Marius Fabre soap factory

Cooking the soap

Stage 1: saponification or “mashing”

This is when lye and heat in a large cauldron turn the plant-based oils into soap.

Stage 2: Salting out
The soap paste is washed in saltwater to remove any lye it still contains.

Stage 3: Cooking

The soap cooks for 10 days at 120°C. The cauldron is lit in the morning and put out at night.

Stage 4: Washing

The soap paste is washed several times to remove any glycerol, impurities and fatty acids that have not converted into soap.

Stage 5: Liquidation
One last wash in pure water removes any impurities from the soap to earn it the title “Extra Pur” (extra pure).

This entire process is called “la cuite” or cooking. It’s a decisive and delicate process that requires the soapmaker’s full attention.

The pouring of the soap

The soap paste is then poured hot (50-70°C) into “mises” which are huge moulds on the floor.

Knowing the ingredients and stages of soapmaking isn’t enough to make good soap; you need the expertise that’s been passed down from one generation to the next.

Soap drying

The soap spends 48 hours drying in the open air. When the mistral wind is blowing, any north-facing windows are opened to reduce the drying time.

Once dry, the soap is cut in the 30kg moulds into blocks of different sizes.

Soap moulding

There are two types of branding: hand-stamping on bars or in a machine mould for cubes. Cubes are stamped on all six sides true to the traditional “Savon de Marseille”.