What to Expect at Your First Moroccan Hammam
Almost everyone arrives at their first hammam with the same two questions and only asks one of them. The one they ask is how long it takes. The one they do not ask is what they are supposed to take off 🫣.
So let us start with the whole thing in order. A traditional Moroccan hammam runs in five stages: you sit in heat and steam until your skin softens, an attendant covers you in savon beldi, a soft black soap made from olives, and leaves it to work; then you are rinsed with buckets of warm water and scrubbed all over with a coarse mitt called a kessa, which lifts off a startling amount of dead skin; then a mineral clay called ghassoul goes on, sometimes over your hair as well; then you are rinsed again and left to cool down slowly, usually with mint tea. Most versions take somewhere between forty-five minutes and an hour and a half.
That is the basic plan. Here is what it feels like from the inside.
What happens in a Moroccan Hammam, step by step
1. The heat
You move into a hot, wet room, usually tiled, and you sit. There is no dry sauna crackle to it and there is a lot of steam and the sound of water in buckets. Ten to fifteen minutes is normal, and its job is to soften the outer layer of your skin so that everything after it works.
2. Savon beldi
A dark, soft, almost gel-like soap made from saponified olives gets applied over your whole body and left on for several minutes. It looks alarming and smells green. Olives have stearic acid, which exfoliates your skin. It’s chemistry. Different regions use different products.
3. The scrub
This is the part you will remember. An attendant works over you with the kessa mitt, section by section, with real pressure, and what comes off is visible and unignorable. It is closer to being sanded than being massaged. It does not hurt, yet it is not gentle. And the attendant will run the kessa over your breasts almost to the nipple, and reach quite high up your inner thighs. When they rinse you they will unceremonially lift your disposable panties to make sure everything gets rinsed. No shyness here!
4. Ghassoul clay
Mineral clay from the Atlas Mountains in the Moroccan hammam goes on next, sometimes on your hair too, and sits while you sit. Then buckets again. The water is simply the most perfect temperature every time. And there is something extra luxurious about buckets of water being poured over you.
5. Cooling down
You are rinsed, wrapped, and moved somewhere cooler to come back to normal temperature slowly. In a spa hammam this is where an argan oil massage and the mint tea usually appear. Do not schedule anything immediately afterward. Your body has just spent an hour in heat and it will tell you about it.
What is the difference between a neighborhood hammam and a spa hammam?
A neighborhood hammam, a hammam beldi, is a public bathhouse used by the people who live around it. It costs very little, it is communal, there is no privacy in the way a visitor might mean that word, and you bring your own everything: bucket, mat, soap, mitt, towel, flip-flops, a change of underwear. Women and men go at separate times or through separate doors. These bathhouses have been part of the social fabric for centuries! It’s where you learned the news of neighbors, it’s also where you learned self-care and caring for others.
A spa hammam is a private or semi-private version built for guests. Everything is provided, someone talks you through each stage, you can book a time, and it costs many times more. The attendants are trained, usually in house, but they also have grown up taking part on these practices since they were little. I believe this lived experience can be felt.
What do you wear?
Most women keep their underwear or bikini bottoms on. Tops come off, and in a spa hammam you will be provided a fluffy robe to wrap in between rooms and slippers to wear. Some hammams provide you with disposable panties. For women these are usually thongs and for men a sort of short. On one of my guests’ first trips she accidentally put her disposable thong on backwards! lol. Be sure to check for front/back coverage! You can always ask what they provide when you make your booking, if they don’t provide something disposable, bring a bikini bottom you do not love, because black soap, clay and a great deal of water all happen to them. Some hammams you might be naked in. Just ask.
Nobody is looking at you. This is the thing worth hearing twice if you have been putting the experience off. A hammam is a room where bodies of every age and shape get washed, and it has been that room for centuries.
What should you bring?
For a spa hammam, yourself and a hair tie or clip. Everything else is provided. I like to wear a roomy cotton or linen dress for the walk home. You’ll have a layer or oil on you. Give it time and room to soak in.
For a neighborhood one, the list is longer: a plastic bucket and mat, your own savon beldi and kessa, shampoo, a towel, flip-flops and dry underwear. Both are sold in any souk for very little.
Is a hammam relaxing?
Afterward, enormously. During, it depends entirely on which part you are in. The heat is soporific, the scrub is brisk and businesslike, and the clay is somewhere in between but I find it delightful to lay on a pad on the heated tadelakt, steam in the area, and beautiful scents to breathe in. If you go in expecting a massage you will spend the middle third of it confused. Pro tip: book the package with the massage.
You walk out with skin as soft as a newborn dolphin, shoulders somewhere lower than they were, and the specific kind of tiredness that sends you to bed early and happy.
Who should ask extra questions before booking?
The heat is the variable that matters. Ask your doctor first if you are pregnant, if you have a heart condition or trouble regulating blood pressure, if you are on medication that affects how you handle heat, or if you have had surgery recently. Skip it, or say something in advance, if you have sunburn, broken skin, eczema in flare, or a fresh tattoo. Do not shave or wax in the day or two before: the scrub is thorough and freshly shaved skin does not enjoy it.
Drink water before and after. More than you think.
Frequently asked questions about Moroccan and Turkish hammam
How long does a Moroccan hammam take?
Between forty-five minutes and about ninety, depending on whether a massage is attached. Give yourself the rest of the afternoon to relax.
Do you go naked in a hammam?
Underwear or bikini bottoms stay on or are provided for most at the spa hammam. Naked is common in neighborhood hammam. Topscome off. In a spa hammam you will be given a robe and slippers, and a locker with a key to keep in your robe pocket.
Is a hammam the same as a Turkish bath?
They come from the same lineage of bathhouse culture and they run differently in practice. A Turkish hamam is typically drier and centers on a heated marble slab; the Moroccan version is steamier, and the black soap and ghassoul clay are particular to it. This post is about the Moroccan one specifically.
How much does a hammam cost in Morocco?
A neighborhood hammam costs the price of a coffee. A spa hammam in Marrakech runs from around sixty dollars US to well over a hundred, depending on the riad and whether a massage is included.
Should I tip?
Yes, and it is normally given to the attendant directly rather than added to a bill. I always encourage my guests to be generous and tip 20%. That’s my practice. I also bring a small change purse to keep the tip in my pocket.
Can I go on my own as a woman?
Yes. Spa hammams are booked like any other treatment. For a neighborhood one, going with someone who knows the place makes the whole thing easier, mostly because there is a rhythm to it that nobody explains.
Where to start
If you are going to Morocco, book one for the second or third day rather than the first. You will have walked enough by then to appreciate it, and you will still have a week to enjoy the skin. If you want to experience it again before you leave choose one without the kessa scrub, unless you are on an extra long trip.
