The traditional Moroccan hammam, a public steam bath, is an experience unlike any other, with three or four rooms. You start in a cool one, move to a warm one, and then end in a super-hot room.
As a Moroccan girl, I’ve been going to the hammam every week with my mom since I was just 8 months old, and now at 26, I can truly say I know all there is to know about it. I start with Moroccan black soap, which my ancestors swear by for removing dead skin when scrubbed with exfoliating gloves.
Then, I start scrubbing, or a woman called the ghessala will come and exfoliate my entire naked body. I just relax, knowing that all the dead skin is being scrubbed away, like spaghetti coming off my body. After that, I wash my hair, which my mom treated with her magical henna recipe that helps with hair growth. Finally, I finish with soap, and that’s when the session ends.
Honestly, after a hammam session, I always feel incredibly relaxed. I believe I’ve never felt fully clean until I’ve been to the hammam. You’ll leave feeling like you have brand new skin.
In this article I’ll share with you everything you need to know about Moroccan Hammam.
The Kinds of Moroccan Hammam
In Morocco, There are two kinds of Hammams: Local and touristic.
Local hammams are public and are typically found in every neighborhood. They are more basic and traditional. with separate areas for women and men. You can scrub yourself, pay a staff member (ghessala) to help, or even ask a random woman to scrub your body for you and you scrub hers.
Touristic hammams, also known as private hammams, offer a more luxurious experience with fancy decorations, and high-quality service, and you can find mixed sexes, unlike local hammams.
The Benefits of Moroccan Hammam
The Moroccan hammam is all about deep cleansing, relaxation, and rejuvenation. The heat (about 40-50 degrees Celsius) opens your pores, makes you sweat, and leaves your skin fresh and glowy.
Women often incorporate Moroccan beauty secrets, such as using henna and other traditional practices, during their hammam sessions.
Skin purification and detoxification
Before exfoliation, the body needs to be exposed to steam, which helps deeply cleanse and purify the skin by eliminating impurities, dirt, excess oils, and fats. This process helps open the pores and prevents the appearance of acne on the body, leaving the skin so soft like never before. As I said before, a woman (ghessala), takes care of you, providing services such as massage or exfoliation.
Promotes Relaxation
Many people prefer to go to the Moroccan Hammam during weekends, as it helps them relax and clear their minds. The warm, humid atmosphere is unique to the Hammam and feels like therapy. From experience, my favorite routine is going to the Moroccan Hammam every weekend, and I highly recommend it to you when you visit Morocco.
Soften and nourish The hair
Both the steam and the humidity in the Moroccan Hammam contribute to moisturizing the hair making it softer and reducing frizz.
5 Steps for a Real Moroccan Bath
1. Get undressed and choose a bath chamber
The first step is to get undressed and wear the robe that the woman gives you, then you hand over the clothes that you already brought in a bag (the ones you’ll wear after the bath). You can choose to enjoy the bath naked or in a Bikini—it’s up to you. I prefer wearing my Bikini. However, men are required to cover their lower part.
As I mentioned earlier, there are up to 4 rooms with different heat levels. Choose the one you feel comfortable in, Apply Moroccan black soap on your whole body and wait 10 min or more to let your body soak in the steam and open your pores. After that, ask the lady to come, and she will exfoliate your body using “kees” to scrub off the dead skin.
2. Exfoliation with the “Kees” Glove
The Kees glove is like a rough tissue used to exfoliate your body. This step helps clean your skin deeply and get rid of dead skin cells, leftover products, and impurities.
3. Rinsing the Body
After the exfoliation process, your body feels incredibly soft and honestly, that’s my favorite part. Rinse with warm water, drink some water, and get ready for the next step.
4. Hair Wash
Now we’re at the second-to-last step. With the humidity from the hammam, your hair gets extra benefits from the wash,it feels much cleaner and refreshed.
5. Soap Your Body
The last step is soaping your body, rinsing off, and then enjoying the feeling of your soft skin, clean hair, and clear mind. To finish, I recommend that you relax with a soothing cup of tea.