At 0% laurel, an Aleppo soap recipe is a Castile soap recipe. The olive oil is saponified with sodium hydroxide and water. The result is a pure olive oil bar — gentle, moisturising, and chemically simple.
Add five percent laurel oil and you have a mildly active Aleppo soap. Add thirty percent and you have a therapeutic bar. Add seventy-five percent and you have the most potent formulation in a 2,000-year tradition.
The laurel oil percentage is the dial. Understanding what turns at each position helps you choose precisely.
What pure olive oil soap does
Saponified olive oil is primarily sodium olivate — a mild surfactant derived from oleic acid. It cleanses by binding to oils and allowing water to remove them. It is gentle enough for the most sensitive skin. It retains natural glycerin from the saponification process, providing humectant moisture. Its oleic acid content supports the skin barrier.
What it does not do: kill bacteria, inhibit fungi, reduce inflammatory cytokines, or actively treat any skin condition. Pure olive oil soap is a passive, benign cleanser. Excellent as a baseline. Limited as a treatment.
What each step up in laurel percentage adds
At 5% laurel: a trace of antibacterial activity — lauric acid present in small quantity. Mild herbal scent beginning to be detectable. Still olive-oil dominant in every meaningful sense. Gentle enough for the most sensitive skin; slightly more active than pure olive oil soap.
At 16%: the Avlia 16% Bar is where the balance between passive moisturiser and active cleanser reaches its most useful midpoint for everyday use. Enough lauric acid for measurable antibacterial activity against mild acne and body bacteria; enough olive oil to maintain barrier integrity. The scent of laurel is present but understated.
At 30%: active antibacterial and antifungal action becomes the dominant character. Lauric acid at this concentration is clinically meaningful against P. acnes and odour bacteria. Linalool at this level provides noticeable anti-inflammatory benefit. Olive oil still provides barrier support but the bar's primary character has shifted toward treatment.
At 50%: the formulation crosses into therapeutic territory. Appropriate for dandruff, eczema, skin conditions with bacterial or fungal components, oily scalp. The earthy, herbal scent of laurel oil is pronounced. This is not a casual daily soap for healthy skin — it is a targeted tool for skin that needs it.
At 75%: the most potent bar in the Avlia range. Maximum concentration of antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory compounds. The golden-brown exterior of an aged Avlia 75% bar, cut to reveal the deep green interior, is the most vivid physical expression of what Aleppo soap is.
The Avlia range as a complete spectrum
Avlia offers this entire spectrum: 100% Olive Oil (0% laurel), 5%, 10%, 16%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 75% Laurel Oil, and the 100% Laurel Oil Shampoo Bar dedicated to scalp care.
No other brand offers this granularity. The precision allows you to match the bar to the condition with the same specificity that a pharmacist matches a formulation to a symptom.
For readers who are new to Aleppo soap and unsure where to begin: start at 16%. Observe how your skin responds over two weeks. If you want more activity — move up. If you want more gentleness — move down. The spectrum is there for exactly this navigation.
Find the full Avlia range at avliahome.com, made by Syrian Sabonji artisans in Turkey whose tradition spans 2,000 years.