How to Make DIY Natural Marseille Soap Laundry Detergent
Super easy. Super economical. Gentle on your garments, kind to your skin, and loving to the planet. This natural laundry ritual is about to transform the way you care for your sacred wardrobe.
Why Make Your Own Natural Laundry Detergent? A Conscious Ritual
At Cocomilkyway, we believe clothing carries energy.
The fabrics that touch our skin hold our experiences, our emotions, our rhythm.
To care for them consciously is to honor that exchange.
And in France, a cleaning ritual begins with Savon de Marseille.
Today, we’re sharing our favorite natural Marseille soap laundry recipe, an ecological, super economical, and Provençal way to cleanse your garments with intention.
The Magic of Marseille Soap
Savon de Marseille is not just soap.
It is heritage.
Born in the south of France in the 17th century, traditionally crafted from olive oil, sea salt, and Mediterranean sun, this iconic cube has been used for centuries to wash linens, baby clothes, and homes.
Authentic Marseille soap contains:
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No synthetic fragrance
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No artificial colorants
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No preservatives
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No petrochemicals
Only plant oils and simplicity.
In Provence, laundry was once done by hand in village fountains. Women gathered, washed linen under the sun, and let fabrics dry in the mistral wind, a way of cleansing not just cloth, but life itself.
There is something deeply grounding about using the same soap that generations before us trusted.
It carries:
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Mediterranean light
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Olive tree Magic
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French artisanal craftsmanship
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The memory of women gathered at the fountain, washing, sharing stories, laughing, helping one another.
Why Make Your Own Natural Laundry Detergent?
How Much Can You Save with DIY Marseille Soap Laundry Detergent?
A typical store-bought laundry detergent costs around $12 for a 73 oz bottle.
Making your own Marseille soap detergent? You'll create the same amount for just $1.50 to $2.00.
That's a savings of $10 per bottle, or about 85% less than commercial brands!
And the best part? Those savings come with zero plastic waste, no synthetic chemicals touching your skin.
Now that's what we call abundant living: more money, better health, cleaner planet. Win-win-win.
What Conventional Detergent Does to Your Skin and Fabrics
Commercial laundry detergents often contain synthetic fragrances, optical brighteners, and harsh chemicals that can:
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Alter the color radiance of printed designs
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Disrupt the energy of your sacred clothing
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Dull the natural beauty of fabrics
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Irritate sensitive skin and trigger allergies
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Harm aquatic ecosystems
By crafting your own gentle, plant-based laundry wash, you're choosing:
- Purity: Only natural ingredients touch your wardrobe
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Intention: Infuse your cleaning ritual with mindful energy
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Sustainability: Biodegradable, no plastic bottles, eco-conscious ingredients
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Gentleness: Perfect for natural fabrics like wool, linen, silk, lace, and cotton It aligns beautifully with a slow fashion philosophy, caring for garments with the same respect with which they were created.
DIY Natural Marseille Soap Laundry Detergent Recipe (1 Quart / 1 Liter)
Adapt proportions to the container volume.
Ingredients
- 30g Marseille soap flakes (1 ounce)
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1 litre water (1 quart)
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1 tablespoon baking soda (optional - for extra freshness and stain-lifting)
- white vinegar for the rinse cycle: (optional - add to rinse cycle as a natural fabric softener that leaves clothes fresh, soft, and bright).
Instructions
- Save an empty detergent container.
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Place the Marseille soap flakes in the container
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Heat water until boiling.
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Pour the hot water over the soap flakes.
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Stir until fully dissolved.
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Leave to cool slightly
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Add baking soda
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Leave to cool completely.
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Pour into the detergent container.
If the mixture thickens after cooling, simply shake well before use.
How to Use
Pour approximately a small glass directly in the drum
White vinegar for the rinse cycle: (about 1/2 to 1 cup) per load.
A Word About Scent: Does Clean Laundry Need to Smell Like Anything?
Here's a truth the detergent industry doesn't want you to know: truly clean laundry doesn't need to smell like a bouquet of flowers. That "fresh" scent we've been conditioned to expect? It's purely marketing.
Clean clothes simply smell... clean. Neutral. Like fabric.
That said, if scent is important to you and adds to your laundry ritual, there are mindful ways to add fragrance!
Why We Recommend Going Easy on Essential Oils
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They're precious resources: It takes several pounds (sometimes thousands!) of plant material to produce just one quart (about one liter) of essential oil. That's a significant amount of flowers for something that gets washed down the drain.
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They don't dissolve in water: Essential oils float on the surface and can pollute groundwater systems rather than breaking down naturally.
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They're powerful medicine: Essential oils contain concentrated active compounds with real therapeutic properties. Their potency deserves intentional application.
Gentle Scent Alternatives for Your Natural Laundry
If you love scented laundry, try these eco-conscious options instead:
1. Natural Fragrance Blends
Look for specially formulated laundry fragrances, blends of natural or nature-identical aromatic compounds designed specifically for cleaning products. These are water-soluble, biodegradable, and created with the right concentration for laundry use.
2. Citrus-Infused Vinegar Softener
Create a dual-purpose product that softens fabrics AND adds a subtle, uplifting scent:
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Fill a large jar with white vinegar
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Add peels from oranges, lemons, or grapefruits, or sprigs of lavender, thyme, or rosemary
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Let it infuse for 2-4 weeks
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Strain and use 100ml per wash as a fabric softener in the rinse cycle
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Bonus: This same infusion works as an all-purpose household cleaner!
The scent is subtle, natural, and completely biodegradable. Plus you're upcycling food waste into something super cool!
A Return to Simple Joy
There is something quietly joyful about doing simple things well.
Heating water.
Watching soap dissolve.
Shaking a bottle before a wash.
Around us, everything moves fast, and these small gestures slow us down. They bring us back to the depth of the present moment, to our senses and our hands.
Before the industrial era, laundry was a chore of course, but it was also about sharing and connection.
Crafting our own laundry can be a way to reconnect with the women who came before us. Consciously, we can appeal to their strength, resilience and wisdom.
It is also a way of honoring care as a practice and of deepening our relationship with what we wear. We begin to see our wardrobe not as disposable, but as a living energy.
And perhaps that is the true Magic of Savon de Marseille.
With Love, Annabelle & Brenda