Hand-made with Materia Aromatica organic vegetable oils & essential oils

Materia Aromatica soaps are made following the traditional recipe of the ‘castille’ soap, also known as ‘savon de Marseilles’, which was developped in the south of France in the XIXth Century. 
It is the result of a chemical reaction between an acid and an alkali base.  In the case of the ‘castille’ soap, olive oil provides the acid base and sodium hydroxide the alkali base.  The reaction between the two bases is called saponification and takes about three weeks to occur.  During this curing period, the sodium hydroxide is being neutralised and transformed to provide a soap which is made with, but does not contain any sodium hydroxide.  Unfortunately it is not possible to make soap without the use of sodium hydroxide.

All sorts of fats can be used in soap making: vegetable, animal as well as mineral oils.  Fats have all got their own charateristics and properties and will produce a soap of varied textures: soft or hard, with little or copious lather, quick disolving or long-lasting.

A good quality bar of soap is the most natural, sensual and safe way to cleanse the body. It should be gentle and soft to the skin and should not leave it dry.  The fats used in the making process are not subjected to heat or any other chemical treatments. They keep their therapeutic characteristics and will bring to the skin their moisturizing properties.

Materia Aromatica soaps are made using only organic ingredients such as sunflower, olive and palm. The proportion of each oil has been carefully chosen to produce a hard and long-lasting bar of soap which will be gentle to the skin.  They are fragranced with 3% essential oils which allows them to keep their aroma for many weeks.  They are free from any preservatives, colourings or animal by-products.

They come in square bars of about 100g.  They are presented in a box decorated with a delicate drawing evocative of the fragrance of the soap.