Like all beauty products, creating your own Marseille soap has only advantages. First, you won't need to recognize genuine Marseille soap in a market awash with counterfeits. Remember that these fake Marseille soaps do not have the cosmetic and dermatological benefits specific to real Marseille soap, one of the emblems of Provence. Making your own Marseille soap is economical, easy and fun. It is enough to follow the recipe correctly and choose quality ingredients. To succeed, it's all a question of dosage!
For the soap created to be a real Marseille soap, a minimum of 72% olive oil is needed. Count 252 grams! Provide 98 grams of coconut oil (or copra). You then need 160 grams of 30% washing soda. You can opt instead for 48 grams of granulated caustic soda and 112 grams of deionized water. Using washing soda saves you time and is also less dangerous. It is best to start with not too large quantities to do your first tests. Instead of coconut oil, you can also choose palm oil, but it is strongly discouraged. Palm oil has a bad reputation because of its major impact on deforestation and on the populations who are victims of this important production. To have a scented soap, you can add drops of essential oil to your recipe. You have the choice between essential oil of lavender, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, etc. Optionally, you can incorporate a spoon of the same spice as the one chosen in essential oil into your Marseille soap mixture.
The most delicate step is that of preparing the homemade Marseille soap. To start, you must protect your eyes, hands and wear an apron. In a suitable container, weigh the olive oil. Then weigh the coconut oil that you are going to melt in a bain-marie before mixing it with the olive oil. Weigh the washing soda (preferred) in a glass measuring cup (not plastic). Wait for all the ingredients to reach room temperature. Once at the right temperature, it is a matter of incorporating the washing soda into the mixture of oils and mixing until the trace is obtained. Pour all the mixture into a mold and wait between 24 and 48 hours for the soap to harden before unmolding it. If your Marseille soap seems too big, do not hesitate to cut it into several parts. Wait at least a month before using the soap and enjoying its many virtues.
