Soapmaking by the Marseille cauldron method.

The soap we offer at the Oraison workshop is made according to the so-called Marseille method, in a stainless steel cauldron. A series of immutable operations, passed down for centuries, transform olive oil and caustic soda into a solid bar, gentle on the skin. Here's how it's done, step by step.

The seven steps of cauldron manufacturing

1. The "Empatage" (Mixing)

An emulsion is prepared with oil and several successive caustic solutions. The mixture is heated and stirred until it completely sets — the moment when the material ceases to be liquid and becomes a dense, homogeneous paste.

2. The "Relargage" (Salting Out)

Salted water is added to separate the formed soap from the glycerin and process water.

3. The "Épinage" (Draining)

Its name comes from the drain cock: the "épine" (thorn/spine). The decanted mixture — residual water and glycerin — is drawn off, leaving the good soap in the cauldron.

4. The Cooking

A highly caustic solution is poured over the soapy mass. For several hours, the mixture is brought to a boil. The saponification reaction is completed — the soda reacts with the fatty acids to produce a salt: soap.

The reaction appears simple: acid + base = salt + water. What is remarkable is what this reaction preserves — the gentleness of the oil, the cleansing power without aggressing the skin.

5. The Washes

With salted water, always hot. These successive washes rid the soap of impurities and neutralize its pH.

6. The Liquefaction

Water is added to obtain a liquid mixture again, ensuring good decantation.

7. The Pouring

The liquid soap is poured into molds — the "mises." After complete cooling, the blocks are unmolded and cut into bars with a wire.

The chemistry behind the gesture

The caustic soda first hydrolyzes the fat, which splits into fatty acids and glycerin. The soda then reacts with the fatty acids to form a salt: soap. In the case of olive oil, rich in oleic acid, sodium oleate is obtained. Olive oil yields a dense soap, slightly translucent in its raw state, with a fine but persistent lather.

A brief history of Marseille soap

Knowledge of soap dates back to ancient times. It was the Arabs, in the 8th century, who added lime to leached ashes, making them more caustic. In the 12th century, Marseille became the center of this industry. It was there that the first manufacturing codes were established, the first rules on oil content, cooking time, and the absence of additives.

Marseille soap is not a brand. It is a process, a requirement, a tradition both oral and industrial. To respect it is still what we do at the Oraison workshop.

Why olive oil changes everything

Olive oil gives the soap a high content of oleic acid — a monounsaturated fatty acid that penetrates the superficial layers of the skin without aggressing it. Pomace and second-quality oils find their place in the soap workshop. Nothing is lost. This is the principle that guided Sophie Henry when she founded the workshop in 2004: to transform what would have been waste into something useful and beautiful.