"My mother always said Fuad, 'you do it for real'." And those are the words that Fuad Hiar, 52, has lived by. The first Israeli Druze to enter a prestigious army school and then join the Golani Brigade, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) infantry unit, Fuad has learned that being real, and keeping it real, leads to good things. He applied his mother's wisdom to soap and created an international brand and business called Gamila Secret.

Hiar's mother Gamila, who taught by example, accomplished some "firsts" herself. She was the first Druze women in her community of Peki'in to work, when she established the roots of the world-exported soap brand, which has become a celebrity favorite. It's reportedly enjoyed by Justin Timberlake, Angelina Jolie, Rihanna and Bar Rafaeli, the Israeli fashion model. She was also the first to introduce sex-education to her community, and to bring math teachers to local schools.

But her son didn't have fame in mind when he started handing out bars of his mom's soap to his army mates at the Reali School in Haifa, where he eventually went on to train new recruits as an officer in the Golani Brigade: "We were dirty, with all kinds of skin problems and I was always handing out soaps and telling my mother how much it helped them."

Like a fine wine, and vegan-friendly

Not tested on animals, Gamila's soaps, marketed today under the brand name Gamila Secret, were tested on his army buddies, jokes Hiar. While 40 years ago he was handing out the stuff for free, today a bar of his mother's cherished soap costs about $35.

Gamila's soaps are made with high quality ingredients and edible oils, and take six months to dry.

It contains no animal byproducts, salts or chemicals, and is lovingly hand-made by women in the factory in the Tefen Industrial Park in the Galilee, according to Gamila's secret recipe that has been handed down through the generations. Comprised of herbs and plants from the hills of the Galilee surrounding the village of Peki'in where Gamila lives today, it takes six months and a wide variety of high quality and edible oils like olive and almond to make one bar of soap. "If I would put sodium salt in my product, I could make it dry in a day. But we use pure oils and herbs, and a natural way to dry it. When it's done it's hard enough to cut with a knife," says Hiar.

Like wine, Gamila soap needs to be aged - it takes months of drying before the soap can be cut, stamped and shipped out in its signature box. Today about 100,000 bars are produced and shipped each month to 23 countries worldwide, including the United States, Holland and Taiwan.

Healing properties for all faiths

People love the soap for its restorative qualities, features that Gamila (pronounced "jah - mil - ah") swears by. But she'll never give up the secret, known today only by two of her sons who work with her. All four of her boys are in the business which otherwise employs only women - who may be Muslim, Jewish, Christian or Druze.

"There are four religions working with us. We four religions can live together and respect each other," Gamila says. "My vision is that there will be peace with Lebanon and Syria and together we could all make cosmetics, not kill each other." Hiar explains: "Peki'in is always known for people living in peace: Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Druze, all living and working together. My mother insisted that we four religions may believe something different but all believe in the same God."

The Druze faith, which he belongs to, is a secret sect believed to have developed from Islam. Similar to Islam, the faith incorporates many aspects of world religions including Buddhism. They also believe in reincarnation. This secretive nature of the faith adds a touch of mystique to the international brand that celebrities order for their friends.

Word-of-mouth marketing "bubble"

"I've heard that Justin Timberlake also uses the soap, but since I didn't speak to him, I can't be sure," says Hiar. "I think most of the celebrities are using it - from Madonna to Rihanna. I always hear that there are more and more - from Bar Rafaeli and Leonardo DiCaprio, her boyfriend. Every second month they are sending their reps to take more for them to bring to their friends."

And that's pretty much how the marketing efforts go, he says: "Someone who uses it recommends it." Says Gamila: "I am always hearing stories about new ailments that our soap has healed and helped."

Selling their 100,000 bars a month should also be credited to a Dutch investor who saw the family story as the major selling point to the soap, and taught them how to tell it. It helps the family explain the high cost. Fuad says: "Our product is so much different than our competitors, who can make soap for 12 to 18 cents a bar. Since we use high-quality products and edible oils, ours costs us 100 times more to make so we must sell it for a higher price."

The efforts have clearly paid off. "We started seeing the success of [Mom's] investment after 30 years, but something real is never instant. When I came to Israel to open the factory, I made a small business plan. Our soap costs much more than regular soap and all the advisers said we could never sell it at that price, that we shouldn't use pure oils and essences but that we should use chemicals."

Still, Fuad persisted, always heeding mom's advice: "My mother always said, 'Fuad, you do it for real.' "