【Explore mysterious *Aleppo ancient soap* Hear the cry of spirituality】Aleppo Cold Process soap-making notes

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綠意生活 Green Life info ★ 實用生活資訊 Update: 2021/12/07

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It's the first time I heard about Aleppo soap from a familiar customer. She strongly recommended it to me, and said that it's really amazing and good for sensitive skin. She thought that I definitely should make this soap and give it a try. Since curious, I just started to study it. and get into the practice part. After reading many articles and videos about Aleppo ancient soap and its unique raw materials - BAY BERRIES OIL. Then I knew Aleppo Soap is not only great, it is a master piece classic in the classics! It has the same representative status as pure castile soap and Marseille soap (Savon de Marseille).
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To understand this soap, you must first understand the traditional way to make this soap. I started from this video to get a rough idea of ​​how the local factory in Aleppo produces ancient Aleppo soap. When I watched those clips from video below (vibby), I was very surprised, I imagined that if one day I would be making soap just like them in such a huge soap making mold. It must be very cool! XD
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From the first glance of the video, it looks like they are doing tóu zhūyǐ (Taiwanese, means cementer construction job) . The soap workers also dress like working on a construction site. These soap factories only produce once a year, so they have to mass-produce them once. After the soap is ready, it takes 9 months to a year to dry, and the soap is fully matured and dried before it can be considered as the Aleppo ancient soap that is qualified for sale.
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Traditional ancient method is to use the thermal method. The mixing pot is first put in alkaline liquid, then olive oil, and stirred for a period of time before adding bayberry oil. After a day of boiling, it becomes like cement concrete slurry and poured into a special floor (equivalent to a huge Soap mold), the workers use wooden boards to shake the soap to cool the soap slurry while adjusting to make the surface evenness. The next step is to wear flaky wood shoes to step on the soap (to make the soap firm and smooth), to cut the soap with five or six strong men together, and to stamp the soap with a steel hammer. Soap bars will be stacked in a pyramid shape, allowing the soap to dry and mature naturally in the building.
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More special is that ancient soap experts will personally "taste" the soap during the cooking process to determine whether the quality of the soap is OK or not. This is really very particular. After all, to make a batch is tens of thousands of soaps, and it takes another year of waiting to do it. Of course, it must be ensured from the beginning.
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Above is what I probably learned about this ancient craftsmanship that has been circulating for more than 2500 years. It is really quite knowledgeable. It is said that Aleppo soap is the first soap in human history.(Reference)
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Before making this soap, I thought about the difference between the cold and hot methods. Although the hot method is easy to destroy the nutrients of the oil, it can increase the stability of the soap and prolong its storage. I personally reason why heat is still used in the local area. It may be because there was no such chemical material as sodium hydroxide in ancient times. Natural alkaline materials are not easy to saponify completely at low temperatures. High temperature cooking can destroy the structure of oil and strengthen saponification effect. The subsequent generations followed the ancient method and followed the thermal method. After all, the formula that has been passed down for thousands of years, there's no way to change unceremoniously. ( I'm not going to dig more about this, if anyone is interested about traditional skill can refer to this article - Reference）
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Bayberry oil ? 2 times water? 3 times water?

I used the cold method to make soap this time. The formula refers to ancient soap made with 25% and 12% bay laurel oil. The two styles are made with 3 times water (high jelly effect) and 2 times water (mild jelly effect)
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25 % Bay laurel oil is considered LUX luxury grade in some ancient soap brands of Aleppo. Some sellers and soap experts in Taiwan even use 50% such a high percentage. How much this percentage affects the feeling of washing quality remains to be studied. Because bayberry oil is not cheap, 1L (about 900g) is about NT$1300, which is about 6 times that of cold-pressed virgin olive oil. EV olive oil is about 1-2 times more expensive than other oils for soaping. Therefore, if there's no big difference to add more or less, then of course it is better to add less. It is more economical if you want to wash with this soap frequently.
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This soap is expensive in oil, the process of curing the soap after maturation has a long drying period, the weight of the soap is less when it is dried, and it takes up space cost, so the price is generally high, 1g for NT$ 2-3 is the basic market price. Most of the importers imported from Syria. At present, the entire city of Aleppo has been almost completely destroyed due to the war. Some merchants shipped all the soap to Turkey. The ancient Aleppo soap became hard to purchase. The soap-making family is also ruined and displaced. This is a very heavy part of my study on this soap.

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Now we start the soap-making part :)

The formula of Aleppo ancient soap is actually very simple. The oil is bayberry oil and olive oil, and nothing else. Some sellers will improve the addition of coconut oil and palm oil, or add essential oils as they like. I will try the original version the first time I do it.
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Laurel berry oil (laurel berry oil) is not the same as laurel seed essential oil, it is a very special oil, mainly produced in Turkey. Its greatest economic value is to make soap and beauty care products, and a little flavoring can be added to the food.
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The beauty effect of bay laurel oil is quite extensive, suitable for any skin type, generally including large pores, wrinkles, hairdressing, anti-cleansing power, etc.Reference 1．Reference 2．Reference 3
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The bay laurel oil bought this time is cold-pressed imported from Turkey. The oil itself is black crow, which is a bit like soy sauce. It smells very smoky. Dip it with your fingers and taste it. Um... it's not very tasty, it has a spicy flavor.
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This practice mainly refers to a shared article by a foreign soap master and many people in Taiwan.
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Taiwan’s soap circle has spread that this soap is easy to "speed T". Some people say that increasing the water volume (three times the water) can improve it. Seeing so many people say that before I do it, the skin is very frightening, and I am afraid that the lye will turn into a mud when it is poured.
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I saw this foreign teacher’s video later. She mentioned in the film that she was looking for the formula and detailed information of Aleppo ancient soap. It was also very hard to find. The ancient formula is a secret recipe. Finally, she summarized the compromise between everyone's practice and her own experience and used a simple formula to demonstrate.

  ． RECIPE ．     30% bay laurel oil. 70% olive oil. Lye (2 times water)

★ Soap calculator web tool

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The following is a video of her soap making, which is quite good and very valuable.
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【Key Summary】

■ Bayberry oil has winterization at low temperatures, and the upper layer will become very thick, so it can be used after a little warming. It smells smoky, fruity and earthy.
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■About 10 minutes after the soap is put into the mold, it will be more solidified and then beautify the upper layer for modeling.

【Cut Soap】

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★Water consumption is the key, the appearance of more water is much worse

When I saw the amount of water she used, I was a little bit skeptical. Why is she not afraid of speeding up? Watching the whole video and another "Soap Cutting", I want to say that it is better to be a control group with more water and less water. Up. First make more water (3 times water) if OK, then make less water (2 times).

■ The process of soaping(oil and lye soap at room temperature. 1.5 hours trace into the mold)

After the bayberry oil and olive oil are poured, stir well and then pour the lye.
I use pure olive oil, so the color is not as green as the cold pressed one.
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Some people share their experience to make this soap. they said it's a long journey, Yes indeed it took quite a long time. Cold pressed EV olive oil takes longer.
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Its trace is very slow, it only changes a little thicker after stirring for half an hour. Bet it wouldn't be as thick as potato mash.
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This is the movie I play the course concentrated soap, lye poured three times, playing half an hour are still lean state. I made six, no matter how much water there is, there is no such thing as speed T at all. Not only is there no speed T, it is still a soap that I rarely play for so long. (I’m not using an electric mixer. I don’t like the noise of electric mixer very much. It feels more comfortable to play with pure hands^^)
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This soap is still very fluid when it is TRACE, and the soap has a silky satin-like luster after being molded. Natural and beautiful colors.
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Referring to the practice of foreign teachers, she also poured into the mold in a similar state.
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Pouring it, shake it left and right, the upper surface immediately becomes smooth, like the state of LIGHT TRACE. The whole process can be carried out and finished elegantly.
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■ Demold timing

If there is little water, it can be demolded in 1-2 days.
The water will not be so fast for a long time, and it will even stick to the mold severely.
The last 2 items I made [12% triple water] had tragedies, and it was still Q soft after a week. Finally, it was frozen and then demoulded, and the strange situation of "keloid swelling" was produced.

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■Experiment 1: 25% bayberry oil – 3 times water 

The first one is made with lye containing three times the water. After being put into the mold, there is heat preservation. I didn't expect to open it the next day to see the remnants of the "volcanic eruption". From the upper layer, we know that the jelly effect temperature of this bar is very high. If it weren't for the elastic skin of Aleppo soap, it would crack like other soaps.
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Sweating on the edge of the soap also means that the temperature is too high. What's interesting is that there is a pattern that resembles "Aladdin's magic lamp".
Fortunately, the cut look is something I really like. The dark look is natural, and the outer skin feels smoother, more like the texture of ancient hot soap. The whole temperament is very noble and unique.
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■Experiment 2: 25% bayberry oil – 2 times water 

The second one uses the formula of a foreign teacher (2 times water), and the whole process is almost the same as the film. The finished soap is almost like what the teacher makes.
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The difference between it and 3 times water demoulding is that it will not stick to the mold. It can cut soap after 1 day. It is harder and firmer than the 3 times water. The surface of 2 times water is smooth and delicate to the touch, with the touch of fine sand art paper, and looks quite rubbery.
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If you want to make something “clean and elegant”, you can use a formula with twice the water, which is less likely to fail.
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But it also has some strange phenomena. Even if there is no heat preservation, but the wooden box is covered with a lid, it will sweat profusely the next day. The water droplets are different from the sweat from other soaps, but they have no effect When it came to the lye that was pushed up, I actually tested it with a pH test paper, and I was scared that it turned out to be a dark blue strong alkali. I used to wonder if my test paper was broken. No matter how it was tested, it was yellow-green. I know that it is normal XD
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Even without sweating, top 2 times that of water are also more likely to have white powder, some will emerge during a thick layer of dry soap. But fortunately, it does not affect the main soap body, just cut it off. Maybe this soap doesn't need so much alkali. Its autonomy is really quite high, I think it is a very personal soap.
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※ 25% bay laurel oil + 2 times the water – there is no such thing as sweating and white powder.
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↓The photo below is 12%+2 times the water. Although there is thick white powder on the top layer, the soap body has no effect and is very beautiful.
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■ Cut the soap

Is there anything special about Aleppo soap cut soap? Just watch the video.
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Before cutting the soap for the first time, I carefully looked at its appearance and felt that it looked a little different from the touch, it seemed to be rubbery in texture, smooth and elastic.
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Not like cutting other soap bars, Cutting this one just like cutting raw Caitou Kueh (Taiwanese white carrot cake) or Konjac Jelly. Aleppo soap bar is elastic.
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The outer of Aleppo formula soap dries quickly, 25% faster than 12%. Of course, 2 times water is faster than 3 times water. Maybe because the soap is soft in Q, it will sink in during the drying process. This appearance is also pretty stylish.
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It also has an obvious feature of cutting open the soap after maturation, the inside is very beautiful green.
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Wait for half a year and see if it really exists.
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Teardrops from Aleppo Soap 😥

Finally, I want to mention the heavier part. This time I made six bars of soap, and the last two bars because I prefer the texture of triple water and high jelly effect, so I made triple water. Like the previous two, I can play two pots at the same time. I admire that I can make soap with both hands.
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A lot of weird things happened in these last two batches, and they were still soft after being put into the mold for a week. After iced it in the freezer for 2 hours, it demolded smoothly. In the picture below, a strip was accidentally pressed onto the edge of the refrigerator plate, and it was deformed. After cutting the soap, it is normal, and the surface becomes like Keloid swelling after natural drying due to the thawing of water. I wanted to cut it off as soon as possible, but I didn't expect how to cut it like the first picture on the right below.
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I think It doesn’t matter even they're ugly. I can use them anyway. But after a week, there were some tears in this batch of soap, but none of the other four. It was really wet that week, but in my experience, the soap is usually sticky at most on the damp surface, and no such large drops of water will appear.
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Afterwards, I took a photo and recorded it. When I was sorting out the photos, I saw the picture in the middle of the picture below. I seemed to realize a feeling of sadness. The picture looked like a crying mother and child.
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The appearance of these bad soaps looks also like people suffering from war, damaged and awful. :(
I don't tend to be superstitious sharing my feelings, but the spiritual parts do exist.
Even though many can be proven by science, sometimes mysterious things still emerge in endlessly. It also seems to be talking and asking for help.
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At present, the people of Syria are still facing the dilemma of being homeless. Last week, there was a news report of a little Iraqi girl hiding her face, which is very distressing.
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The only thing we can do is donate, and we hope that anyone who is able can donate to help them.
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And pray for them! Peace comes soon.
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[News link]"Have you eaten?" The Iraqi girl smiled and remained silent... The tragedy of the refugees is nasty
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【World Vision Taiwan】Rescue Syrian refugees
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Aleppo ancient soap implementation. Wait a few months before sharing the wash feeling test.
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Writing this big article, it really took a lot of effort. After three months of research, don’t forget to like to support and encourage it~ :))
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2018.6.22 NEW POSTS - two follow-up records of Aleppo formula cold soap in the past two years, welcome to read and leave any comments to me. (Facebook messenger or LINE us )

All articles of Aleppo CP Soap:

【Explore mysterious *Aleppo ancient soap* Hear the cry of spirituality】Aleppo Cold Process soap-making notes
【Explore mysterious *Aleppo ancient soap* PART II - Maturation experience & Two-year record】Aleppo Cold Process soap-making notes
【Explore mysterious *Aleppo ancient soap* PART III - Hot-process Aleppo Rebatching Soap Making

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