What actually happens in a traditional Moroccan hammam?

In a traditional hammam you sit in a hot, steamy room to soften your skin, are lathered in black olive-oil soap (savon beldi), then vigorously scrubbed all over with a coarse kessa glove that removes layers of dead skin, before rinsing with buckets of warm water. It’s a deep-clean ritual, communal and unpretentious, that leaves you astonishingly smooth.

At a local public hammam it’s single-sex, you keep underwear bottoms on, bring your own kit, and either scrub yourself or pay an attendant to do it. The scrub is thorough to the point of surprising first-timers, and a ghassoul clay mask sometimes follows.

A tourist or spa hammam offers the same steps in a private, plush setting with products and towels provided, often adding a massage. Either way, hydrate afterwards and enjoy the glow — it’s a centuries-old part of Moroccan life.