Detergent laundry bars of acceptable mildness, detergency, foaming properties, processing characteristics and resistance to breakage are described which are based on built water soluble salts of alpha-sulfo-higher fatty acid-lower alcohol ester detergent and/or alpha-sulfo-higher fatty acid-amide, and which contain bentonite, which acts as a bodying agent for the laundry bars, facilitating production thereof, and contributing fabric softening properties to laundry washed with such laundry bars. When the bentonite is omitted or is replaced by water insoluble filler, such as calcium carbonate powder, and the alpha-sulfo-fatty acid derivative detergent is employed as an aqueous solution, bars made are not of acceptable hardness and such compositions are not satisfactorily processable in conventional soapmaking apparatuses.Also described are processes for converting aqueous solutions of alpha-sulfo-fatty acid derivative detergent to solid form by treatment with bentonite, and for making detergent laundry bars from such solidified detergent.