The True Origins of Castile Soap: Palestine and Aleppo

The Castile soap is an olive oil-based hard soap that is produced in a style similar to that originating in the Castile region in spain. But, from where did the people of Castile learn how to produce soap?

The answer is Levant, Primarily Aleppo!

The women of levant had a culture of producing hard soaps from olive oil, laurel oil, water, and other materials that were locally available in the Levant region. The history of producing soap in Levant is not clear, but it dates back to prior to the first Crusades.

What we know for a fact is that Europeans significantly enhanced their personal hygiene when they encountered the Muslims of Levant. During the 11th century Crusades, Europeans took with them the know-how of producing olive oil-based soaps, and since then they’ve been producing their own soaps in the Mediterranean area, namely Italy and Spain.

Different variations of what is now called “Castile Soap” existed in Levant, the most popular of which were the Aleppo soap, and the Nablus soap originating in modern day Palestine.

The soap being made in Castile became known for its superiority and became popular with Spanish royalty, which then spread to royalty in other countries.

Originally, the soap was made with laurel oil (bay leaves) which is the same recipe as the Aleppo soap, but because laurel oil was inaccessible in Spain, olive oil was used because it was available in abundance.

As the centuries went by, Castile hard soap spread over Europe and entered England during mid 1500s where it essentially remained unchanged for several hundred years more. Prior to the 18th century, however, soap use of any kind still was not wide spread. Not only was it unaffordable to most but the wealthy, but most soap had an unpleasant aroma as well.

Since then, essential oils made its way in the production of Castile soap to enhance the aroma and the scent of the soap, and to add other health benefits to the soap itself.

We at RIWA, produce Castile soap in the traditional Levantine method, with a wide variety of scents and variations to fit all taste and needs.

You can shop for your favorite Castile soap here