black, which is the color of pure laurel  oil, *and the second oil green, which is the actual color of olive oil."

*My question now however, is if the laurel is black, and the olive is dark green..whats the lighter brown colored oil that was poured?


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## JustBeachy (Dec 4, 2014)

My thoughts watching the video, is I will never complain about cutting soap again. :lolno:


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## Jstar (Dec 5, 2014)

JustBeachy said:


> My thoughts watching the video, is I will never complain about cutting soap again. :lolno:



Right?? 

However my little thinking wheels are turning now that I saw what they used for a mold...wonder who's garage I can borrow....


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## JustBeachy (Dec 5, 2014)

Haha. I can hear you now. "No really, I'll have it all cleaned up in a couple of days. And your floor will be really clean when I'm done."


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## hud (Dec 5, 2014)

Ellacho said:


> I made my very first Aleppo soap using salt water.
> 
> 70% - Organic ex virgin olive oil
> 30% - Laurel berry oil
> ...


Salt is not one of the ingredient in Aleppo soap.
The bar you have has been aged for long time  that explains the color, also Aleppo soap stays 10 years, 20,30, or forever and it does not go bad. You can save this bar inside your clean clothes drawers it keeps the bugs and the moth away


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## smeetree (Dec 5, 2014)

hud said:


> Salt is not one of the ingredient in Aleppo soap.



Yeah I have never seen it listed as an ingredient, either. Even in the video they don't mention salt. Unless people are assuming salt from the sea water around the area. But that assumes they didn't distil it or use a freshwater source.


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## hud (Dec 5, 2014)

They use fresh natural source of water. The water sources in Syria is one of the best , it's just wonderful. I am talking about the time previous to the current war.


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## Jstar (Dec 5, 2014)

JustBeachy said:


> Haha. I can hear you now. "No really, I'll have it all cleaned up in a couple of days. And your floor will be really clean when I'm done."



Hehehehe!


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## Ellacho (Dec 5, 2014)

hud said:


> Salt is not one of the ingredient in Aleppo soap.
> The bar you have has been aged for long time  that explains the color, also Aleppo soap stays 10, 20,30, or forever and it does not go bad. You can save this bar inside your clean clothes drawers it keeps the bugs and the moth away



Hi Hud, yeah, I knew salt was not one of the ingredients but I purposely made brine salt Aleppo . I like brine salt soap but right now all of my brine salt soaps are weeping including Aleppo. It's rainy in northern California. 

I will be making another batch of Aleppo soap without salt in the future.

I didn't know Aleppo soap lasts that long! Wow! Thanks for the tip!


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## lenarenee (Dec 5, 2014)

Wow I thoroughly enjoyed watching that video. Now I'd really like to have a bar of that....what a process!  Hopefully I'll be able to make some Aleppo in the future, but it won't compare to the authentic  item.


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## hud (Dec 5, 2014)

Ellacho said:


> Hi Hud, yeah, I knew salt was not one of the ingredients but I purposely made brine salt Aleppo . I like brine salt soap but right now all of my brine salt soaps are weeping including Aleppo. It's rainy in northern California.
> 
> I will be making another batch of Aleppo soap without salt in the future.
> 
> I didn't know Aleppo soap lasts that long! Wow! Thanks for the tip!



Hope the sun will rise and your soap will stop weeping
Good luck with your new batch.


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## smeetree (Dec 6, 2014)

So I wrote some olive producers asking about that black/dark olive oil and where to get it. The only other explanation is that in the video they reversed the subtitles and that's laurel berry. We'll see when mine arrives, but I have heard from others that theirs is brownish, which fits the video. It's been frustrating trying to figure this all out.


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## hud (Dec 6, 2014)

I remember the olive oil I got many times from Aleppo (that was at least 10 years ago) was very dark green and it was superior to any other type of olive oil I ever smelled or tasted in my life.


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## Sapwn (Dec 7, 2014)

The olive oil will produce a white bar of soap after 3 months of curing independently of the color of the olive oil or the olives.

The color of Aleppo soap depends on the color and the quality of the laurel oil, the percentage of the laurel oil, and the time of curing. 

One of the main characteristics of Aleppo soap is the long curing time of at least 1 year.
I would not call Aleppo soap a soap that has not cured for at least a year. The longer the curing time, the better the Aleppo soap will be.


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## smeetree (Dec 7, 2014)

Sapwn said:


> The olive oil will produce a white bar of soap after 3 months of curing independently of the color of the olive oil or the olives.



Even pomace? 

Do you think using pomace and genuine laurel bay oil would produce the correct color soap?



hud said:


> I remember the olive oil I got many times from Aleppo (that was at least 10 years ago) was very dark green and it was superior to any other type of olive oil I ever smelled or tasted in my life.



Do you live there, or did you find a supplier?


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## Sapwn (Dec 7, 2014)

smeetree said:


> Even pomace?



Yes, pomace oil produces a white soap bar.






smeetree said:


> Do you think using pomace and genuine laurel bay oil would produce the correct color soap?



I don't know which is "the correct" color for the soap since I have seen many. Moreover, I am not able to regulate the color with a recipe. I just know that more laurel oil I put, the darker the soap will become after 1 year of curing.

This summer I made some batches of 30%, 40% and 50% laurel oil plus extra virgin olive oil (I don't have of any other kind OO, if I had to buy it I would choose pomace oil for soap making). If you have patience I will post some photos in the summer of 2015 to check the differences in colors. :smile:


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## smeetree (Dec 7, 2014)

Sapwn said:


> Yes, pomace oil produces a white soap bar.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Okay that would be cool. I'm about to start my first batch of Aleppo...probably next week when the supplies arrive. I was going to use either 60 or 70% OO and the rest laurel. I like this color: http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/media/news/images/2012/660x390photo_1349355730498-1-0.jpg

Is that green the byproduct of the laurel, then? I heard others on the forum say their laurel was somewhat brownish...


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## Sapwn (Dec 7, 2014)

I beleive that the soap in the photo is at least 40% laurel oil and has been cured for more than a year.

The color of Aleppo soaps is typically green inside and brownish outside. And yes, the color is the byproduct of the laurel oil.
I believe 30% is a good percentage for a high quality Aleppo soap. But have patience, it will be ready no less than a year from the moment you make it.


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## hud (Dec 7, 2014)

Sapwn said:


> The olive oil will produce a white bar of soap after 3 months of curing independently of the color of the olive oil or the olives.
> 
> The color of Aleppo soap depends on the color and the quality of the laurel oil, the percentage of the laurel oil, and the time of curing.
> 
> ...


 Hello Sapwn, my pure EVOO bars and Pomace bars have slightly different light milky color; the pomace bars are a little darker.
I know that EVOO makes hard bar alone, opposite of pomace olive oil which makes soft bar.
I don't think you need to leave your bars in mold for 24 hours, try to unmold them earlier; I am interested to know the rest of your experiment.
Thank you for sharing :razz:.




Sapwn said:


> I beleive that the soap in the photo is at least 40% laurel oil and has been cured for more than a year.
> 
> The color of Aleppo soaps is typically green inside and brownish outside. And yes, the color is the byproduct of the laurel oil.
> I believe 30% is a good percentage for a high quality Aleppo soap. But have patience, it will be ready no less than a year from the moment you make it.


  I believe it was cured at least 6-7 years.



smeetree said:


> Do you live there, or did you find a supplier?


 
I don’t live there. I had the Privilege to be there many times. I got to know many of the natural treasures they had. I am trying to find a supplier. We are in love with Aleppo soap this is why I want to make it.


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## Obsidian (Dec 7, 2014)

hud said:


> Hello Sapwn, my pure EVOO bars and Pomace bars have slightly different light milky color; the pomace bars are a little darker.
> I know that EVOO makes hard bar alone, opposite of pomace olive oil which makes soft bar.



I experianced exactly the opposite. My castile made with pomace was very hard and pure white within 24 hours. Castile made with EVOO is still soft and sticky after a week, it also a light yellowy green color. I used the same amount of water for both batches.

Smee, I'm very curious to see your laurel oil. Can you get a picture of a little bit in a white bowl once it arrives so we can see the color? I'm planning on getting some laurel oil after the holidays.


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## smeetree (Dec 7, 2014)

hud said:


> I believe it was cured at least 6-7 years.



What makes you believe it cured that long?



Obsidian said:


> Smee, I'm very curious to see your laurel oil. Can you get a picture of a little bit in a white bowl once it arrives so we can see the color? I'm planning on getting some laurel oil after the holidays.



Sure I'll photo some in a white bowl.

We're probably getting it from the same supplier on this website. I hope it's the real deal.


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## hud (Dec 7, 2014)

smeetree said:


> What makes you believe it cured that long?


We used it for generations in our family; it works greatly as a shampoo bar, treats a lot of skin problems, we put it all the time among our clothes inside the closets, drawers and it's great for packed clothes to rebel moth, too.
We used it for washing hands, we love Aleppo soap.



Obsidian said:


> I experianced exactly the opposite. My castile made with pomace was very hard and pure white within 24 hours. Castile made with EVOO is still soft and sticky after a week, it also a light yellowy green color. I used the same amount of water for both batches.
> 
> Smee, I'm very curious to see your laurel oil. Can you get a picture of a little bit in a white bowl once it arrives so we can see the color? I'm planning on getting some laurel oil after the holidays.



I have mine both kinds that have been curing for one year. I am describing the cured batches.


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## smeetree (Dec 7, 2014)

hud said:


> I have mine both kinds that have been curing for one year. I am describing the cured batches.



Which type of olive oil gets the color closest to the real aleppo soap? virgin or pomance? In the videos on youtube where they make aleppo soap, the olive oil looks _*very*_ green. Almost an Army green.


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## hud (Dec 8, 2014)

smeetree said:


> Which type of olive oil gets the color closest to the real aleppo soap? virgin or pomance? In the videos on youtube where they make aleppo soap, the olive oil looks _*very*_ green. Almost an Army green.



The extra virgin.


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## smeetree (Dec 8, 2014)

hud said:


> The extra virgin.



Is there a brand you recommend to get the correct color?


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## hud (Dec 8, 2014)

smeetree said:


> Is there a brand you recommend to get the correct color?



 I moved recently, I am not familiar with my new area yet, but I go usually to the authentic stores, Turkish, Indian, Middle Eastern and I ask about the best qualities of EVOO.
There was a gentleman who sells great quality; he said that he is from Palestine. I noticed that their quality and taste is very similar to the quality and taste of the OO from Aleppo city. I say search around your area, ask people, and travel to other cities you should be able to find. I hope this helps. I wish you good luck.


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