Making Cold Process Olive Oil Soap | Inspired by Traditional Marseille Soap

Today I am making cold process soap inspired by the traditional recipe for Marseille soap. Marseille soap, made in the southern French city since the 17th century, is a hard and often cuboid soap made with vegetable oil. It typically contains 72% olive oil, and the remainder of the soap is made with coconut oil and palm oil. Soap made in Marseille and Provence is traditionally - but not always - coloured with clay. It is unperfumed, and it is used for many different purposes including for washing dishes and laundry.
The soap I am making in this video contains 70% olive and 30% coconut oil as I wanted to make sure that it was free from palm oil for environmental reasons. I was inspired by Marseille soap and wanted to create a soap which is similar to the traditional French soap, but please note, this recipe isn't authentic for several reasons, not least of which is that I don't live in Provence.
Traditional Marseille soap is made with the hot process method, and it uses saltwater from the Mediterranean. I have used the cold process method and an elderflower infusion.
This video is just for fun. I am just a hobbyist making small batches in my home kitchen for private use, inspired by the colour, shape, and composition of a beautiful and historic type of soap. I shared this video in case it was of interest to other soap-makers and hobbyists. If you would like to see how traditional Marseille soap is made on a commercial scale, watch this video:
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My recipe for Marseille style soap, created with the help of a lye checker, is as follows:
125g lye (sodium hydroxide)
285g elderflower infusion OR plain water
630g ordinary supermarket value olive oil (not EV or organic)
270g coconut oil
Superfat content: 5%
Safety warning:
Before making soap for the first time, make sure that you are aware of best practice for handling lye. Rubber gloves and long sleeves are essential to prevent caustic burns to your skin.
ALWAYS add the lye to the water and NEVER the other way around. Add the lye slowly, and make sure to stir the mixture slowly until it has fully dissolved.
ALWAYS check your recipe against a lye calculator to ensure that the recipe will produce soap which has a skin safe pH value.
#soapmaking #soapcutting #heritagecrafts

[@bee7549]

this is such a beautiful video and lovely looking soap...I love elderflowers and have them growing in our garden in South Africa. Thank you for the idea of using them for soap...I wanted to make an elderflower face lotion with them next season so now I have another use as well. We also believe in bees and birds getting the majority of any flowers or fruit...it is the way it was and should always be 🌿🌼🐝

[@EighteenandCloudy]

Thank you so much, it's lovely to connect with other people who share similar ideas and passions. I hope you make your lotion and try the soap too once your trees are in bloom this spring. Ours are in berry now, so we're at the other end of the seasonal calendar!

[@aidahalnazzal8141]

Beautiful 😍 so calming. I liked it when you mentioned reduce using plastic .thank you

[@EighteenandCloudy]

Thank you! Ahh, it's good to hear we're on the same wavelength 🙂

[@boop7313]

such beautiful soap and video, well done💚

[@EighteenandCloudy]

Thank you!

[@RED-cy7ig]

So nice to get ingredients from your garden.

[@EighteenandCloudy]

Thank you, it really is!

[@kellensimonedossantos8442]

Eu amei demais w principalmente que você colocou legendas em português 🇧🇷 muito muito obrigada

[@EighteenandCloudy]

Muito obrigado! Fico muito feliz em saber que você usou as legendas em português. É importante para mim que as pessoas possam assistir meus vídeos em seu próprio idioma, pois sei que o UA-cam às vezes pode ser muito anglocêntrico. Eu tento escrever minhas legendas para que sejam traduzidas com clareza.

[@user-lu8ro2li2e]

شكراالك فيديواعلمي جميل لصنع الصابون

[@EighteenandCloudy]

شكرًا لك على المشاهدة ، يسعدني حقًا أن أسمع أنك استمتعت بها ووجدتها مفيدة.

[@OreoVXI]

Interesting what are the benefits of using elder flowers in soap? I read that the flowers and stems are poisonous except the berries. The berries are good for making jellies.

[@EighteenandCloudy]

I used the flowers in this soap to see if they would make it scented, but it wasn't noticeable to me at least. The berries and flowers are both edible once they are prepared by cooking or steeping, but you're right that other parts of the plant aren't. In the UK we make elderflower cordial by steeping the flowers and as you say, jellies and jams for the berries. I'd be interested to know if there are any known benefits of using elderflower topically, but when I made this soap all I had in mind was using the flowers for scent as the trees were in bloom at the time.

[@LisaG442]

How would you actually use that huge hunk of soap though? Very awkward to hold in your hand

[@EighteenandCloudy]

I think traditionally, the big blocks are used by putting them on a soap dish and using a scrubbing brush or cloth to rub across the face of the soap for washing dishes. They're not designed to be used for hand washing or in the shower, though they can be.

[@lindaschouten7210]

It’s quite nice and easy to hold! I use it to rub over stains in fabric to rub a dishwashing brush, washcloth or sponge against it and wash and I grate some to make a cleaning spray.