February 22, 2016 at 8:29 am

Inside an Olive Oil Soap Factory in Syria

by twistedsifter

 

Aleppo or olive oil soap is a famous type of handmade soap that is made from only three ingredients, and is world-renowned for leaving skin clean and soft.

With some of the earliest recipes dating back to 2400 BC, Aleppo soap is widely considered to be the first soap ever made [source].

The ingredients are simple: olive oil (roughly 82%), laurel oil (roughly 12%) and soda (water and lye) [source]. Olives and laurel berries grow wild throughout northern Syria and southeast Turkey.

Below you can see some photos of the olive oil soap making process at a factory in Syria. The photos were recently posted to reddit by user TwelveColonies.

[via TwelveColonies on reddit]

 

making alepo olive oil soap in syria (1)

 

making alepo olive oil soap in syria (2)

 

making alepo olive oil soap in syria (3)

 

making alepo olive oil soap in syria (4)

 

making alepo olive oil soap in syria (5)

 

making alepo olive oil soap in syria (6)