Anisette (with palm and coconut oils, cold-pressed sweet almond, anise seed and pomegranate seed oils, steeped licorice root). Licorice and alkanet roots, both wild vegetable dyes gathered locally, give this soap its distinctive coloring and scent. Round and flat, yellow and lapis lazuli. This exquisite soap is handcrafted in the area around Kandahar, Afghanistan by men and women in a cooperative called Arghand. Using ancient techniques going back thousands of years, each Arghand soap stone is hand-molded to resemble a river-polished lump of local marble and takes a total of six weeks to make. Once the lye has been neutralized, the Afghan workers add the skin-nourishing precious oils, natural fragrances, and natural colors. No artificial fragrances or artificial dyes are used in the making of Arghand soap. After the long curing period, the result is the hardest, densest, and longest lasting soap on the market in addition to its glorious feeling of smooth perfection. All of the natural ingredients are painstakingly gathered from around Kandahar. This area has long been known for its pomegranates, the unique ingredient in Arghand products, and a fruit well known for its antioxidant properties. This is a wonderful opportunity for southern Afghan farmers to have an alternative to the opium trade as the sale of these soap products guarantees their livelihood. We are proud to offer this very special product with its very special story. Approximate size of each hand-molded soap stone is 3" and weighs 4.5 oz. The finished soap is wrapped in a strip of silk from turbans woven in the western Afghan town of Herat.