The Traditional Laundry Soap: Savon de Marseille

Savon de Marseille flakes are produced by grating traditional Marseille soap made from vegetable oils.

Dissolved in hot water, the flakes create a simple liquid laundry soap widely used for washing delicate fabrics, everyday clothing and household linen.

Because the formulation contains no fragrance, enzymes or optical brighteners, it is particularly valued for baby clothes and garments worn close to the skin.

Botanical and Aleppo Soap Laundry

Alongside Marseille soap, other traditional soap formulations are also used in laundry.

Aleppo soap flakes are made from olive oil and laurel oil, following the same principle of vegetable oil saponification used for centuries across the Mediterranean.

Some soap flakes are enriched with essential oils such as lavender, bergamot or verbena, providing naturally scented laundry while maintaining the same soap-based washing method.

Soap Laundry in the Modern Home

While soap flakes remain widely used, some households prefer a more direct format.

Concentrated soap laundry powders provide the same soap-based cleaning method in a form designed for modern washing machines.

Both approaches rely on the same simple principle: vegetable oil soap dissolves grease and allows dirt to rinse away naturally with water.