Our Story

With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, traditional handcrafts gradually disappeared under the dominance of machinery and mass production. The ancestral soap-making tradition nearly vanished.

Bader Hassoun belongs to the sixteenth generation of a family devoted to this craft. In his early years, he worked alongside his father in jewelry making, mastering the delicate art of engraving and carving gold. However, during the Lebanese civil war in 1984, the family shop was looted — a turning point that would reshape his path.

It was then that his uncle, Hajj Bashir, encouraged him to return to the family’s original profession: soap making. He entrusted Bader with the inherited traditional recipes, reigniting a legacy that had once defined their name.

Bader positioned himself in front of the abandoned old Khan Al Saboun in Tripoli’s historic souks and began carving soap by hand, just as he once carved gold. He transformed soap into artistic creations inspired by Lebanese symbols — the cedar tree, flowers, and traditional motifs. His craftsmanship quickly attracted visitors and tourists from around the world, breathing life back into the historic khan and leading to its grand reopening.

In 2009, Bader fulfilled his father’s dream by establishing the first eco-village of its kind in the Middle East. The village includes soap museums, scientific laboratories, research centers, a scientific library, a soap production facility, and the family residence.

At the heart of the village lies “Valley of the Senses,” cultivated with a wide variety of plants used in natural product manufacturing. It embodies our philosophy and our motto:

Go Natural, Go Organic

Today, Khan Al Saboun has grown into a global presence, reaching more than 35 countries with over 640 branches worldwide — carrying the heritage of Tripoli to the world