Aleppo Soap! The real thing!!!

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I thought that Aleppo soap was salted out - or are these updated 'Bleppo' soap methods?

* bleppo being to Aleppo what Bastile is to Castile

 

[Pims]

Traditional Aleppo is boiled and salted out. My questions still apply though.

 

[Bubli]

I just got some aleppo soap today in the mail that I ordered.....I'm kind of not sure about it, though I haven't tried it yet. This may found strange but have you ever heard that saying,"so ugly it's just too cute?"
It smells wierd, peppery, cardboard, stale-like. But I'm not complaining I'm just saying. And hard as a brick! I want to cut it open so bad but don't want to mess it up. So here is some pics, does it look normal?
I ordered some laurel berry oil and the best EVOO I could find. I hope to try my hand at it soon.

 

[Bubli]

I could kick myself, but I had to see the green for myself! Wow it IS green! Very creamy, silky lather. Lathers fast and thick and no more drying than any other mild soap, but also not especially moisturizing either. The smell, I'll have to learn to like it, but it's not terrible just peppery like. I love it!

 

[Lion Of Judah]

Bubli , something looks wrong with your soap , i will give you my mailing address so you can send it to me . i can't "put my finger " on it but something is strange about it . where did your get your Laurel berry oil from?
I'm sitting on a bar myself which i refuse to use , i got two bars as a gift and use one ..... it's everything like your bar just a different block type brick of soap. one thingi must say is i do not find it slimy in the slightest.

 

[Dorymae]

Goodness, don't feel bad about using your Aleppo soap! That is as bad as the aunt who won't use your soap because it is too pretty!

They make a lot of it and you can always order more if you want to!

 

[Bubli]

My laurel berry oil came, and now I'm kind of unsure.This is more pasty/thin gel-like constancy than oil.smells awesome!i can see how the soap takes on a peppery smell. Are there any soap makers with some aleppo under their belt that could throw done pointers my way?
What would be a good %?
Should it be warmed to liquefy?
Do I add it at trace or combine it with olive oil from the start?
Will this oil cause the soap to behave any differently that any other soap?
Thanks in advance.

AND I THINK THIS COMPANY IS ON THIS FORUM,just wath you to know this product it great!


Sorry here's the pic of the laurel berry oil.

 

[IrishLass]

My laurel berry oil came, and now I'm kind of unsure.This is more pasty/thin gel-like constancy than oil.smells awesome!i can see how the soap takes on a peppery smell. Are there any soap makers with some aleppo under their belt that could throw done pointers my way?
What would be a good %?
Should it be warmed to liquefy?
Do I add it at trace or combine it with olive oil from the start?
Will this oil cause the soap to behave any differently that any other soap?
Thanks in advance.

AND I THINK THIS COMPANY IS ON THIS FORUM,just wath you to know this product it great!

Bubli- here are some threads that I think may be of help from those who have made it:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=38858&highlight=aleppo

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=42491&highlight=aleppo

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=38938&highlight=aleppo


IrishLass

 

[enchantedfrogpond]

This is a 2-part question:

I'm confused about the Laurel Berry Oil content in soap. I've read on some websites that the higher the LBO content, the more drying the soap can be (LBO does have a significant lauric acid content so this makes sense to me). However some websites (and some forum posts) state that the higher the LBO content, the more moisturizing the soap is.

I'm wondering if this discrepancy has to do with how much of the LBO is added as a superfat in a hot process after the olive oil has been saponified. And this brings me to the second part of my question:

It seems that traditionally the LBO is added after saponification of the olive oil - so in other words, as a superfat. However I find it hard to believe that the 30% and 40% LBO soaps have a 30% or 40% superfat content. Sounds like the soap would go rancid quickly if that were the case. And in fact, it seems to me that the traditional method of boiling soap should leave a superfat content of 0%. In which case, I'm not sure I understand why the LBO is added towards the end of the cook.

Can anyone shed some light on these issues?

Thanks!

Hi Pims!
I realize this post was a while ago, but you had many of the same questions I am having about Aleppo soap; I am wondering if you were ever able to resolve them? I have never come across 30 or 40% LBO soaps, but I've heard the range of 2-20% repeated often. It does make sense that the LBO is intended as a superfat if you consider the technology the earliest soapmakers were working with - no soapcalc, no precise chemical conversion rates and no knowledge of fatty acid properties. A soap with a 20% superfat would surely justify a year-long curing period and given the olive oil content, would probably still yield a rock-hard bar of soap. I recently purchased a small quantity of LBO and I'll be giving Aleppo soap a try over the next couple days. I still have no idea about what it means to "salt out" this soap, so I'd be tremendously grateful for any pointers you might have.

Thanks!

 

[Pims]

Hi Pims!
I realize this post was a while ago, but you had many of the same questions I am having about Aleppo soap; I am wondering if you were ever able to resolve them? I have never come across 30 or 40% LBO soaps, but I've heard the range of 2-20% repeated often. It does make sense that the LBO is intended as a superfat if you consider the technology the earliest soapmakers were working with - no soapcalc, no precise chemical conversion rates and no knowledge of fatty acid properties. A soap with a 20% superfat would surely justify a year-long curing period and given the olive oil content, would probably still yield a rock-hard bar of soap. I recently purchased a small quantity of LBO and I'll be giving Aleppo soap a try over the next couple days. I still have no idea about what it means to "salt out" this soap, so I'd be tremendously grateful for any pointers you might have.

Thanks!

Hi EFP,

Since my original post, I've bought Aleppo soap from a company in Spain called Inkanat or Inkanature. I've purchased 12% and 20%. No question the 20% bars generate less lather and feel more moisturizing. I expect the 20% has a higher superfat content - it feels like there is more unsaponified oil in the bar.

They are both exceptional soaps by the way, if you are looking for mild skincare. My favourite soaps in the winter.

Hope this helps.

 

[DeeAnna]

If you really want to make a traditional boiled soap that is salted out, you aren't going to get a soap with much, if any, superfat. This method instead produces a soap with little or no superfat -- in fact, it is very easy to end up with a slightly lye heavy product.

Stick to a CP or HP method if you really do want a superfatted soap.

 

[topofmurrayhill]

Are there any traditional castile soapmaking methods that have a superfat? Not certain, but if making a bet I would have to run with no.

It actually makes terribly good sense to saponify that laurel berry oil, seeing as apparently lauric acid is named after it. In other words, regardless what other traditional characteristics it adds (color, odor), I bet it came to be used because it makes bubbles. Like adding coconut oil to your OO soap.

(I'm not an HP guy or a salter-outer, but it would be interesting to try making this soap using something like the Andalusian grandma 6:6:1 CP method. I suspect the trick to making that work in a reasonable time without kludges or separation anxiety might be high-FFA olive oil. That's the one thing nobody seems to have tried replicating.)

 

[AnotherBozo]

I bought a couple bars of Aleppo soap today at my local Middle East grocer. Notable is that they are labeled with percentages of the ingredients as follows:
90% Olive Oil
7% Laurel oil
3% Alkali

They smell real nice, and were pretty cheap. One weighed 6.7oz, the other 7.9oz. Second pic shows it cut open. It was very hard and cracked into shards.

I washed my face with it after mowing the lawn earlier. It performs like a long-cured vegetable oil soap. My face got clean.

 

[LBussy]

I washed my face with it after mowing the lawn earlier. It performs like a long-cured vegetable oil soap. My face got clean.

No choirs of angels?

Depending what part of Kansas you are in, that may be good timing. I hope you are not in th path of the storms tonight.

 

[AnotherBozo]

Yeah, it's not lost on me that if I had paid 4x as much (it's 8 bucks on Amazon for what looks like the identical product) I would be inclined to like it 4x as much, if only to justify my purchase decision.

It's a nice bar of soap. You're in KC right? Go get a couple from Pak Halal on 87th just west of I35.

 

[LBussy]

I am, thanks, I'll check it out!