Generality
Considered the ancestor of all soaps, Aleppo soap is still a highly appreciated product.
Aleppo soap - also known as Ghar soap - has its roots in a very distant past, when thousands of years ago it began to be produced by the Syrian artisans of the city of Aleppo.
Nowadays, unfortunately, Aleppo soap factories in Syria have been greatly reduced, but this detergent continues to be produced all over the world and, in some cases, still according to ancient traditional methods.
What is Aleppo soap?
Aleppo soap is a solid soap born in Syria, in the city of Aleppo from which the product takes its name. It is a 100% natural soap that does not contain synthetic substances, additives or perfumes. If this were not the case, we could not speak of real Aleppo soap.
The real Aleppo soap, in fact, is produced exclusively by saponification of olive oil with a strong base. At the end of the above reaction, a variable percentage of laurel oil is finally added (obtained by extraction from the Laurus nobilis berry pulp).
The use of these two fine ingredients gives Aleppo soap peculiarities and characteristics that make it a unique product suitable for different uses. Generally, the higher the percentage of contained laurel oil, the more valuable the resulting Aleppo soap is.
Did you know that ...
Aleppo soap has arrived in Europe following the Crusades, with immediate success. It was only after the arrival of this soap in the Western world that the first artisan soap productions began in Italy, France and Spain.
Production
Traditional Aleppo Soap Production Method
The traditional method for producing Aleppo soap is a very ancient artisan method that is thought to date back more than three thousand years ago.
The first phase of the traditional production of this soap consists in collecting the olives and the laurel berries from which the oils necessary for making soap will be obtained. Generally, this collection takes place between August and October. Before extracting the oil, the bay berries must be immersed in boiling water to separate the pulp from the stone. At the end of this separation, only the pulp will be recovered and then squeezed out. Olives, on the other hand, do not need large preparations before pressing.
Once the oils are obtained (generally, in November), the actual production of Aleppo soap can begin. The following are the main points of traditional manufacturing:
- Olive oil is placed in an underground stone cauldron where it is heated by means of a fire positioned below the cauldron.
- Afterwards, a mixture of water and lye is added, continuing the heating in such a way as to allow the hot saponification reaction to take place.
- The dough for olive oil-lye-water mixture is cooked for several days, until a homogeneous mixture (soap paste) with a rather thick consistency is obtained.
- Once this phase is reached, the heating is stopped and the mixture is cooled slightly.
- During this cooling, laurel oil is added in percentages that can vary from 10 to 70% depending on the final product to be obtained. The laurel oil thus added must be perfectly mixed with the rest of the soap paste.
- Subsequently, the soap paste enriched with laurel oil is transferred to special tanks within which it will solidify. At this point, before the mixture has completely rinsed, the soap-makers will have to smooth the surface of the soap paste, so as to make it uniform and homogeneous.
- Once solidified, the resulting soap is cut by hand into square or rectangular blocks. The resulting Aleppo soap rolls can be stamped with the "brand" of the craftsman who produced them.
- Finally, Aleppo soap blocks are placed on special wooden scaffolding on which they will be dried for a period of not less than 9-12 months.
- After this time, Aleppo soap is ready to be used and sold.
Deepening: the lye
Lye is an alkaline substance that is obtained by treating wood ash with boiling water. Although the methods used to prepare this substance are different, we usually proceed by sifting the ash obtained from the combustion of the wood which will then be boiled in water for about two hours.
The lye thus obtained can contain basic compounds such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide and salts such as sodium and potassium carbonates (these salts, dissolved in water, give rise to basic hydrolysis and give the final solution a basic pH).
Modern Method of Production of Aleppo Soap
Being a very special product, the real Aleppo soap is still produced today following the traditional method to which, however, some changes have been made. These changes were made to improve the quality of the soap, to facilitate production and to allow greater safety both during the manufacturing phase and during the use of the finished product.
First of all, to make saponification of olive oil happen, lye is no longer used but a solution of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) is used. In addition to this, heating methods are used which allow greater control of the heat supplied to the reaction. Temperatures too high or too low, in fact, could compromise the success of saponification.
Finally, the production of Aleppo soap, although it respects the traditional canons, must in any case be carried out in suitable environments, following strict hygienic standards and specific production and quality control criteria that are normally governed by the law of the country in which the soap of Aleppo is produced.
Chemical Aspects
Chemical Aspects of Aleppo Soap Production: Saponification
The production of Aleppo soap takes place thanks to a largely exploited chemical reaction: saponification .
From the chemical point of view, saponification is a basic hydrolysis of an ester carried out using a strong base.
Specifically in the production of Aleppo soap, the strong base used is sodium hydroxide, while esters are represented by the triglycerides contained in olive oil . The triglycerides contained in the laurel oil, on the other hand, are not affected by the basic hydrolysis, if not minimally, since the oil in question is added when the saponification reaction has now come to an end.
Features
Features and Properties of Aleppo Soap
Aleppo soap looks like a stick with a very hard consistency, yellow-brown on the outside and green inside. This characteristic color is due to the drying process. In fact, before drying, Aleppo soap is green in color due to its content of olive oil and laurel oil. During the drying, however, the surface of the soap oxidizes, thus giving rise to the classic brownish coloring.
The scent of Aleppo soap is delicate and characteristic and recalls the smell of olive oil, but above all the fragrance of laurel oil, to which many attribute the ability to relax the mind and body.
Like all soaps produced by a saponification reaction, Aleppo soap has a basic pH . Despite this, many believe that this soap is one of the most delicate solid soaps produced by a saponification reaction.
In addition to the classic detergent properties, antibacterial, purifying and anti-inflammatory properties are also attributed to this product. These activities are mainly attributable to laurel oil used to enrich the Aleppo soap formulation. In this regard, we recall that - in general - the greater the percentage of laurel oil contained, the greater the value of soap. However, it is important to point out that high concentrations of laurel oil may not be well tolerated by particularly sensitive skin and / or dry skin. Therefore, individuals with delicate skin should opt for using Aleppo soap with not too high laurel oil concentrations (10-12%).
Did you know that ...
The real Aleppo soap does not contain antioxidants or preservatives and, for this reason, it cannot be stored for long periods, but for a few months at the most.
Furthermore, even during storage, it is necessary to respect certain indications, such as avoiding closed plastic containers and instead prefer storage on wooden soap dishes.
Loans
Uses of Aleppo Soap
Aleppo soap can be considered a multipurpose product, since - in addition to cleansing the skin of hands and body - it can also be used for:
- Cleanse the hair in place of the classic shampoo (in detail, Aleppo soap seems to be particularly effective in combating dandruff, but at the same time, it can dry out hair if used too often, so it must be used sparingly).
- Cleanse oily, impure and acne-prone skin: the purifying, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of Aleppo soap seem to be able to improve the condition of these types of skin, without irritating or overly affecting them. Of course, eye contact should be avoided in any case.
- Wash the laundry by hand.
- Perfume cabinets and drawers. Moreover, thanks to the presence of laurel oil, Aleppo soap can be used inside the wardrobe as a natural anti-moth remedy.
Finally, Aleppo soap can also be used to produce a foam to be used both during shaving and shaving.
When NOT to use Aleppo Soap
Among the uses that would be best avoided, we recall the use for intimate cleansing . Aleppo soap, in fact - due to its inevitably basic pH - could exert an excessively aggressive cleansing action for this delicate area of the body.
Of course, the use of Aleppo soap should be avoided even in the event of a known allergy to any of its components.
Did you know that ...
According to some doctors, Aleppo soap can be useful in relieving symptoms induced by dermatitis and other skin disorders. However, the real utility and safety of use of Aleppo soap in the presence of various types of skin disorders is a topic that raises quite conflicting opinions. In fact, according to several authors, the use of Aleppo soap with very high laurel oil concentrations (50-70%) could give rise to severe irritation and dermatitis.
For this reason, patients suffering from skin disorders and disorders of any kind should seek advice from their dermatologist before using Aleppo soap.
