Marseille soap, if you don't use it regularly, you at least know its name. But did you know that the name “Savon de Marseille” is not protected? This means that anyone, anywhere and anywhere can produce a soap and call it that. Thus, the majority of Marseille soaps that 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 recognizing a real Marseille soap:
Its color : the color of authentic Marseille soap is that of the oils that compose it. In fact, it must not contain any coloring. Its color can therefore range from dark green (olive oil) to beige (vegetable oils) including all the variations of greens and beiges in between.
Its smell : the scent of traditional Marseille soap must be that of its ingredients, particularly the oils. This is why the smell of green Marseille soap, made from 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 Savon de Marseille logo : To preserve our ancestral know-how, local use and the reputation of Marseille soap, Savonnerie Fer à Cheval joined forces with the last 3 Marseille soap factories still in operation to create the UPSM (union of Marseille soap professionals) [insert upsm link]: a collective brand which guarantees the origin, composition and respect for the soap manufacturing process.
The UPSM logo is present on our soaps or their packaging. It represents, for all users of Marseille soap, a guarantee of the origin and manufacturing of the soaps!
