Laurel Berry Oil in Aleppo Soap: What the 'Lorbeeröl' Actually Does for Your Skin and Hair

Turn a bar of real Aleppo soap over in your hands and two ingredients are doing all the work: olive oil and laurel berry oil — the Lorbeeröl that gives the soap its earthy, green, unmistakable scent. Olive oil tends to get the headlines, but it is the laurel oil that makes Aleppo soap what it is, and it is the number people quietly search for before they buy: how much laurel oil is actually in there? If you want the short answer, ours is a classic 60% olive oil, 40% laurel oil bar — a genuinely generous laurel content — and you can see the soap here while we explain why that figure matters so much.

What is laurel berry oil (Lorbeeröl)?

Laurel berry oil is pressed from the fruit of the bay laurel tree (Laurus nobilis) — the same plant whose leaves you drop into a stew. The berries are gathered, cooked and pressed to release a thick, aromatic, deep-green oil that has been prized around the Eastern Mediterranean for centuries. It is quite different from the bay-leaf essential oil used in cooking: this is a rich carrier oil, and it is the traditional heart of soap-making in the Syrian city of Aleppo, which is where the soap gets its name.

On its own, laurel oil has a distinctive forest-and-herb aroma and a naturally conditioning, almost waxy richness. That richness is exactly what you want in a cleansing bar, because it means the soap can clean without stripping — more on that below.

Why the laurel percentage is the number that matters

Every Aleppo soap is a blend of olive oil and laurel oil, and the ratio is the single biggest clue to how a bar will feel and how much it will cost. Laurel oil is far rarer and more expensive to produce than olive oil, so cheaper bars keep the laurel content low — sometimes just a token amount. A higher laurel percentage means a more aromatic, more conditioning, more “proper” Aleppo bar.

Our soap sits at a confident 40% laurel oil to 60% olive oil. That is a high-laurel formulation: rich enough to feel genuinely nourishing and gentle, aromatic enough that you know the moment you unwrap it, yet still beautifully balanced by the mild, moisturising olive-oil base. Crucially, it is made with nothing else — no synthetic fragrance, no palm oil, no colourants, no additives — and it is naturally vegan. If a high-laurel, no-nonsense bar is what you are after, this is the one to try.

What the laurel oil actually does in the bar

Here is where laurel oil earns its keep, in plain cosmetic terms — no miracle claims, just what the ingredient is known for.

It cleanses gently, without stripping. The laurel-and-olive combination produces a soft, creamy lather rather than a squeaky, tight one. You feel clean afterwards, but not parched — which is why so many people with dry or easily irritated skin gravitate to Aleppo soap in winter.

It leaves skin feeling conditioned. Laurel oil is naturally rich, so a little of it stays behind as a light, comforting film rather than everything being rinsed away. That is the quality people describe as “my skin doesn’t feel tight after washing”.

It is brilliant on hair, too. Used as a shampoo bar, the same conditioning quality helps the soap clean the scalp without that stripped, straw-like feeling — a favourite with anyone moving towards a simpler, lower-additive hair routine.

That signature scent. The green, herbal, slightly smoky aroma is 100% the laurel oil — no perfume added. For a lot of people it becomes the smell of their whole bathroom, and it is the main reason a 40% bar feels so different from a low-laurel one.

Don’t forget the other 60%: the olive oil

Laurel oil is the character; olive oil is the gentle, moisturising backbone. A high-quality olive-oil base keeps the bar mild enough for the face, body and even shaving, and it is what makes the lather so soft. The two oils are a genuine partnership — laurel for cleansing and aroma, olive for comfort and mildness — which is why the ratio, and the quality of both oils, is everything. It is the same love of real olive oil that runs through the whole Jegit range, from the soap to the kitchen.

“Can I just make laurel oil — or Aleppo soap — at home?”

It is a popular search, and the honest answer is: you can experiment, but it is genuinely hard to match the real thing. Pressing laurel berry oil properly takes a lot of fruit and the right equipment, and traditional Aleppo soap is cooked, hand-cut and then aged for years so the bar becomes hard, mild and long-lasting. Our soap is matured for a minimum of four years and traditionally cut by hand, which is why each bar is around 200 g and lasts and lasts. For the cost and effort of sourcing laurel oil alone, you can simply buy a properly aged bar and skip straight to the good part.

How to get the most out of your bar

Face and body: work up a lather in warm (not hot) water, massage over the skin and rinse. It suits all skin types and is a simple, single-ingredient-list swap for a shelf of plastic bottles.

As a shampoo bar: rub the bar between wet hands or straight onto wet hair, lather at the scalp, then rinse thoroughly. If your water is hard, a final rinse with a splash of diluted vinegar leaves hair smooth.

Make it last: keep the bar on a well-drained dish out of standing water between uses and it will reward you for months. One bar genuinely replaces several products. Pick up your bar here and simplify your bathroom this winter.

Frequently asked questions

Is a 40% laurel soap too strong for sensitive skin? Not at all — a higher laurel content is about richness and aroma, not harshness. The generous olive-oil base keeps the bar mild, which is exactly why Aleppo soap is a classic choice for people who find ordinary soaps drying.

Why does Aleppo soap sometimes look brown outside and green inside? That is completely normal and a good sign. The surface oxidises to a golden-brown as the bar ages, while the inside stays green from the laurel oil. Cut one of ours open and you will see that fresh green core.

Is it really just two oils? Yes. Our bar is made from olive oil and laurel oil only — no synthetic fragrance, palm oil, colour or preservatives, and it is naturally vegan. That short ingredient list is the whole point.

The laurel oil is the soul of Aleppo soap, and the percentage tells you how much soul you are getting. Choose a generous, high-laurel bar made from two honest oils and aged the traditional way, and you have one of the simplest, most satisfying swaps in your whole routine. Try it for yourself this season — shop our Aleppo soap and feel the difference of 40% laurel. Pour La Vie.