I recently had the chance to travel to Marrakech, Morocco for a spa conference – learning all about traditional, new, and innovative spa experience, both at home and some of the current must-have treatments in the spa. I have a lot of things to share, but more on that later!
During my time there, I decided to venture out of the Four Seasons resort where I was staying and experience a real, authentic Moroccan Hammam. We decided to go to “Le Bain de L’Alhambra” in Marrakesh. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this amazing treatment, it’s basically a glorified bath – but someone else is washing your body for you!
Moroccan culture puts quite a bit of emphasis on Hammam, with many locals visiting the local bath houses up to five times a month for the deep cleaning. I opted to do one later in the evening, as many locals had suggested, deciding it would be a great way to wind down from a long day!
THE HAMMAM EXPERIENCE
Upon entering the Hammam, it looked a lot like a simple spa, nothing fancy, but very clean and very peaceful. The lighting was relatively dark, with just the right amount of glowing candles to guide your path.
We were brought to a change room to take off all of our clothes except underwear. I went with a colleague and needless to say, we were not expecting to see each other completely naked that night, but as the saying goes…”When in Casablanca!”… that’s the saying, right 😉
We were then brought to a waiting area and given some Moroccan “berber whiskey”, basically mint tea, green tea, and sugar all mixed together and served slightly warmed. It’s quite a pleasant drink and one Moroccans consume religiously throughout the day.
THE SCRUB DOWN
After enjoying our tea, it was time to get scrubbed down! We were lead to a room with a single overhead shower and hot stone benches. After taking off our robes and finally getting used to the idea of being naked together (something that does not even remotely phase the woman bathing us), the two women put an oil all over our bodies and left us to bake for about 15 minutes in the sauna, opening up our pores and getting us ready for the scrub.
We were then exfoliated with a special glove they let us keep as a souvenir, taking what felt like many layers of dead skin off. At one point, my bather let me feel my stomach to show me just how much dead skin she was scrubbing off. I’ve never had a body exfoliation to this extent, so you can imagine I was due for a quite a bit of scrubbing!
I opted for a mud mask after we were rinsed off to really help soften my skin and make the most of the experience. After the mud was applied, I sat for another 5 minutes or so before that was also rinsed off. The women were just the right amount of aggressive, helping to ensure everything was satisfactorily removed from my body.
If you’re even a little bit self-conscious about being naked in front of other women, you better get over it really quickly, or this experience is not for you!
MASSAGE
Although not exactly what the locals do, we opted for a 1 hour massage after our Hammam. Most Moroccans do the bath and are finished since it’s such a routine experience.
The massage was one of the best I have ever had. Instead of doing my usual deep tissue, since I wanted to relax and wind down for the evening, I decided to do a gentler version. A different woman was waiting for me as I entered the room. She used a Moroccan Argan oil to gently massage all my muscles from feet to head, focusing mainly on my feet and face – encouraging the blood flow and circulation. Again, instead of being discreet like in America, the women had no problem massaging my stomach and chest to finish off the experience.
CULTURAL EXPERIENCE
Like before, if you are not comfortable with women touching your body, this might not be the right experience. I’m sure it would be possible to request they not do it, but it seemed to be more of a cultural assumption. Instead of being rude, I decided to fully embrace the cultural difference and put modesty aside.
Culturally, the Hammam is very important to Moroccans, believing a purified and clean body is the secret to a purified mind. Unlike America, it seems to be a culture that puts a great deal of emphasis on wellness and ensuring you are taking care of your health before you even get sick, basically preventive, as opposed to reactive.
The baths are just one way Moroccans “splurge” to ensure they are clean, healthy, and happy, treating it not so much as a luxury, but as a necessity. Hey, maybe they’re onto something!
Photos courtesy of ‘Le Bain de L’alhambra’