What is the pH of a Marseille soap ?

Based on a natural recipe known for several millennia, Marseille soap is renowned for its degreasing and antiseptic qualities, as well as for its numerous benefits, whether for the skin or the body. hair care. Used as a soap for the body or household product, Marseille soap owes part of its properties to its pH. Let's take stock, together, of the pH of Marseille soap !

Understand the concept of pH

The pH scale is graduated from 0 to 14, and allows to measure the acidity or alkalinity of a solution
● Less than 7: the solution is acidic
● 7 : the solution is neutral
● More than 7 : the solution is alkaline

Many household products, hygiene and care products and foods are acidic or alkaline:
● Lemon juice: pH=2.5
● Tomatoes: pH=4.5
● Pure water: pH=7
● Marseille soap: pH=10
● Bleach: pH=11.5
The pH is measured on a logarithmic scale with a factor of 10, which means that for each unit lost or gained, the acidity or alkalinity is multiplied by 10: a product with a pH 11 is 10 times more alkaline than a Marseille soap with a pH 10!

The benefits of a Marseille soap with an alkaline pH

An alkaline solution has disinfectant properties. Marseille soap is known to be an excellent antiseptic and a natural disinfectant.
Composed essentially of natural vegetable oils and soda, the real Marseille soap banishes additives (preservatives, coloring agents, perfumes, animal fats). The benefits that are recognized to him are numerous:
● It can be used on all skins;
● It can be used on the body, the face, the hair ;
● It can clean the epidermis in depth ;
● It can help to degrease and regulate the production of excess sebum ;
● It is often recommended to people facing certain skin conditions (acne, psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis...) ;
● It is hypoallergenic, because it does not contain potentially irritating or allergenic ingredients.

A normal skin has a slightly acidic pH, between 5 and 5.5. Although this may seem counter-intuitive at first, the regular use of a soap with a pH close to 10 has in fact many benefits. Indeed, Marseille soap contributes to the preservation of your skin's health, nourishes and purifies your epidermis, and helps to regulate the production of sebum: a skin with an unbalanced pH is the consequence of an unhealthy skin, and not the opposite! Moreover, Marseille soap is used under water. It is thus strongly diluted, then completely eliminated during the rinsing.
The alkaline character of Marseille soap makes it an excellent household product, both degreasing and disinfecting. You can use Marseille soap flakes for make your own detergentYou can use the soap in your dishwashing liquid or your homemade surface cleaner.

Issues associated with neutral pH soaps

Soaps with a neutral pH are marketed today, and are praised for their benefits. But should we choose a soap with a pH of 7 (neutral) over a Marseille soap with a pH close to or above 10?
The first meaning of the term, as you can find it in many dictionaries, is based on its alkaline character: Product obtained by the action of an alkali on a fatty substance, and used for cleaning and bleaching (Larousse).
A neutral pH soap is often composed of synthetic surfactants, mostly from the petrochemical industry. It can therefore contain irritating, allergenic ingredients or ingredients that are questionable in terms of their long-term health consequences. However, you can find in the shops natural soaps pH neutral soaps, but these products are rare.
Neutral pH soaps may be degreasing and nourishing, but they do not have the same antibacterial properties. They also do not offer the same versatility as Marseille soap, and cannot be used as household products, for washing the floor or clothes.

The whole world of Marseille soap

Since 1894, La Corvette - Savonnerie du Midi has been perpetuating the know-how of master soap makers. We offer a genuine Marseille soap made with vegetable oils, cooked in a cauldron in accordance with age-old manufacturing processes. Our teams are constantly innovating, respecting traditions and using natural ingredients, to offer you products for all uses. Our range of liquid soaps from MarseilleFor example, our range of hand soap is suitable for daily use.
Discover the whole world of Marseille soap by visiting our soap factory in Marseille, and invite our products in your house or your bathroom for a daily use !