The Moroccan hammam: steam, black soap and the kessa

How it works

A hammam is a series of rooms that get hotter as you go in, with steam, taps of hot and cold water and buckets. There is no pool: you wash by pouring water over yourself with a bowl. Men and women bathe separately, in separate sections or at different times of day.

Black soap, kessa and ghassoul

The ritual usually starts with time in the warm rooms to soften the skin, then savon beldi, a soft black soap made with olive oil and olives, spread over the body.

Next comes the kessa, a rough exfoliating mitt. Scrubbed firmly, by yourself or by an attendant, it lifts away a surprising amount of dead skin. Some finish with ghassoul, a mineral clay from the Atlas, used as a mask or for the hair.

Visiting a public hammam

Bring a towel, flip-flops, a change of clothes, soap and a kessa, or buy them at the entrance; many hammams also offer a scrub by an attendant for a small fee. Most people keep their underwear or a swimsuit on. Hotel and spa hammams offer a quieter, more private version of the same ritual.

From kessa to an open return

The Rub It Out design brings together a kessa mitt, a copper bowl and an erased return ticket. It links a Moroccan bathing ritual with the wish to leave the return date open: scrubbed clean and in no hurry to go home.