Savon de Marseille Hard Milled Soap

Savon de Marseille, like Opinel knives, is a treasured part of French country life. It is an artisanal olive oil soap that's been made for some 600 years near Marseille using traditional methods and ingredients. I find that it cleans and moisturizes in a way that modern factory-made soaps don't. I use it for hands, body, and hair. It doesn't have that strong chemical-like perfume of modern soaps; instead, it is mildly scented with bay leaf. I also like that it doesn't leave skin feeling dry. Hard milled soap differs from normal soap in that it has been passed through a high pressure roller mill. The repeated milling (three times for most French soaps) results in a soap that is smoother than normal soap, denser then normal soap, and a much greater consistency of color and texture between bars of soap. On some blocks, a fine white powder is visible. This is a bit of sea salt, which disappears once the soap gets wet. It is a byproduct of the salt water from the Mediterranean that is used in making the soap.