This vegetable soap uses saponified fatty acids from olive oil (sodium olivate) and coconut oil (sodium cocoate) as its surfactant base. This combination provides effective cleansing with a creamy lather, while maintaining good skin tolerance.
The powdered activated charcoal (charcoal powder) offers an adsorbent action that helps remove impurities, pollution residues, and excess sebum, making it especially suitable for combination, oily, or shine-prone skin.
The natural presence of glycerin—generated during the saponification process— helps retain moisture and improve skin softness after washing.
Curiosities of Marseille soap.
The classic French grandmothers' trick: they would place a small piece under the pillow or next to the bed to sleep like an angel, perfume the sheets, and ward off moths all night. Many still do this.
The world's oldest and most effective drawer freshener: a bar of soap wrapped in cloth inside the drawer keeps clothes smelling clean for months. My friend Cris does this.
Natural repellent: moths hate it thanks to the olive oil and soda; that's why it was kept in wool chests and bridal trousseaus.
Babies' first bath: in France, it was (and still is) used to wash newborns because it is so gentle it doesn't sting the eyes.
It floats in water: Marseille sailors carried it on their voyages because if it fell into the sea, they wouldn't lose it.
Marseille beauty trick: wash your face with it, leave it on for 30 seconds, and rinse → impeccable skin without the need for other products (Catherine Deneuve has admitted to this).
The secret scent of French luxury hotel sheets: many top laundries still use it for the final finish.