With the craze for homemade cleaning and natural cosmetics, three soaps are everywhere: black soap, Marseille soap and Aleppo soap. They are often used interchangeably, sometimes for laundry, sometimes on the skin. Yet they do not share the same composition or the same uses, and confusing them can be costly, for your laundry as well as your skin.

Black soap: mainly for the home and garden

Black soap is a soft paste, based on oil (often olive or linseed) and potash. It is an excellent household cleaner and an ally in the garden against certain pests. On the skin, it is reserved for exfoliation at the hammam. For washing delicate laundry, however, it is too alkaline and can, over time, dull the fibres.

Marseille soap: versatile, but beware of imitations

Real Marseille soap, based on vegetable oils, is a good household soap and a decent backup for laundry. The problem is that many products sold under this name contain animal fats or additives. For laundry, it is better to check the composition.

Aleppo soap: first and foremost a skincare soap

Aleppo soap, for its part, is above all a washing soap for the skin. Its richness in olive oil and laurel oil makes it a gentle product for the face and body, including sensitive skin. You can use it for daily washing, as an occasional solid shampoo, or to gently clean baby clothes and woollens, precisely because it is so mild.

A real Aleppo soap means a real soap maker

At Maison du Laurier, we work with a master soap maker who is himself the partner of Organic Bio Tech. In other words, our know-how does not stop at simple reselling: it is in the hands of the craftsman who makes the soap. This lets us control the recipe, the quality of the oils and the curing time, and guarantee the traceability of every bar.

This matters, because the market also includes products whose origin is less clear. To choose well, the safest reflex is to read the composition and find out the real origin of the soap, rather than relying solely on a claim on the packaging. An authentic Aleppo soap shows a short recipe (olive oil, laurel berry oil, water, soda) and an identifiable maker.

In short

For cleaning and the garden, think black soap. For versatile cleaning, authentic Marseille soap does the job. And to care for your skin every day, Aleppo soap remains the most suitable. The good reflex: read the ingredient list and choose according to the real use, not the reputation.

For a gentle, natural wash, choose an authentic and traceable Aleppo soap. Discover our range.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between black, Marseille and Aleppo soap?

Black soap is mainly for cleaning and the garden, Marseille soap for versatile cleaning, and Aleppo soap for caring for the skin.

Can you wash laundry with Aleppo soap?

Yes, gently, for delicate laundry, baby clothes and woollens.

How do you recognise a real Aleppo soap?

A short composition (olive, laurel, water, soda), a green heart under a golden crust, and an identifiable maker.