Taking a break from my usual fare to review some products from Aleppo Savon, founded by Abdulfatah Sabouni, a fourth generation soapmaker from Syria who settled in Calgary, Alberta in Canada.
The company started the first Syrian soap production facility in Canada and follows a traditional recipe using laurel berry oil which has antibacterial properties.
I just finished using my 20% Laurel Aleppo Soap and it’s become one of my favourite bar soaps. It has a gentle, clean scent, produces a silky lather and does not strip the skin of moisture. It also leaves your skin soft with a subtle scent. While I wouldn’t recommend it for daily facial cleansing, I do find it’s gentle enough to use on the face while cleansing enough to remove eye makeup. Also, it’s fantastic for cleaning my Knix period knickers. The antibacterial formula leaves them smelling so fresh, I now prefer to hand wash them for a couple minutes with this bar rather than run them through a washing machine cycle with detergent.
I haven’t used the 10% Laurel Aleppo Soap bar yet (not pictured), but the extra 10% makes a huge difference in scent. It’s actually a bit stronger and heavier. As well, the bar itself is soft with a bit of an oily, tacky feel. I’ll update here about how it lathers and cleanses when I can.
I also picked up some scented bars, including Jasmine, Sandalwood, Rose and Oud. The Jasmine, Sandalwood and Rose are not formulated with the laurel berry recipe and produce a richer and creamier lather though I feel like the 20% laurel formula is more moisturizing. I’m guessing the richer lather comes from the coconut oil but I do not detect any coconut scent. The Jasmine smells divine, a little heady but free of anything suggesting the indolic and not overpowering like say, a LUSH soap. This is probably my favourite of the four scents and jasmine lovers might want to consider trying this. The Sandalwood is also substantial, aromatic and creamy smelling. There’s nothing harsh, none of the overpowering clean musks that can fill out synthetic sandalwood fragrances. The Rose was a little more disappointing as I was hoping for a rosewater scent and this was more of a general fresh floral. As for the Oud, this one was the most subtle, with olive oil dominating the scent. As well, this bar produced the least lather to the point where it felt almost more like an oil cleanse. It was not greasy however, and washed off easily but I prefer more of a lather in my soaps.
Finally, in a surprize find, I bought the Jasmine Breeze bath bomb on a whim and the website is not kidding, this is really the most luxurious bath bomb I’ve ever tried. I’m guessing it’s the oatmeal and cream of tartar that leaves the skin very moisturized. The jasmine scent is again, gorgeous, heady and clean though much stronger than the soap. Highly recommended if you enjoy long soaks in the tub.
Photos: CBC News; mine
