How Hammam Massage Detoxifies Your Body & Why It Matters
The human body is a highly efficient – “self cleanser”.
It “recycles” the nutrients it needs and eliminates the substances it doesn’t via the process of detoxification. This cycle ensures that toxins don’t pile-up in the body, as this would lead to dysfunction, and eventually, disease. However, many people have some form of impaired detoxification due to stress or their genetics and therefore need some external help.
That’s where hammam massage therapy comes in.
The gentle yet deep-reaching touch of hammam practitioners stimulates the body’s natural detox process. This allows excess toxins to melt away, leading one to feel a profound sense of physical and mental wellness.
A Quick Guide to Your Internal Detox System
There are various organs involved with detoxification. They include your kidneys, skin, liver, lymph nodes and lungs. Like a literal waste management chain, they each play their own unique role in helping your body eliminate toxins.
Detox Function of Your Cleansing Organs
- Lymph nodes – The lymph nodes circulate lymph – the drainage fluid which they get their name from – into the bloodstream which is then filtered by the liver and kidneys.
- Liver – The leader of your body’s detox system, the liver filters blood coming from the stomach and intestines to balance, breakdown and metabolize everything from food to prescription drugs.
- Kidneys – They filter your blood to remove waste byproducts and extra water (which results in urine production).
- Lungs – Your lungs do more than fill your body with life-sustaining oxygen – they also filter small blood clots and small air bubbles (embolisms).
- Skin – Your skin removes toxins in two ways: 1) By sweating them out, 2) Acting as a filter to reduce the absorption of harmful substances through its layers.
All of these organs work 24/7 without you noticing, to remove harmful substances that may compromise your health. However, as we mentioned above, many of us do not eliminate waste efficiently, meaning that we rarely feel our best. To make it worse, poor detoxification contributes to nagging symptoms such as:
- Chronic fatigue
- Brain fog
- Persistent allergies
- Skin irritation
- Menstrual problems
- Puffy eyes and bags under the eyes
- Weight gain
Fortunately, most of these detox-related ailments can be halted or even reversed with the help of hammam massage.
The Detox Mechanisms of Hammam Massage Therapy
For decades, health experts have recommended massage as an effective means for assisting the body’s natural detoxification abilities. However, the ways in which hammam massage cleanses the body may seem mysterious but it’s not all that complicated.
Skin Cleansing
Hammam massage stimulates your skin to naturally cleanse itself of unwanted waste. For example, at Farnatchi Spa, we use Moroccan black soap which is rich in vitamin E (due to its black olive content). Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that reduces damage from chemicals and oxidative stress, helping to eliminate excess toxins. In addition to this, we incorporate eucalyptus oil into the scrubbing part of hammam massage, because eucalyptus stimulates immune function, which further improves detoxification.
Steam Cleanse
The heat and steam of a hammam room are one of its most recognizable aspects. They also happen to be key components that aid the body’s detox cycle. Heat and steam make you sweat. Sweating naturally releases toxins because it opens your pores, making it easier for dirt and pollutants to get washed away from the body. The steam also opens your airways, helping the lungs to filter out excess amounts of carbon dioxide. Therefore, it’s safe to say that simply sitting in the hammam room will help your body cleanse itself!
Lymphatic Pumping & Drainage
Hammam massage practitioners use varying strokes to help untangle stiff muscles. Those same strokes help the lymph nodes to circulate lymph, which carries toxins into the bloodstream for downstream removal. When lymph efficiently moves into the blood, this allows the kidneys and liver to filter toxins more thoroughly. This is important because the lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump like blood does (which is the heart), and a stagnant lymph flow results in a buildup of harmful toxins.
Hammam Massage is a Detox Powerhouse
For soon-to-be visitors of Marrakech, a total-body detox may be in order. Although the Red City has plenty of experiences that will reset your body and mind, a session of hammam massage will rejuvenate you from the inside out. You will walk away feeling clear-headed and more energetic along with other health benefits, only to return home feeling like a brand new version of yourself.
Interested in trying a hammam massage therapy in Marrakech? Get in touch with us book your treatment now!