Soap Explained

Evidence of soap making can be traced as early back to 2800 BC (and probably earlier). 
Different civilizations naturally discovered that after cooking animal fats and seeing the fats react with wood ashes from the fire, a substance was created that could help lift dirt from their skin and clothes. This process has been refined to the modern day where we use all sorts of different oils and fats to create soap through the process of saponification. While instead of wood ash today we use 100% sodium hydroxide, the process remains more or less the same. 

Cold process soaps of mixed oils are generally cured for 4-6 weeks, although with a longer curing time the soaps should have a longer longevity. Once you have a soap in use, it is important to keep it in a dish that allows for effective draining and in a place in your bathroom where it can properly dry between uses. 

My family has Lebanese and Palestinian roots, so I create Saboon Baladi and it is available seasonally in the shop with my family's seal. This castille soap is made with only olive oil and water (and sometimes a little salt). It takes at least 6 months to cure and as all with all soaps, it has a higher quality the longer it is aged. I also create Laurel Berry/Aleppo Soaps. 

When I was living in Spain, I had a close friend who taught me how to make jabón batido, which is a blended olive oil soap for facial care. I also have this available seasonally. 

All the soaps listed in the shop have at least one key local ingredient and are formulated with careful thought. In my soap cooking pots are scents of home, tastes of now, and hopes for a more healed tomorrow. :)