Marseille Soap, if you don't use it regularly, you at least know its name. But did you know that the name "Marseille Soap" is not protected? This means that anyone, anywhere and in any way can produce a soap and call it that way. Thus, the majority of Marseille soaps you encounter, in supermarkets, in specialized stores or in Provençal markets are not made in France and even less in Marseille.
Here are our tips for recogenizing a real Marseille soap:
Its color: the color of the authentic Marseille soap is that of the oils that compose it. Indeed, it must not contain any dyes. Its color can therefore range from dark green (olive oil) to beige (vegetable oils) through all the declination of greens and beiges in between.
Its smell: the scent of traditional Marseille soap must be that of its ingredients, especially oils. That's why the smell of green Marseille soap, based on olive pomace oil, is so characteristic! Real Marseille soap does not contain any perfume.
Its composition: the simplest and safest method to recognize a Marseille Soap is to refer to the list of ingredients. The latter must be composed of only 4 ingredients: vegetable oils, soda, water and salt. It may happen that there are two different oils used in the same soap, and in this case the list may contain 5 ingredients.
The Marseille Soap logo: To preserve our ancestral know-how, local use and the reputation of Marseille soap, Savonnerie Fer à Cheval is associated with the last 3 Marseille soap factories still in operation to create the UPSM (union of Marseille soap professionals) [insert link upsm]: a collective brand that guarantees you the origin, composition and respect for the soap manufacturing process.
The UPSM logo is present on our soaps or the packaging of them. It represents, for all users of Marseille soap, a guarantee on the origin and manufacture of soaps!