Revealed: How To Do Moroccan Hammam Bath at Home

Moroccan Hammam Rituals that your skin is craving for         

    

                     That day I was casually browsing Youtube on historical documentaries, it was mentioning Alexander the Great. During my school days, I’ve never been interested in these things because it was hard for me to remember the dates & years of important battles but now, I regret sometimes, however while watching, still not contained enough, my eyeball started betraying again & it moved across the recommended videos row, where I really found something interesting. No, not just interesting, Really interesting, it mentioned something about Suleiman the magnificient’s harem & how Hurrem Sultan became a queen of the Ottoman Empire. Anyways, it started with describing how things were in Turkish Harem those days & a little glimpse on the Royal Turkish Hammam. There I was; stunned.

     That day it really started to tickle my brain whenever it had no real job. I started researching on hammam rituals/bath rituals around the world & found out even more interesting thing: The Famous Moroccan Hammam & this is how it started. As an essential oil fanatic myself, some of the rituals weren’t new to me but then I learnt about those wonderful ways amazing skin was maintained by aristocrat ladies & it shocked me real well. These hammam rituals are far better than what we do in a regular spa at the weekends.

So after a lot of research, here I want to present my article on Hammam do’s & don’ts. Primarily, although the obsession with hammam started with the Turkish one, later it leaned more upon the Moroccan side so I’ll share what I know & will discuss How to do Moroccan Hammam/Hamam at home.

In India, especially in Kolkata, where I am currently located, it’s not easy to find a Spa that offers Moroccan Hammam experience.  So I decided I’d do it myself, in my own way. While I assure you that the original rituals are now deep buried in History, I’d modify some rituals to suit our modern day needs at its best but at the same time try to adhere to the original Moroccan hammam experience as much as possible.

I’ll also mention the nearest dupes for some of the items in case you can’t avail at the moment.

For a luxurious Moroccan hammam experience, you need the following things:

·         Moroccan Black Soap or Beldi Soap

·         Pure Moroccan Argan oil

·         Moroccan Rhassoul Clay

·         Honey

·         Rose Petals

·         Dead Sea Salt

·         Hair removal device of your choice

·         Rose water

·         Eucalyptus Essential oil

·         Warm water

·         Exfoliating gloves

Instructions: To start out you need Moroccan black soap which is not easily available in India. Fret not! I have found a way by which we can make our own The Original Moroccan Black Soap/ Beldi soap & in any case you fail, there is also a dupe available.

How to make Moroccan black Soap or Beldi Soap?

There are 2 processes of making black Moroccan soap I’ll mention here. The first one is the original one, the later will be a dupe version modified to make a the process safer for the beginners but both are almost equally effective.

1st or Original Process of making Moroccan Black/Beldi Soap at Home

·         1 ½ cup Black Olives

·         1 ½ cup water

·         Potassium Hydroxide/KOH

First add the olives in water & blend to a smooth paste in a mixer-grinder. Then add 8-9 tbsp of potassium hydroxide to the olive paste & stir well. Always remember, add the KOH to the paste & not the other way. à

 KOH when mixed to the olive paste can cause fumes, so make sure you do it in a well ventilated place. à

****Here you’ll have to remember that in Original Moroccan Black Soap, only Potassium Hydroxide is used instead of Sodium Hydroxide, which is used in every other commercial soaps.

Now add 2 ½ cup of olive oil in a cooking pot & turn the heat on. Pour the olive paste mixture slowly into warm olive oil & cook for 10 minutes & start stirring it using a hand blender to get a smooth paste. Turn the heat off after 1 ½ hour from the beginning & it’ll start thickening. à

 You need to keep stirring the mixture in the mean time with a hand blender (I turn the heat off & stir for a minute & then turn the heat on again for safety) & do it in every 30 minutes during the cooking. Add a little argan oil.

****This soap cannot be used right away. It’d take 3 weeks for the soap to be cured so that it can be safely used. Here’s a word of caution, Potassium Hydroxide is highly corrosive material which can cause serious injury if the skin is exposed to it, so you need to TAKE PROPER PRECAUTION before even thinking about making this at home. Do it in a well ventilated place & better to wear gloves & cover your face & wear a glass while handling KOH.

However, for those who are scared of the fumes of KOH or just clueless about where to find it can use the dupe version of Beldi soap. I wouldn’t claim that it’s same as the original, but its near-original that you can try.

Process No. 2/ Moroccan Black Soap Dupe

There is another way I make a near-original (NOT ORIGINAL) Moroccan Black Soap. These days you can buy melt & pour soap bases everywhere from Amazon to Flipkart. Buy one. à

Get your blender ready & make a thick paste of Black olives with water (quantities same as mentioned above). Add Moroccan argan oil about 2-3 tbsp. à

Cut the soap base into cubes & melt it slowly. à

Add the olive paste & argan oil mixture. àPour the soap mixture in muffin moulds & let them solidify. Take out & you can use these right away.

**** This will give you near original feeling but this is not the original black soap because, first of all, Moroccan Black Soap (the first process) is a paste rather than a solid soap. Secondly the original recipes use potassium hydroxide but here as you’re using pre-made soap base, it’ll most probably contain sodium hydroxide. Apart from these facts, they are almost the same. These minor differences don’t matter in the long run.

If you can’t do any of the above, you can always purchase Moroccan Black Soap online (you wouldn’t find it in your local grocery store ofcourse).

Now back to our Moroccan Hammam.

Let me describe the rituals step by step:

·         Firstly, you need to fill the tub with warm water by keeping every window of your bathroom closed so steam forms. If you have glass door covered shower panel system with steam, then it’s easier. à

·         Now, turn the shower on & wash your whole body with warm water. 

·         Put all the rose petals on your tub.

·         First remove body hair using your favourite hair removal device/way. You can use shaving, waxing, epilators anything you want.

·         Now take 3-4 tbsp of Dead Sea Salt & rub it on your whole body except face. Rub gently & massage in a circular motion until they almost start melting. Add some water to help your hands move gently. 

Don’t be harsh here. Dead sea salt has an array of useful minerals that’s gonna deep cleanse your skin & the salt itself will detoxify it.

·         Then, wash your whole body with Moroccan black soap. The original beldi soap paste can also be applied on hair. Massage your body gently wearing your exfoliating gloves & wash off.

·         Soak up in the tub for 15 minutes.

·         Now mix Rhassoul clay with honey & water to make a thick paste. It’s better to make this beforehand because rhassoul tends to swell in water. 

·         Apply the clay paste on your whole body including your face. Keep it for 15-20 minutes & wash off with lukewarm water.

·         It’s time to gently massage your skin with rose water. It’ll tone & tighten the open pores.

·         Now add a few drops of eucalyptus oil in Moroccan argan oil & massage your whole body with this. 

Eucalyptus has anti bacterial properties & is perfect as an add on to finish off your luxurious Moroccan Bath/ Hammam Ritual.

Now this is the luxurious Moroccan Hammam ritual that you can easily perform at home & rejuvenate.

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Cheers!!!