Which Marseille soap to choose for your laundry?

When doing your own laundry, it’s important to choose the right soap. Since different qualities are available on the market, and it’s not always easy to choose the right basic product, here we explain why and how.

That way, you’re sure to end up with a natural detergent that’s effective, practical, won’t clog your washing machine and is 100% healthy for the planet!

Why Savon de Marseille?

Whether it’s at home, in our laundry our reconstituted detergents or in our workshops, we use a lot of Marseille soap. It’s a great stain remover that respects your clothes, doesn’t come from too far away, is economical, practical, gentle on the skin and 100% biodegradable.

Real Marseille soap is made by hot saponification, and must contain at least 70% olive oil. The rest: water, salt, caustic soda, a trace of glycerine due to the saponification process. Basta. In theory, that is!

Because different qualities are available on the market. As the name Marseille soap is not protected, the ingredients can vary, and there are sometimes undesirables in its composition, notably… palm oil! When we first started out, we were fooled too!

Palm oil was historically used in soap-making because it makes it hard. But given the ethical and environmental issues involved, we’re trying to avoid it.
What’s more, a soap made with palm oil will be richer in glycerine, more oily, and your detergent will be more compact, even gelatinous… gloups!

So which Marseille soap should you choose for your laundry?

The color

Rely on the color: if the soap is white, beware! It often reveals the presence of palm oil. A green soap is already an indicator that it contains a good percentage of olive oil, and probably no palm oil.

But beware: some of our local soap-makers produce an excellent white Marseille soap that contains no palm!

The olive oil may have been replaced by coconut or sunflower oil. The color is light, but not necessarily palm oil.

That’s why we’re keeping an eye out for the second indicative track.

The composition

Check the composition: it must clearly indicate the type of oil used, ideally at least 72% olive oil. Look for “sodium olivate”, or even “cocoate” or “sunflowerate”, and flee if the components indicate “sodium palmate”.

Very often, if it only says “vegetable oils”, it means there’s a mixture, and you can be sure there’s some palm oil in it. Put your soap down, and choose another!

So don’t hesitate to play detective, ask for information in store and take a photo of the packaging so you can go back later and search the net for any information missing on the packaging!