Black soap with olive oil, kessa glove and Moroccan rhassoul to exfoliate and cleanse. Recreate the oriental hammam ritual at home for soft, clean skin.
Hammam care products take up the ritual of the public baths of Morocco and the Middle East. The principle comes down to three steps: warming the skin with steam, exfoliating it, then nourishing it. In Morocco, many families go to the neighbourhood hammam once a week. The traditional hammam has several rooms, from the coolest to the hottest.
Black soap is a soft paste made from olive oil and crushed black olives. It lathers very little and softens the layer of dead skin while it sits. Its colour ranges from brown to dark green depending on the olives used. It is also called beldi soap, meaning “of the country” in Moroccan Arabic.
The kessa glove is a rough glove in viscose fibre, rubbed on the skin to remove dead skin. It replaces the cream scrub and contains no plastic grains. At the hammam, a person dedicated to scrubbing often works it over the clients’ backs.
Rhassoul, also called ghassoul, is a clay extracted in the Middle Atlas, in Morocco. Mixed with water, it forms a mud that cleanses the skin and hair without detergent. It is used as a mask for the face, body or scalp. Its name comes from the Arabic verb “ghassala”, which means to wash.
For black soap, read the composition: a traditional soap contains olive oil and potash, with no added fragrance. The eucalyptus, rose or argan versions add a scent or a care benefit. A 200 g jar is enough for about ten sessions. Prefer a jar with a screw lid, which keeps the paste supple.
Choose the glove according to your skin. A fine grain suits sensitive skin; a coarse grain exfoliates the back and legs better. Take a glove that fits your hand, closed with an elastic band, so that it does not slip off. The glove can be washed and reused for months; replace it when the grain wears down.
Rhassoul is sold as a fine powder or in small tablets, which are more traditional, to be left to soak in water for a few minutes. Check that it is pure rhassoul, with no other clay added. Its natural colour ranges from light brown to grey. Some versions are mixed with plants, such as rose or lavender. For hair, choose a very fine rhassoul, which rinses out more easily.
To get started, a hammam gift set often brings the three products together in one box. You then only need to buy more black soap, which gets used up fastest. It is also a simple gift idea for Mother’s Day or a birthday.
Take a hot shower of ten minutes, with the door closed, to fill the bathroom with steam. Then spread the black soap on wet skin, leave it on for five to ten minutes, then rinse. Wet your hair at the same time if you want to give it a rhassoul mask.
Rub the skin with the kessa glove in long strokes, from the ankles towards the heart. The dead skin comes off in little grey rolls. Spend more time on the elbows, knees and heels, where the skin is thicker. Then apply the rhassoul as a mask for ten minutes, rinse, then nourish the skin with an argan oil. Rhassoul can also be mixed with rose water, for a softer scent.
Limit exfoliation to once a week, or every two weeks for sensitive skin. Avoid it on irritated skin, sunburn or just after hair removal. Rinse the glove after use, let it dry in the open air and close the jar of black soap again so that it does not harden. Then moisturise the skin every day to keep the effect of the exfoliation.
To extend the treatment, discover natural henna for the hair and our floral waters for the face, in our oriental beauty care section.
