Hammam Soap Paste - All Skin

Hammam — the traditional bathhouse practice of the Middle East and North Africa — is built around this ingredient: black soap paste made from olive oil and laurel berry oil, applied to warm, wet skin and worked into the body before exfoliation with a kessa mitt. This is not an interpretation of that tradition. This paste is made to the same specification: olive oil and laurel berry oil, saponified with potassium hydroxide, nothing added.

The paste is dark and dense — olive-black in colour, with the characteristic woody, earthy scent of laurel berry oil that those familiar with our Aleppo Essence soap will recognise. Applied to warm, wet skin with the hands, it transforms: the paste softens, emulsifies, and becomes a creamy, lotion-like lather that covers the skin evenly. Used with a kessa mitt, it lifts dead skin cells and leaves the surface smooth and receptive. Skin afterwards feels clean, soft, and noticeably different.

Two active ingredients: Olea europaea (olive oil) and Laurus nobilis fruit oil (laurel berry oil). The laurel berry oil is the same ingredient used in our Aleppo Essence soap — sourced from the Aleppo region of Syria, where the bay laurel grows in conditions that produce an oil found nowhere else. It is naturally rich in gamma-linolenic acid and has been used in skin care across the Mediterranean and Middle East for centuries. The paste format — saponified with potassium hydroxide rather than sodium hydroxide — produces a softer, water-soluble texture suited to body and face treatment use.

Apply to warm, wet skin. Work in with the hands until the paste emulsifies into a creamy lather. Use a kessa mitt to exfoliate in circular motions. Rinse thoroughly. Follow with body butter or oil while skin is still slightly damp. Use weekly.

A ten-minute weekly ritual that changes how your skin feels for the rest of the week.

Olive (Olea europaea) fruit oil, Water (Aqua), Potassium Hydroxide, Laurus Nobilis fruit oil.

Moisten your skin with warm water, then apply a small scoop of the paste directly—no need to dilute. Massage gently until the paste transforms into a creamy, white lotion-like texture.

Next, slip on your kessa mitt and exfoliate in circular motions to help lift impurities, boost circulation, and reveal fresh, glowing skin. Rinse thoroughly.

Use weekly as part of your self-care ritual. After the scrub, your skin will be perfectly prepped to soak in whatever comes next—be it a tan, face mask, or your favourite moisturiser.