Moroccan Hammam Guide: What First-timers Need to Know

When I finally visited Marrakech, experiencing a traditional Moroccan hammam was at the top of my list of things to do.

Something about scrubbing away the rough layers of yourself to reveal a fresh, glowing version of yourself sounded appealing.

But I was nervous – the traditional experience involves being naked in a room of other women, which I haven’t done since the high school locker room.

Everything I read about Morocco insisted that a hammam is a must-do experience, so I booked a traditional hammam in Marrakech for my mom and me, and it was unforgettable! 

I came out with the softest skin I’ve ever had!

Now, I’m detailing every step of this unique bathing ritual at the heart of Moroccan culture. I was so lucky to experience it, and I want you to go in feeling less anxious than I did.

What is a Moroccan Hammam?

A Morocco hammam—sometimes called a Turkish hammam — is a traditional public bathhouse popular in the Middle East. Bathers move between warm, hot, and cold rooms in a hammam. 

In a Morocco bathhouse, bathers are separated by gender to allow for modesty. 

Getting scrubbed by a professional bath attendant or fellow bather is also very common. 

Humans have used heat to release toxins for tens of thousands of years, and public bathing became especially popular during the Roman Empire.

The communal experience was available for all social classes. It was a chance to bathe (since having your own bath wasn’t a thing) and socialize. The socialization part was essential to women who had fewer opportunities to get together in public.

Nowadays, a hammam is seen more as a pampering spa treatment rather than a social ritual. 

Most locals in Morocco attend their neighborhood hammam once a week, although I met some locals in Marrakech who visit multiple times a week!

How much is a Hammam in Morocco?

Visiting a Hamman in Morocco can be as cheap or expensive as you’d like.

Most locals visit their no-frills community hammam for the equivalent of $2 USD, then pay a couple more dollars if they want a scrub. This is the most affordable option if you don’t mind bringing your own bath supplies and not getting the full scrub down like I did. 

Hammam Mouassine is famous for being the oldest in Marrakech, costing just $5 USD.

However, many 5-star hotels and spas offer more luxurious Hammam treatments for $50-$150 USD. These often come with additional amenities such as private rooms, specialized oils and massages, and access to other spa facilities.

The Hammam at the Royal Mansour is one of the most luxurious and expensive. A 75-minute treatment costs about $155 USD.

🧖‍♀️Check the price for this top-rated traditional hammam experience in Marrakech.

My Experience: What Happens at a Moroccan Hammam 

Visiting a hammam in Morocco is much like any other spa – except with more nudity. 

You’ll remove your clothing, steam open your pores on hot marble seats, rinse your skin, get scrubbed with a hammam bath mitt, and wash with Moroccan black soap. 

Locals tend to go to no-frills bathhouses where they either scrub themselves or arrange an informal “you scrub my back, and I’ll scrub yours” situation with another bather. They can also pay a few extra bucks for a scrub by an attendant.

Most tourists opt for a higher-end Moroccan Hammam bath, where a professional bath attendant performs the treatment.

The exact treatment and products used vary from hammam to hammam.

A Typical Hammam Routine

A Hammam spa treatment involves the following steps. 

• Steam for 15-30 minutes in a steam room
• Shower with black Moroccan soap
• Scrub skin with a hammam spa mitt or Kessa glove
• Slather the skin in a hydrating mask
• Rinse off
• Wash hair and body with black soap
• Relax in a robe
• Apply a moisturizer or massage oil to help the skin heal.

Before the Treatment

I visited La Mamounia’s hammam in Marrakech with my mom. She treated us to a luxury hotel experience so far out of my budget that I felt I wouldn’t be allowed in!

I definitely got some looks entering in my ragged joggers and threadbare tee – my uniform during my year of travel.

Opting for a more ornate hammam meant we had access to additional services, like their large pool area.

We donned our bathing suits and headed to the gilded gold pool room with poolside beds and crystal blue waters that reminded me of a Caribbean holiday. 

Getting Naked at a Hammam

Typically, you wear nothing during a traditional Moroccan spa. 

I’m not going to lie – I was kind of freaked out about getting naked at the hammam.

I know I am not alone – many women feel anxious about it. I’ve read dozens of articles more about being naked in a hammam than the actual bathing process itself!

In the end, we didn’t even have to be naked, and I got used to it pretty fast.

You enter the room with a towel that you remove while scrubbing and washing.

Some Western women wear bikini bottoms or disposable underwear (as I did) during their spa treatment.

Our lockers came with a plastic package resembling a disposable shower cap. When we opened them, it revealed a gauze pair of underwear.

These disposable panties were meant to help Westerners like us feel more comfortable, but honestly, there was nothing comfortable about the disposable thong that hardly covered anything!

🧖‍♀️ Check prices for a traditional hammam here

Steaming Open

A typical hammam bath begins with 15-30 minutes in a steam room to open your pores and help soften your skin.

Unfortunately, I have an aversion to heat and steam. I managed 5 minutes lying in the sweltering room, feeling the sweat creating a heavy layer on my skin, before I rushed from the room, gasping for cold air.

This is an important reminder for everyone – if something isn’t working for your body, you can stop, even if it’s a traditional experience.

Listen to your body and adjust the treatment to enjoy the experience.

Lying Out in the Warm Room

After our steam, the attendants led us to a warm room. The air was muggy with hot water vapor from the showers next door.

The dampness in the air wasn’t heavy like the steam room, so I enjoyed it more. Thanks to the warmth of the marble slabs we were sprawled across, I was lulled into a relaxed, near-sleep state. My tight muscles finally began to unknot.

It felt like pure opulence to be lounging on a marble chaise in a plush towel with an icy glass in my hand!

If my hammam experience had ended there, I would have called it a great experience. 

Getting Washed with Black Moroccan Soap

Part of the allure of La Mamounia’s spa and a justification for its price tag was the privacy.

In a traditional hammam in Marrakech attended by locals, everything would have been done in a communal area. You’d be naked amongst other women and perhaps have to do the work of the scrubbing yourself.

At La Mamounia, you get an individual shower room and scrubbing room with a personal attendant.

She sensed my hesitation to undress, tugging my towel off and turning on the shower before I had time to process what was happening.

The attendant moved me with firm hands, guiding me to where I needed to be as she gently rubbed black soap over my body.

I’d expected something called “black soap” to sting or be harsh, but it was oddly kind to my sensitive skin. 

The attendant worked the black soap over every inch of my skin.

She did not respect the boundaries of the mesh underwear.

Oddly, that helped me get more comfortable. Clearly, this was a clinical practice for her. My body was just like any other body, simply skin she needed to work on.

The Best and Most Intense Scrub of Your Life

I was pat dry with the towel and led to an adjacent room, wearing only the sagging mesh thong. In the center of the room was another human-sized block of marble.

I only had a moment to register it before I was ushered onto the marble, and my bones turned to Jell-O again at the warmth.

I was so relaxed that I forgot to worry about the scrubbing, my nakedness, or even the way the underwear was digging into my hip on one side.

Online, people spoke of a traditional Moroccan hammam scrub that left them feeling rubbed raw or almost sunburnt. They spoke of redness or sensitivity after the experience. Others claimed the mitt was so rough it actually hurt during the process.

Thankfully, my experience was nothing like that.

The scrubbing was rough. The strength of the woman’s hands made my whole body shake, but it never hurt.

It felt wonderful! It was like getting a light massage and a good scratch all at once. As someone who loves both of those things, I was in heaven.

My attendant would stop after every limb to show me the white mitt with curls of dead skin she’d managed to remove (so gross, yet so satisfying!). She kept grabbing my hand to press it to the buttery smooth skin she’d uncovered. I don’t think I came into the world this smooth!

She periodically dumped buckets of warm water over me to wash away the dead skin. Each time, it felt almost like a rebirth, washing away the old to reveal the new.

I was feeling so zen I’d gotten philosophical. Sue me.

Post-Scrub Clay Mask

Scrubbing is the main activity in the Morocco hammam experience. It takes a while to work the hand-sized mitt across your body.

At La Mamounia, you are coated in a cool clay mask after the scrub is finished.

I was coated from back to front, head to toe, in the salve. My attendant told me, in French that I could barely grasp, to lie in the mask while she fetched me juice for after the final shower.

It could have been five minutes or forty-five before she returned. I felt like I had become one with the warm marble. To this day, it’s the closest I’ve ever managed to meditation.

I didn’t even notice I was still naked.

The Final Rinse

Eventually, she returned, and I was pulled to my feet. 

The attendant had to support my arm and guide me to the shower. I felt like I’d been drugged.

Once the water hit me, I slowly came back to myself. My hands joined hers, rinsing the clay mask from my skin.

She tore off the crude underwear with surprising force, leaving me fully bare for the first time.

I reached for the shampoo, and she rubbed more black soap across my body. My mom’s attendant washed her hair for her.

🧖‍♀️Check the price for this top-rated traditional hammam experience in Marrakech.

Recovering From the Hammam

Warm from the shower and scrubbed into a new being, I was escorted to a traditional spa waiting room, and I bid my attendant “Sukran!”. Lying on a plush chaise with freshly squeezed orange juice in my hand, I felt like royalty.

I imagined I was a princess living in a beautifully tiled riad, like the ones I’d visited throughout Marrakesh.

Admittedly, my mom and I didn’t follow all of the traditions of a hammam in Morocco. We didn’t socialize during the experience and followed the treatment with massages and pedicures.

For days afterward, I marveled that my sensitive skin hadn’t broken out or experienced the redness other reviewers had spoken of. Instead, it glowed radiantly for 3 weeks. It may have lasted longer, but a stomach bug in the only place in the world I’d never go back to remove any healthy appearance I may have had.

What to Bring and Wear for Moroccan Bath

You’re going to want to bring these things to your Moroccan bathhouse experience:

• Clothes for before and after your visit
• Hairbrush
• Make-up and toiletries for after your treatment
• Depending on your location (call to inquire), bathing suit, towel, flip flops, robe, hammam mitt

If you visit a local hammam not intended for tourists, you’ll need to bring your own hammam supplies, including flip-flops, a towel, black soap, a hammam mitt, and anything else you want for your bath. Maroc Mama has a great hammam checklist for these kinds of hammams.

If you’re visiting a hammam geared more toward tourists, like La Mamounia, you’ll only need a change of clothes – they’ll provide the rest.

If visiting a hammam in Morocco isn’t in the cards for you right now, you can recreate a Moroccan spa experience at home! 

Typically, you wear nothing during a traditional Moroccan spa. Still, some Western women choose to wear bikini bottoms or a pair of disposable underwear (as I did) during their spa treatment.

My Top Picks: Best Hammams in Marrakech

Luxury (About $100 USD)

• La Mamounia
• Royal Mansour Marrakech
• Selman Marrakech

Affordable (Under $50 USD)

• Hammam De La Rose
• Riad Camilia
• Hammam Mouassine

Final Thoughts: Morocco Hammam is a Must-Do Experience

A traditional Moroccan hammam is more than a beauty treatment. It doesn’t just leave you feeling good about your appearance or help your skin.

It’s a mindful practice and a cultural experience, too.

I only wish I’d had the bravery to go to a communal hammam to enjoy the entire social experience of the Moroccan baths with local women (and that I knew some French or Arabic to help speak to them more freely). Next time!

Still, the hammam experience was the best thing I did in Marrakech. To this day, I recommend it to anyone visiting Marrakech or looking for a unique spa experience in their hometown.

So, that’s everything you need to know about your first hammam experience in Morocco!

If you’re headed to Marrakech, you’ll also want to take a cooking class—I loved my first Moroccan cooking class so much that I took another!

There’s also an amazing baking class run by a non-profit where you can bake Moroccan treats with local women. Finally, pairing your Moroccan vacation with a stop in Spain or Portugal is common. You have so many options!

Related Posts:

• Turkish Bath: What is it and Why Do You Need One?
• 15 Best Hotels in Toronto with Private Hot Tubs
• 15 Best Things to Do in Marrakech
• Where to Stay in Marrakech: Riad Le Clos Des Arts
• Why I Regret Riding a Camel in Morocco
• Baking with Moroccan Women at Amal Non-Profit

Pin this for later!