You are holding the smallest human being you have ever been responsible for, and you are standing in a pharmacy aisle reading the label on a baby wash. Sodium laureth sulfate. Cocamidopropyl betaine. Phenoxyethanol. PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil.
You put it back.
Parents of this generation are reading labels more carefully than any before them — and finding, often, that the products marketed for the most delicate skin contain compounds that seem entirely at odds with that promise. Synthetic fragrance in a newborn wash. Preservatives in a toddler shampoo. The certifications on the bottle say ‘gentle’. The ingredient list says otherwise.
This is why, quietly but consistently, a growing number of parents are turning to a soap that has been used on infant skin for centuries across the Levant: Aleppo soap with a low laurel oil percentage.
Why infant skin needs special consideration
The skin of a newborn is fundamentally different from adult skin. It is approximately thirty percent thinner. The surface area to body weight ratio is much higher, meaning proportionally more skin is in contact with whatever you apply to it. The acid mantle — the thin, slightly acidic film that protects skin from bacteria and environmental damage — is still developing in the first weeks and months of life. The barrier is more permeable: compounds applied to infant skin are absorbed more readily into the bloodstream than they would be through adult skin.
These are not theoretical concerns. Studies on neonatal dermatology consistently show that fragrance compounds, preservatives, and surfactants applied to infant skin carry greater exposure risk than the same products applied to adults. The formulation standard for a baby product should be significantly higher than for an adult product. Many commercially available baby washes do not meet this bar.
What Aleppo soap brings to infant skin care
The Avlia 5% Laurel Oil Bar contains three ingredients: sodium olivate (saponified olive oil), sodium laurus nobilate (saponified laurel berry oil at 5%), and aqua. That is the complete formulation. No synthetic fragrance. No parabens. No SLS or SLES. No PEG compounds. No preservatives. No colourants.
The olive oil base provides oleic acid — a fatty acid structurally similar to the lipids in infant skin. Rather than stripping or disrupting the developing acid mantle, it provides fatty acids that support barrier development. Olive oil has been used for infant skin care in Mediterranean and Levantine cultures for thousands of years, long before the skin science caught up to explain why it works.
The laurel oil at 5% provides trace antibacterial protection — meaningful for guarding against neonatal skin infections — without the potency that would make a higher-percentage bar inappropriate for infant use.
How to use Avlia 5% soap for bathing a baby
Never apply the bar directly to an infant. The technique is important.
Run a warm bath — not hot; test with your inner wrist. Wet your own hands under the bathwater. Hold the Avlia bar and work it between your palms until a gentle lather forms. You are building a soft foam, not a dense cream.
Apply this lather to your baby’s skin using gentle strokes. No friction. No scrubbing. The face — if you wash it at all during bath time — gets the lightest possible application and the most thorough rinse.
Rinse the baby’s skin completely. Residual soap film on infant skin can cause irritation. Take your time.
Pat dry with a soft towel. Do not rub. Wrap the baby in a warm towel immediately after drying. Infant skin loses heat quickly.
How often to bathe
For newborns, two to three times per week is sufficient. Daily bathing of newborns is not necessary and can contribute to skin dryness. The developing skin barrier benefits from retained natural oils — over-bathing removes them.
From around six months, three to four times per week is appropriate. Daily bathing becomes more practical and less disruptive to skin health as the barrier matures through the first year.
What to watch for
In the first bath, observe your baby’s skin for thirty minutes afterward. Redness, hives, or unusual irritation at the sites where the soap was applied are reasons to discontinue. This is unlikely with the Avlia 5% Bar given its minimal formulation, but every infant’s skin is individual.
A slight change in skin texture or colour during the adjustment period from a previous product is normal — skin recalibrates as it shifts from synthetic surfactant-based products to natural soap. If any concerning reaction appears, discontinue and consult your paediatrician.
An alternative: Avlia Nablus Soap
For parents who want an even simpler formulation — or whose baby’s skin reacts to even trace amounts of laurel oil — the Avlia Nablus Soap is the Palestinian-tradition pure olive oil bar. It contains zero laurel oil. It is the gentlest bar in the Avlia range: entirely olive oil-based, ivory-white, unscented. Washing a baby with it is as close to washing with the oil itself as a solid bar can get.
These bars are made by Syrian Sabonji artisans in Turkey — people who have been making this soap for generations, who know what every ingredient does and why nothing else goes in. When you choose Avlia for your baby, that is the craft behind it. Simple ingredients, made well.
Find the Avlia 5% Bar and the Avlia Nablus Soap at avliahome.com.