Marseille Soap

The authentic Marseille soap

Loaded with history and virtues, grooming and bathing companion for generations, champion of household tasks and laundry virtuoso, Marseille soap has built up a reputation all over the world. That is why it is quite disappointing to learn about the downside to its success: being the target of multiple counterfeits that claim the "Marseille Soap" name and branding. For consumers to learn how to recognize the real Marseille soap, to distinguish the authentic from the copy, to get in touch with its manufacturing secrets, that is the quest of our century-old soap factory aiming to demystify the universe of this legendary soap.

Marseille soap is a cult product, a symbol of our heritage, a witness of artisanal manufacturing methods respectful of a secular tradition. Benefitting from a very attractive image that crosses borders, this iconic cube from the south of France often falls victim to identity theft and the reason is pretty straightforward. The name "Marseille soap" does not benefit from any legal protection. This name, a guarantee of quality, is often abused and it is now common to find soaps of all shapes, origins and qualities unduly stamped "Marseille soap". This can be misleading for the consumer who is looking for the noble soap with virtues impossible to counterfeit. We recommend for you to get well informed, to correctly read the ingredients label, the place of origin and the manufacturing method before purchasing. An informed public remains one of the best weapons against counterfeiting.

 

How do you know you're buying real Marseille Soap? 

• 100% of the oils used are of vegetable origin. In other words, the oils can come from multiple plants (often olive) but all authentic Marseille Soaps are completely vegan.

Tip: Look for these in the ingredients list: "Sodium Olivate" (from olive oil), "Sodium Cocoate" or "Sodium Palmate" (from palm oil).

Beware: If you read "Sodium Lardate" (pork fat) or "Sodium Tallowate" (beef fat), it is not the real Marseille soap.

• It must be composed of at least 72% oil.

Tip: You can ask the manufacturer and check that the words 72% or Extra Pure are well molded on one of its 6 sides. Genuine Marseille soap is also stamped with the name of the soap factory that makes it.

• Marseille Soap is made exclusively from oils, water, soda and salt.

Tip: Avoid labels with a long list of ingredients! Marseille soap does not contain more than "6 ingredients" in its recipe. It must be guaranteed without perfume, preservatives, or any synthetic additives...

• It never contains any coloring agent. An authentic Marseille Soap is naturally colored with the oils that compose it.

Tip: Marseille Soap is green to brown when it is composed of olive oil, white to beige when it contains only palm oil and coconut oil.

• Its manufacturing process follows techniques of ancestral know-how. This guarantee of authenticity ensures that the soap is made in a cauldron according to the main traditional manufacturing processes.

Tip: Get a clear understanding of your Marseille Soap's origin and manufacturing process. Read up on authentic Marseille Soap factories and learn about the brands' stories and guarantees (often found on a website).

 

The steps of the Marseilles process in a cauldron

The manufacturing steps of Marseille soap are precise and demanding. Through his know-how, the Master Soapmaker guarantees its authenticity and ensures its quality until the packaging of the soap. With our local partners, we are committed to maintaining the tradition, and we guarantee that our Marseille soap is always made in a cauldron according to the famous Marseille process.

Traditionally, exclusively vegetable oils are heated in the cauldron (olive, palm* and copra). Thanks to the addition of soda, the liquid oils are transformed into a thick mass. This is the sample phase: it is the beginning of the chemical process called SAPONIFICATION. Then comes the RELARGAGE (salting out) stage, allowing the CUISSON (cooking) process which will finish the saponification. Then comes the LAVAGE (washing) stage using water loaded with salt to eliminate excess soda, impurities and non-saponified fatty acids: the soap becomes Extra Pure. Finally, the LIQUIDATION gives the soap its final texture: a smooth soap paste ready for SECHAGE (drying).

*RSPO: We guarantee that our palm oil comes from a chain committed against deforestation and for sustainable development.

 

• The art of DRYING authentic Marseille soap

Faithful to the tradition, we particularly control our finishing touches: from the air drying of the raw soap paste on our old wooden canisses to obtain a supple and malleable paste, to the molding of our Marseille soaps thanks to our traditional machines from the 1960s. It is the manual work and the choice of the best moment to mold the soap that brings this irreplaceable human touch to our Marseille soaps.

• MOLDING as a "music of gestures"

Hardened with time, the heavy canisses on wheels of almost 300 cubes of 600g raw are brought to our molding machines. Our craftsmen carefully pick up each raw block of Marseille soap to push them - one by one - towards the brass mold that will engrave them between six stamped plates, another guarantee of an authentic Extra Pure Marseille soap.

• "OLD-FASHIONED" SERIES

For our limited series, we take back the hammer and stamp with the collection of our boxwood stamps dating from the 19th century, a unique and historical collection of the soap factory.

• PACKAGING

A final quality control is carried out at the time of packaging, always done by hand. Carefully, the old-fashioned way, with the characteristic assurance of the experience of the craftsman's hand, which takes time and guarantees the durability and the unequalled quality of our Marseille soap.

 

 

What is so special about Rampal Latour Marseille Soap?

"Our innovation : to preserve the glycerin naturally formed at the heart of the soap, au cœur du savon. We are pleased to present you an exceptional Marseille soap by Rampal Latour." 

Like all the products of our soap factory, the Extra Pure Marseille Soap is elaborated in the respect of the current standards of hygiene and traceability. It is really the natural soap par excellence. Hypoallergenic, it bears our signature because it is simple, good and true (contains no coloring agents, no preservatives, no perfumes). "It is the purest and softest soap there is" said René Rampal in 1940. But what has won over the hearts and skin of our customers is its natural and multi-purpose benefits: efficient, practical, economical and ecological, while being gentle and soothing, as many dermatologists attest.

Attentive to the needs of our contemporaries, it is our duty to know how to take care of sensitive skin.

Marseille soap is the ideal partner for hand and body hygiene, yet its high efficiency - which has earned it the reputation of miraculous cleanser - may be too drying for sensitive skin.

That's why we decided to keep in our Marseille soaps the right dose of natural glycerin from the vegetable oils used in the making of soap.

This ambition met a major challenge: during the traditional manufacturing process of Marseille soap, glycerin is usually extracted then sold.

Thanks to a careful observation of the traditional process, and with the help of modern analysis methods, the Rampal Latour soap factory realized the unthinkable: preserve the glycerin naturally constituted by the manufacturing process while maintaining the traditional washing of the dough soap !

This enabled us to add to the existing virtues of Marseille soap, the protective and moisturizing properties of glycerin, without it being added as a soap additive.

This natural glycerin, known for its moisturizing properties also offers a creamy foam lather particularly pleasant with Marseille soap.

So with as much glycerin as a moisturizer, the Rampal Latour Marseille soap has become a cosmetic product in its own right, for all skin types, even the most sensitive.

 

The benefits of glycerin for the skin