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MAISON BERTHE GUILHEM
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STANDARD DELIVERY - £3.95 (tracked 48hr)
NEXT DAY DELIVERY* Free over £50 or £4.95
ORDER BY 11AM SATURDAY FOR SUNDAY DELIVERY*
CLICK & COLLECT - Free
Order by phone: 01423 803080
Made in Ariège in the Pyrenees
📐
Botanical Laundry Soap with Essential Oil
These botanical soap flakes are a traditional laundry soap made from cold-saponified vegetable oils, lightly fragranced with fresh bergamot essential oil.
Produced from organic sunflower and coconut oils, the soap cleans fabrics effectively while remaining gentle on fibres and skin. The flakes dissolve easily in warm water and are suitable for both machine washing and hand washing.
Because the formulation is based on true soap rather than synthetic detergents, it washes clothing thoroughly while avoiding optical brighteners, enzymes and artificial fragrance blends.
The Character of Bergamot
Bergamot essential oil is known for its bright citrus fragrance, widely used in fine perfumery and traditional soaps.
In laundry it leaves fabrics with a clean, uplifting scent that feels fresh rather than strongly perfumed. The citrus character makes it particularly suitable for garments that benefit from a light, revitalising wash.
Bergamot-scented soap flakes work especially well for:
• everyday clothing
• shirts and lightweight fabrics
• bed linen and towels
• garments stored in wardrobes and drawers
Cold-Saponified Vegetable Soap
These flakes are produced by cold saponification, where vegetable oils react with alkali to form soap and naturally occurring glycerin.
The formulation combines:
• sunflower oil soap – supports fabric care and fibre softness
• coconut oil soap – provides effective cleansing power
• naturally retained glycerin – helps prevent fabrics becoming dry or brittle
The soap cleans by binding to dirt and oils so they can rinse away naturally in water.
Suitable for Everyday Laundry
These flakes can be used for:
• everyday clothing and household textiles
• delicate fabrics
• hand washing garments
• preparing traditional homemade liquid laundry soap
They dissolve easily in warm water and work well in both machine washing and hand washing.
Natural Laundry Boosters (Optional)
For whites or heavy-duty cleaning:
Add 1 tablespoon of sodium percarbonate to the detergent drawer along with your soap mixture. This acts as a natural whitener and provides additional deodorising and antibacterial support.
As a natural fabric softener:
Add 100–200ml of white vinegar to the fabric softener compartment. This softens towels and fabrics naturally and, when used regularly, helps prevent limescale build-up in your machine.
Sodium Sunflowerseedate **
A gentle vegetable soap derived from organic sunflower oil. Cleans effectively while helping to care for delicate fibres and colours.
Sodium Cocoate **
A naturally powerful soap made from organic coconut oil, valued for its ability to lift grease and everyday dirt, even at lower temperatures.
Aqua (Water)
Allows the soap flakes to dissolve evenly, ensuring consistent cleaning performance.
Glycerin **
Naturally produced during saponification. Helps prevent fabrics from becoming dry or brittle, maintaining softness over time.
Citrus Bergamia (Bergamot) Peel Oil Expressed *
An organic essential oil that provides a fresh, citrus fragrance alongside natural deodorising and antibacterial properties. Traditionally used to deter moths.
Sodium Chloride
A mineral salt that helps stabilise the soap structure.
Citric Acid
Naturally derived. Balances the formula and improves rinsability, especially beneficial in harder water areas.
Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
A readily biodegradable chelating agent that improves performance in hard water by binding mineral ions.
Sodium Hydroxide
Used during the soap-making process to saponify the oils. Fully reacted and not present in the finished product.
* Ingredients from Organic Agriculture
** Made using organic ingredients
Sodium sunflowerseedate**, sodium cocoate**, aqua, glycerin**, Citrus Bergamia Peel Oil Expressed*, sodium chloride, citric acid, tetrasodium glutamate diacetate, sodium hydroxide.
* Ingrédients issus de l’Agriculture Biologique
** Fabriqué à partir d’ingrédients biologiques
Contains Bergamot essential oil, a naturally occurring fragrance ingredient
Free from synthetic fragrance, dyes, enzymes, optical brighteners, and preservatives
No petrochemicals, phosphates, or artificial softeners
As with all natural laundry products, those with very sensitive skin or fragrance sensitivities should test on a small load first.
Each pack provides approximately 200 washes, making it an exceptionally economical and low-waste laundry solution.
This impressive longevity comes from the highly concentrated nature of true soap flakes. With no added fillers, thickeners, or synthetic bulking agents, only a small amount is needed per wash. The flakes dissolve fully and work efficiently, even in cooler washes and short cycles.
Fewer washes per pack also means:
Less packaging over time
Fewer repeat purchases
Lower transport and environmental impact
It’s a clear example of how traditional formulations often outperform modern detergents, delivering both performance and long-term value without compromise.
Directions for Use
Prepare a Liquid Soap in Advance
Dissolve around 20g of soap flakes
in 1 litre of boiling water.
Allow to cool and store in a bottle or reused liquid detergent container.
Hand
Dissolve a handful of soap flakes in 2 litres of boiling water.
Allow to cool slightly before washing, or use the prepared liquid soap with extra hot water.
Wash thoroughly, then rinse well.
Machine
Shake the prepared soap mixture well. Pour 40–50ml into the detergent drawer of your machine.
Maison Berthe Guilhem is an artisan family savonnerie that hand make all their soaps.
Berthe Guilhem made her first goat's milk soaps in 1956 alongside ointments and the famous gardener's balm. Initially she made all the products for herself, her children, friends and neighbours.
Today Marc & Jean-Luc, Berthe Guilhem's grandsons, and their families, continue using her original methodology and recipes that adhere to strict and uncompromising respect for their formulations and for the environment.
Their believe "you can work in a human-sized laboratory, maintain an artisanal identity while manufacturing effective, efficient and state-of-the-art organic cosmetic products."
Marc Guilhem, grandson of Berthe Guilhem, is also a former student of the European Center for Applied Naturopathy
Creamy and durable, our soaps are made by hand
Maison Berthe Guilhem use a cold saponification method; The combination of organic vegetable oils and organic goat's milk in an unaltered state gives them exceptional results. Always cold, the formulation is kneaded before being vigorously pressed and molded. The soaps are hand cut and stamped after several weeks of drying. Their lifespan is extended due to their low percentage of humidity (8 to 10%).
100% natural ingredients
They make all their own infusions, decoctions, macerations and mother tinctures ensuring they make the best use of their natural properties.
What is cold saponification?
Cold saponification is the result of a mixture of soda in water, then later in oil. This manufacturing method is called Cold Saponification because it does not use the heat like traditional Savon de Marseille: The heat is naturally induced by the addition of soda to the water and then to the Oil that raises the temperature of the mixture until it blends. Once this process has occurred the ‘soap’ is left to dry for several weeks before Organic Goats Milk and other ingredients for example Avocado Oil, Shea Butter or Essential Oils are added.
Certified organic natural artisanal know-how
The Berthe Guilhem laboratory is certified to the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (A.N.S.M.). The majority of products are labeled COSMEBIO and certified organic QUALITÉ FRANCE and COSMECERT. At each stage of their manufacture, they are subject to dermatological tests and quality controls proving their safety. These tests, carried out by an independent laboratory, are done on healthy volunteers.
Berthe Guilhem: highly organic products
Maison Berthe Guilhem ensures the quality of its products and their composition. They all contain between 55% and 100% organic ingredients, which is very important compared to the 20% needed to obtain an organic certification!
Call us old fashioned if you want. We are real humans who love our landline telephone.
If you have any questions about our products or your order, please call us T.01423 803080 or email bonjour@frenchsoaps.co.uk.
You can also read our FAQs here
DELIVERY
All orders are sent from North Yorkshire without any additional taxes or charges.
ORDERS OVER £50
FREE Priority Delivery with Royal Mail 24hr* or DHL Next Working Day.
Order by 1pm Mon - Fri for DHL.
Order by 4pm Mon- Fri or 11am Saturday for Royal Mail
Royal Mail: Saturday is a standard working day. Sunday delivery: They deliver in most areas on a Sunday for orders collected Saturday lunchtime and sent on 24hr tracked.
DHL deliver Monday - Friday, at peak seasonal times and in some areas they deliver Saturday, this is not something in our control and do not advise you to rely on this. Use Royal Mail for weekend delivery.
Signed for - this is the same as Royal Mail tracked 24hr with the inclusion of a signature on delivery. These parcels will not be left if you are out.
ORDERS UNDER £50
STANDARD DELIVERY Royal Mail, 3-5 working days: £3.95
PRIORITY DELIVERY Royal Mail tracked 24hr or DHL Next Working Day: £4.95
LOCAL DELIVERY
FREE - We delivery locally on a Thursday. Order value above £15 for free delivery. If you shipping postcode is within our catchment this will be offered to you at the checkout.
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*ISLANDS & HIGHLANDS & NI Tracked Royal Mail 24hr or 48hr: Deliveries may take longer, this is beyond our control.
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COLLECTION
FREE from our warehouse in North Yorskhire.
Monday - Friday 8:30- 4:30pm and Saturday morning 8:30 - 11:30am.
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Wonderful soap flakes , lovely smell, cleaning power and value for money . I love this honest eco company!
Lasts a long time
Been trying to find a substitute for shop bought detergent that does not contain brighteners etc as I have terrible psoriasis on my hands and feet, I ordered this and I am not disappointed, it cleaned well and smelt lovely, I live in a hard water area so had to use more as directed on the packaging, easy to mix up and kept well in the bottle.
Great laundry soap, cleans well, fabric stays soft and smells great. Will certainly purchase again.
At the moment I am not using them, they in wait in the spare bedroom among the towels. The wonderful smell which emanates from the drawer has beautifully scent both the towels and the room. Merveilleux!
Its lovely, smells natural and washes clothes clean added white vinegar to make the clothes soft especially towls
Its a nice alternative I just don't like mixing it
This smells lovely and clothes are washed well.
So glad that I can get it in UK rather than look for it when in France. And all ingredients are listed so I can easily avoid anything that contains awful palm oil
Telephone or Whats App: 01423 803080
Email: bonjour@frenchsoaps.co.uk
Social: @FrenchsoapsUK
Address: Unit 14 Ousegill Business Park, Carr Side Road, Great Ouseburn, North Yorkshire, YO26 9AE
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Gifting couldn't be easier
Add a gift message to be emailed to when their parcel arrives, or at a time of your choice.