Tripoli, Lebanon • Since 1880

Lebanese olive oil soap, made by the Awaida family since 1880.

From the unscented Traditional bar to rose, jasmine, and oud, discover soap made in our family workshop in Tripoli. Your order ships from Boston.

Shop the soaps Step inside the workshop

The Awaida workshop in Tripoli, Lebanon.

Made by the Awaida familySoapmaking since 1880Ships from BostonFree U.S. shipping over $35

The Traditional olive oil bar beside its Roots 1880 box

The box says Roots 1880, our international label. The soap comes from Masbanat Awaida.

Start with the original

The Traditional olive oil bar

صابون زيت الزيتون

Olive oil, water, and lye begin a process that takes months to finish. In our Tripoli workshop, the Traditional soap cooks in an open vat, is poured across the casting floor, and is cut and stamped by hand. The bars are then stacked into towers and left to cure until they are firm and dense.

At about 190 grams, this is a substantial bar with a creamy, low-bubble lather and no added fragrance. Use it at the sink or in the shower, and let it dry between washes.

Shop Traditional olive oil soap Compare all soaps

Choose your first soap

Find your everyday soap

Begin with the unscented original, choose a familiar floral, or try the warmth of oud. Each comes from the same family workshop.

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Traditional olive oil soap bar stamped with the Awaida seal

Traditional Olive Oil Soap $12 The unscented original, cured for months.

Rose olive oil soap bar by Masbanat Awaida

Rose Olive Oil Soap $12 Fresh rose with a soft floral finish.

Lavender olive oil soap bar by Masbanat Awaida

Lavender Olive Oil Soap $12 Herbal lavender, fresh and softly floral.

Oud olive oil soap bar by Masbanat Awaida

Oud Olive Oil Soap $12 Warm wood with a smoky oud character.

The family behind the stamp

Five generations in a Tripoli soap workshop

مصبنة عويضة · طرابلس

Haj Hussein Awaida opened the workshop in 1880, in a city whose soap trade grew around the olive groves of northern Lebanon. Five generations later, his great-great-grandson Husni Awaida continues the family business.

Over the years, the workshop has kept its Traditional olive oil bar and expanded into scented bars, glycerine soaps, liquid soaps, and sachets. The range has grown around a place, a family, and the knowledge passed between the people who work there.

1880Founded: The year Haj Hussein Awaida opened the workshop in Tripoli.
FiveGenerations: The Awaida family continues to run the soapworks.
190 gTraditional bar: The approximate weight of a Traditional olive oil bar.
MonthsCuring: Traditional bars dry in open towers before they are ready.

Read the Awaida family story

How Traditional olive oil soap is made

From olive oil to a hand-stamped bar

Follow the Traditional bar through four stages: cooked, cut, cured and stacked, then wrapped. A few days of work begin a process that takes months to finish.

Freshly cooked soap being poured across the workshop floor — Traditional olive oil soap, made in the Tripoli workshop.

Cooked

Olive oil, water, and lye cook together in an open vat for about three days. The hot soap is then carried to the casting floor, poured into a broad sheet, and leveled by hand.
Cut

Once the slab has set, the bars are marked, stamped, and cut by hand. Small differences in their edges and impressions are part of the workshop's method.
Cured and stacked

The cut bars are stacked into open towers with gaps for air to circulate. Over the following months, moisture leaves the soap and the bars become firm and dense.
Wrapped

After curing, the bars are individually wrapped and packed at the workshop. Traditional soap reaches U.S. customers in its Roots 1880 packaging.

Explore the workshop story

Rose, jasmine, oud, and a city that knows perfume

صابون معطّر

Choose a family to explore its soaps.

In Tripoli, soap has long had a place beyond the washbasin. Scented bars were shaped for gifts and guest rooms, while perfumed shavings were tucked into cupboards with the linens.

Our perfumed olive oil bars carry that tradition into everyday washing, with floral, herbal, and woody fragrances. Glycerine soaps offer another texture, liquid soaps belong beside the sink, and sachets bring fragrance to drawers and closets.

Perfumed olive oil bars

Choose rose, lavender, jasmine, orange blossom, chamomile, mint, musk, or oud. These olive oil bars bring fragrance to everyday hand and body washing.

Shop all perfumed olive oil bars

Mint olive oil soap bar by Masbanat Awaida — صابون النعناعMint Olive Oil Soap A mint-scented olive oil bar with a crisp, green character. Keep it beside the sink for a bright everyday wash, or add it to a box of floral and woody scents for variety.View · $12

Jasmine olive oil soap bar by Masbanat Awaida — صابون الياسمينJasmine Olive Oil Soap Jasmine brings a rounded floral scent to this olive oil soap. Made in the Tripoli workshop, the bar suits anyone who enjoys a fuller flower fragrance in their everyday hand and body wash.View · restocking

Chamomile olive oil soap bar by Masbanat Awaida — صابون البابونجChamomile Olive Oil Soap An olive oil soap with a soft chamomile scent, herbal and gently floral. Choose it when you prefer a quieter fragrance, or pair it with lavender to explore the herbal side of the range.View · $12

Orange blossom olive oil soap bar by Masbanat Awaida — صابون زهر البرتقالOrange Blossom Olive Oil Soap Orange blossom gives this olive oil soap a citrus-floral scent with a honeyed character. Made in Tripoli, it brings one of the region's familiar fragrances to everyday washing.View · restocking

Musk olive oil soap bar by Masbanat Awaida — صابون المسكMusk Olive Oil Soap A softly musky olive oil soap with a warm, subtly sweet scent. Choose it for a fragrance that sits closer to soft perfume than a bright floral or crisp herb.View · $12

Olive oil and laurel

Start with unscented Traditional soap, explore olive oil blended with bay laurel, or try Pomace and gently perfumed Motayab. Check each bar for its oil base and scent.

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Bay laurel olive oil soap bar (10% laurel oil), handmade in Tripoli, Lebanon — صابون الغار ١٠٪Bay Laurel Olive Oil Soap (10%) Olive oil and bay laurel come together in this bar from Tripoli. Its herbal character offers a different starting point from the perfumed range. Check the ingredient declaration for the exact blend and added fragrance, if any.View · $14

Motayab perfumed olive oil soap bar by Masbanat Awaida — صابون المطيّبMotayab Perfumed Olive Oil Soap Motayab brings a gentle perfume to the olive oil soap range. Choose it when you want a scented bar with a lighter aromatic character than the more distinctive rose, jasmine, or oud options.View · $14

Pomace olive oil soap bar by Masbanat Awaida — صابون زيت الجفتPomace Olive Oil Soap Made with olive pomace oil, this bar offers another expression of the workshop's olive-based soaps. It is an everyday option for the sink or shower. Read its own ingredients rather than assuming it has the Traditional bar's formula.View · $10

Glycerine

Clear glycerine soaps in floral and fruit scents, with decorative designs for gifting or a guest basin. Choose a familiar bar or an ornamental piece.

Shop all glycerine

Mango glycerine soap bar by Masbanat Awaida — صابون الغليسرين – مانجوMango Glycerine Soap A mango-scented glycerine soap with a clear appearance and a bright, fruity character. Choose it for an everyday wash or add it to a mixed box alongside the floral glycerine bars.View · $14

Floral glycerine soap bar by Masbanat Awaida — صابون الغليسرين – زهورFloral Glycerine Soap A floral fragrance gives this clear glycerine bar its character. Made in the Tripoli workshop, it is a simple way to explore the glycerine range at your own sink or in a guest bathroom.View · $14

Lavender glycerine soap bar by Masbanat Awaida — صابون الغليسرين – لافندرLavender Glycerine Soap A lavender-scented glycerine bar for anyone who enjoys a familiar herbal floral. Compare it with Lavender Olive Oil Soap to choose the base and appearance you prefer.View · $14

Masterpiece lavender glycerine soap with a carved design — تحفة اللافندرMasterpiece Lavender Glycerine Soap A shaped glycerine soap with a lavender scent and an ornamental finish. Choose it as a small gift or a decorative piece for a guest basin, where the design can be enjoyed before the first wash.View · $15

Decorated glycerine soaps pressed in ornamental moulds — صابون الغليسرين المزخرفDecorated Glycerine Soap A decorated glycerine soap selected from the workshop's available varieties. The scent is chosen for you, making each bar a small discovery. If you need a specific fragrance, choose one of the named soaps instead.View · $8

Liquid

Liquid soaps for the kitchen, bathroom, or guest washroom, in scents including orange blossom, oud, and mango.

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Bottle of orange blossom liquid olive oil soap by Masbanat Awaida — صابون سائل بزهر البرتقالOrange Blossom Liquid Soap Keep the honeyed citrus-floral character of orange blossom beside the sink. This liquid soap from the Tripoli workshop offers a pump-bottle alternative to the scented bars.View · $32

Bottle of oud liquid olive oil soap by Masbanat Awaida — صابون سائل بالعودOud Liquid Soap A warm, woody oud fragrance in a liquid soap for daily handwashing. Choose it for a bathroom or guest washroom when you prefer a deeper scent to a bright floral.View · $32

Bottle of mango liquid olive oil soap by Masbanat Awaida — صابون سائل بالمانجوMango Liquid Soap A mango-scented liquid soap with a fruity character, made for the daily wash at the sink. Explore it alongside the workshop's mango glycerine bars if you enjoy the same scent in different formats.View · $32

Bottle of jasmine liquid olive oil soap by Masbanat Awaida — صابون سائل بالياسمينJasmine Liquid Soap Jasmine gives this liquid soap its rounded floral character. Keep it at a washbasin for everyday handwashing, or pair it with a jasmine bar to explore the scent in two formats.View · restocking

Facial bars

Olive oil bars with shea butter, charcoal, or honey and wheat. Compare the ingredients and textures to choose the bar you prefer.

Shop all facial bars

Shea butter olive oil soap bar, handmade in Tripoli, Lebanon — صابون زبدة الشياShea Butter Olive Oil Soap Shea butter joins the olive oil base in this facial bar from Tripoli. Explore it if you prefer a shea butter formula, and compare its ingredients with the charcoal and honey and wheat bars before choosing.View · $14

Activated charcoal olive oil facial soap bar by Masbanat Awaida — صابون الفحم المنشطActivated Charcoal Olive Oil Soap A charcoal facial bar made on an olive oil base at the Awaida workshop. Its dark appearance sets it apart from the plainer bars. Use a little lather, rinse well, and choose according to your skin's response.View · $14

Honey and wheat olive oil soap bar, handmade in Tripoli, Lebanon — صابون العسل والقمحHoney and Wheat Olive Oil Soap Honey and milled wheat give this olive oil bar its distinctive ingredients and textured character. Lather gently in wet hands before washing, and check the full ingredient list if you avoid wheat or bee-derived ingredients.View · $14

The Masbanat Awaida factory store in Tripoli, with wooden shelves of soap

Visit the source

Shelves of soap beneath Tripoli's stone arches

طرابلس، مدينة الصابون

Our factory store sits inside the world that made the soap: vaulted stone, hanging lanterns, and shelves filled with the workshop's range. Traditional bars share the room with scented soaps, ornamental pieces, liquid soaps, and sachets.

The Roots 1880 boxes sold in the U.S. come from this same workshop. We keep U.S. stock in Boston so you can order without waiting for an individual shipment from Lebanon.

Discover the factory store

Behind every batch

The hands that know the work

Soapmaking depends on judgment as much as a recipe: when a batch is ready, when a slab can be cut, and how to stack the bars so air can move between them. In Tripoli, that knowledge passes from experienced craftspeople to the people working beside them.

Meet the people behind the soap →

Members of the Awaida family together in Tripoli — The Awaida familyFive generations connected by a working soap factory.

A craftsman stacking soap bars into a tall curing tower — The workshop floorCutting, stamping, and stacking Traditional soap by hand.

Members of the Masbanat Awaida team beside the company van — The Tripoli teamThe people behind production, packing, and the factory store.

مصبنة عويضة · منذ ١٨٨٠

“Soapmaking is the culture and heritage of my country.”

Husni Awaida

رسائل من المصبنة

Letters from the workshop

New soaps, restocks, and a closer look at the people and work behind each bar. A few emails a month, from Tripoli to your inbox.