Your first hammam in Marrakech: what happens, step by step
If you have never had a hammam, the uncomfortable part is not the heat. It is not knowing what comes next. Here is the order it happens in.
Steam first
You are settled into a hot, humid room and left there. That time is not a formality: steam softens the skin, and without it the scrub does not take. You do nothing during it. That is the point.
Black soap
A dark olive-based paste, spread over the body and left for a few minutes. It does not lather like ordinary soap. It is preparing the skin for the glove.
The kessa glove
This is the part people tell their friends about. A coarse glove worked firmly over the skin, lifting the dead layer off. You can see what comes away. It is startling the first time, and it is the whole exercise.
The pressure is adjustable. If it is too much, say so. Nobody is offended, and it comes up several times a day.
The rinse
Warm water, and then you are out. Skin is smooth and a little tender for an hour or two. That is why a massage lands so well straight after, and why the two are often booked together.
How long to set aside
The essential hammam takes an hour. The signature version, with its oriental wrap, takes an hour and a quarter. Durations and prices are on the menu.