On the shelf, a 200 gram bar of Aleppo soap can cost three euros or fifteen. Same weight, same name, sometimes the same green cube on the packaging. The gap is puzzling, and it deserves a straight answer, because it comes down to neither margin nor chance.

An industry rebuilding from very little

Before 2011, the Aleppo region produced between 20,000 and 30,000 tonnes of soap a year according to available estimates. After 2012, output fell below 1,000 tonnes. Figures vary between sources, but the order of magnitude tells the same story: an entire industry cut down to a fraction of itself.

It is restarting today, one soap house at a time. That restart has a cost, and the cost shows up in the finished product. We told this story in detail in our article on the revival of Aleppo soap and in the one covering its addition to UNESCO’s heritage list.

What actually makes up the price

Laurel berry oil. This is the rare, expensive ingredient. The berries are hand-picked, the season is short, and the oil yield is low. A soap at 35% laurel costs mechanically more than one at 5%. That is the first explanation for a price gap between two bars that look identical.

Nine months of curing. Authentic Aleppo soap air-dries for around nine months, the time its surface takes to turn from green to gold. Throughout those nine months the stock is produced, stored, monitored, and earns nothing. That tied-up capital has a price.

Seasonal production. Cauldron cooking runs from November to March. A soap house cannot simply produce year-round to meet a demand peak.

Shipping and paperwork. Importing from Syria is not a standard shipment. Lead times, insurance and customs checks add a layer of cost that a soap made a few hundred kilometres away never carries.

Why a very low price should raise a question

When a soap sold as Aleppo soap drops very low, one of those cost lines has been cut. Minimal laurel content, shortened curing, substitute oils cheaper than olive oil, or production somewhere other than Syria with European packaging.

None of this is illegal. But you are no longer buying the same product. The useful reflex stays the same: read the composition and check the stated laurel oil percentage. Our percentage guide sets out which one matches your skin.

What your purchase supports

Behind a cube of soap there are berry pickers, cauldron workers, families for whom this is one of the few stable activities in a region rebuilding itself. Paying a fair price is not paying more on principle. It funds a chain that is still standing.

Our master soapmaker, a partner in Organic Bio Tech, has been making this soap for over twenty years. We do not negotiate a price with an anonymous supplier: we sit on the other side of the table, which is how we know exactly what each step costs and why.

• Solid Aleppo soap, 20% laurel for delicate skin.
• Solid Aleppo soap, 35% laurel for very sensitive or irritated skin.
• 4-in-1 liquid Aleppo soap for body, face, hands and hair.

Browse the full range at maisondulaurier.fr.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Aleppo soap more expensive than Marseille soap?

Two main reasons: laurel berry oil, hand-harvested and far costlier than olive oil alone, and the nine months of curing during which the stock is tied up. Classic Marseille soap carries neither constraint.

Is cheap Aleppo soap necessarily poor quality?

Not necessarily poor, but different. A low price usually means low laurel oil content, which suits normal skin perfectly well for daily use. The problem arises when a low-content bar is presented as equivalent to a heavily dosed one.

How long does a bar of Aleppo soap last?

Between one and two months with daily use, provided you let it dry between uses on a draining soap dish. Measured against its lifespan, its real cost often comes in below that of a shower gel.