Growing up in Morocco, going to the Hammam was part of my weekly routine. Every Saturday afternoon, I would start with my mother and aunts the pre-Hammam ritual, which involved preparing the ingredients and getting our hair and skin ready for Moroccan bath treatments.
Moroccan baths, also called Moroccan Hammams, are one of the best care treatments to detoxify. In Morocco, women have a Moroccan bath every week. It’s a non-negotiable me-time that can take up to two hours. It’s meant to deeply clean and nourish the skin and hair, but also to reconnect with the body’s senses and relax.
Having tried many relaxation massages and SPAs, there is honestly nothing like being in the steamy Hammam, where every inch of your muscles relaxes and every pore opens for a deep cleanse. Once you finish your Moroccan bath, you feel completely clean and relaxed, like you were just born.
Because I don’t have a Moroccan bath where I currently live, I created a Moroccan bath at home routine that is almost as good as being in a traditional Hammam. You can find the products easily online (I will share my links below). Once you try it, there is no coming back!
What is Moroccan bath (Hammam) treatment?
Moroccan Baths are a Moroccan traditional beauty ritual where Moroccan men and Moroccan women go to a public gender-separated bath, to benefit from its purifying virtues and skin detoxification.
Hammams in Morocco are everywhere. You can find them in almost every neighborhood. They are one of the most appreciated cleansing and relaxing beauty treatments in Morocco. In fact, it’s very rare for women in Morocco to go to regular SPAs as they can get everything they need in a Moroccan bath.
In Morocco, Moroccan Hammams are also very cheap. Going to a traditional Hammam costs less than $5 per person. Talk about a bargain!
How to make a Moroccan bath at home?
Here are the detailed steps to follow to make your Moroccan bath at home, as well as some useful links to amazing Moroccan products that will bring your Hammam experience to another level.
If you want to save time gathering all the ingredients, I highly recommend this $40 Hammam set. The value for what you get is really high and it will get you ready for your next Hammam at home. I will also try to share the links to the products I use and re-use in my weekly Hammam routine.
STEP 1 – Apply an oil treatment to your hair
The first step to getting prepared for a Moroccan bath is to nourish your hair with an oil treatment and leave it for at least a couple of hours, under a warm towel.
In Morocco, the most used oils for hair are Argan oil and Castor oil. Argan oil – applied to hair ends – is perfect for deep-nourishing your hair while Castor oil – applied to the scalp – is one of the best treatments to have thick beautiful hair and stop hair loss.
To get the best results, make sure you choose a good quality and pure organic Argan oil and organic Castor oil. Use one teaspoon each for every use. They’ll go a long way.
STEP 2 – Prepare your bathtub or shower and get it steamy
Once your hair treatment has deeply penetrated your hair and scalp (after 2-hours or so), you can start preparing your Hammam environment.
The idea is to obtain as much warm/hot steam as possible in your shower. To produce enough steam, let the hot water flow for 2 to 3 minutes until your shower starts getting steamy.
In the meantime, get an essential oil and add some drops to a napkin and let it diffuse in the shower. With the steam and heat, the essential oil will diffuse better and will make your experience much more relaxing and enjoyable.
You can use any diffusable essential oil you have. My favorite is the orange essential oil. It smells so so good!
STEP 3 – Prepare your skin with Moroccan Black Soap
Once your shower is hot, steamy, and smells amazing with essential oils, the next step is to open up your skin pores. For this, adjust the water temperature to warm, get under the shower and let the water flow all over your body for about 2 to 3 minutes, your face included. This will open your pores.
Then apply all over your body traditional Moroccan black soap.
Moroccan black soap is a traditional Moroccan beauty product essential for Hammam baths.
It’s a dark paste made of dried olive peels and dried plants. Once in contact with your wet skin, it will foam like soap and penetrate your skin, preparing it for the coming deep cleanse.
Here again, the best is to use a 100% natural Moroccan black soap. One full teaspoon will be more than enough for your entire body.
STEP 4 – Clean your hair and apply a deep-conditioner
This step is simple and consists of cleaning your hair from the oil treatment while you give some more time for the black soap to penetrate your skin.
For cleaning your hair, use a gentle shampoo and make sure you clean your hair thoroughly, scalp, and ends. Once you are finished, apply your deep conditioner.
STEP 5 – Start the exfoliation with the Moroccan Kessa glove
Now that Moroccan black soap has penetrated your skin and your body is ready to get purified, it’s time to start removing the dead skin! For this, you will need a Moroccan Kessa glove.
Moroccan Kessa glove is a popular bathing essential in Morocco, used to remove dead skin.
The most important part here is to choose the right Kessa depending on your skin sensitivity.
I recommend using a gentle Kessa glove for the face and body. It will respect the skin barrier and allow for a gentle, yet deep exfoliation. This Kessa Hammam glove is one of the softest you can find in the market. Just keep in mind that a Kessa glove will always be a little rough, so always scrub gently, never too hard.
The Kessa glove will remove dead skin from all your body, by scrubbing gently your skin, using circular motions. Thanks to Moroccan black soap applied earlier, your skin will release A LOT of toxins and dead skin. You will be surprised!
STEP 6 – Apply a Ghassoul Mask
The Moroccan Ghassoul is a clay mined from the Moroccan Atlas mountains. It’s a very unique and rich clay full of minerals such as magnesium, iron, and potassium. You can find the Ghassoul in a powder form, solid or a paste form.
The Ghassoul is also an essential part of Moroccan Hammam experience. it is used in Morocco since the 8th century by women to clean their body and sometimes hair (if you have oily hair, it will do wonders!).
To use Moroccan Ghassoul, make sure you rinse your skin with warm water, then apply the paste on your skin, face included. Let stay for 5-10 minutes, then rinse with warm water. Your skin will be as smooth as a baby’s skin!
This is the Moroccan Ghassoul clay I use most of the time.
STEP 7 – Rinse your entire body and apply Argan oil
You’re almost done. Make sure your skin and hair are well-rinsed and clean, then dry your skin with a towel. If you want to, you can massage your dry parts with argan oil. You can even indulge from time to time and massage your entire body with argan oil. You deserve it!
That’s it. Your skin and hair will be clean, detoxified and so so smooth. You will smell amazing and you will be deeply relaxed and in a good mood.
Try to have a Moroccan bath Hammam every week or two, and you will notice your hair and skin will incredibly get better and look better.
love the tips
I cant wait to try the ghassoul and argan oil on my skin, it needs a lot of pampering rn.
cant wait to try
My sister in law is Moroccan and she has AMAZING skin! She always tells me about Moroccan beauty products and the wonders they do to the skin. thank you for these recommendations, I will try them out for sure!
I have all the products, ready for the hammam
thank you for the product recommendations. I received all of them today and they smell sooo good! I can’t wait to use them. My first hammam experience was in Morocco and it was one of my favorite spa experiences. thank you again
Best bath experience I had
I went to Morocco a couple of years ago and people suggested to me to Rey the Hammam experience. I did. And it was wonderful. Thanks for sharing the essentials, I can now redo the experience at home <3
sounds sooo relaxing
thank you for the tips and useful links. I’ll definitely try the Moroccan hammam experience at home.
