Guides
Hammam at home in Marrakech: what to expect
No hammam in your riad? Here is how a hammam at home works, step by step, and what you need to prepare.
Updated
The hammam is part of everyday life in Morocco: people go to wash, relax and care for their skin. But as a visitor to Marrakech, walking into a public hammam can feel intimidating, and not every riad has its own.
The good news: the ritual can come to you. Here is how a hammam at home works, what to prepare and how to get the most out of it.
Public hammam, riad hammam or hammam at home?
A local public hammam is a community space, with separate hours or areas for men and women. Spa and riad hammams offer a private version with a hot room. A hammam at home follows the steps of the ritual (black soap, scrub, clay, oil) in your bathroom or in your accommodation's private hammam.
What's different: there is no steam room. In return, you stay at home, in complete privacy, with no journey afterwards.
The steps of the ritual
- Black soap: an olive-oil-based paste applied to damp skin and left for a few minutes to soften it.
- The kessa glove scrub: a coarse glove that removes dead skin. It is the most distinctly Moroccan moment of the ritual.
- Rhassoul: a clay from the Atlas, applied as a wrap to purify and soften the skin before rinsing.
- Argan oil: a final massage to nourish the skin and prolong the relaxation.
This is exactly how our Traditional Berber Hammam unfolds. The Royal Hammam adds a salt crystal and orange blossom treatment, foot filing and an argan mask.
What to prepare
- a bathroom with a shower and hot water, or your riad or villa's private hammam;
- a room to set up the massage table for the final massage;
- swimwear or underwear you don't mind getting wet;
- some drinking water.
Your therapist brings the products and towels. We check the space with you on WhatsApp when confirming.
In a hotel room
A hammam at home works in a hotel room that has a shower. Let reception know your therapist is coming, depending on the hotel's policy. For everything else, see our in-room massage in hotels and riads page.
Before and after your hammam
- Avoid waxing in the 24 hours before or after the scrub.
- No scrubbing on sunburn: wait until your skin has calmed down.
- Drink water and plan a quiet moment after the treatment.
- Avoid strong sun straight afterwards: your skin is more sensitive.
Hammam and pregnancy
Heat and vigorous scrubbing are not always suitable during pregnancy. Ask your doctor and, if in doubt, choose the pregnancy massage.
