These days you can pay someone to do just about any of your daily chores. Get a cleaner to make the house sparkle, a cook to prepare your weekly lunches, and even a beautician to scrub you from head to toe.
The latter may seem a step too far but it has to be tried – at least in the form of a luxurious City hammam treatment. Private members’ club The Ned offers a host of different hammam experiences within its bespoke marble-clad sauna.
Guests can even venture into the vast maze-like spa complex located in the club’s basement vaults, taking in a swim, shave and massage before being rubbed up the right way during one of the treatments.
What is it?
A hammam is similar to a traditional Turkish bath, which acts both as a meeting place and a communal steam room where you get scrubbed in every nook and cranny. You’ve almost certainly heard hilarious horror stories from friends about their experiences with hammams abroad, most definitely including an older woman who has no shame getting into intimate places.
Fortunately, The Ned’s hammam treatments aren’t so invasive. It’s for those of us who’d like an indulgent alternative spa treatment which both cleanses and relaxes. No one will be getting handsy here.
How does it work?
First off, unlike traditional hammams, you won’t be naked for this treatment. Simply bring your swim costume and get changed within the lush bathrooms. Wrap up in a robe, sip on some of the mint water which seems to be displayed in the corner of every single room of the spa, and wait to be called in.
You’ll lay down on the heated marble counters before having one admittedly weird but equally wonderful bathing experience. From above, warm water will be poured all over your body for a little rinse. Then, you’ll be lathered up in a thick black eucalyptus soap and left to soak it up for a few minutes.
Have a little fun with it, sliding about the marble, or be a proper adult and just relax for a short while – that’s up to you.
The suds are then washed off by another round of warm water before the proper exfoliating scrub begins. A beautician will proceed to wash your body with a light mesh glove, lifting off dead skin. Next is a head massage as your hair is washed. And after another rinse, out comes the shea butter and assortment of aromatic oils to help fresh skin stay soft and clean.
The treatment can end there for a speedy 30-minute session, or extend with extra massages or a customised deep-cleansing body wrap, blending honey and shea with rassoul lava clay. This is how we imagine the Kardashians would do it.
What are the benefits?
Hammam treatments have a whole host of mind and body benefits. Firstly, the entire experience is incredibly relaxing, reducing feelings of stress and anxiety. The soft music, low lighting and warm surroundings only add to this sense of comfort.
But the treatment mostly acts as an incredibly thorough exfoliation – perfect for wintertime when the mixture of cold and artificially heated spaces can really irritate the skin. Many people find themselves getting itchier and more irritated around this time of year because of a greater build-up of dead skin. This treatment fixes all of this.
The soap, scrub and oils act to take off the unwanted layers of skin and remove toxins from the pores while making sure the new layer is properly hydrated. It’s all about rejuvenation.
How much?
The speedy 30-minute hammam treatment is £50, the 60-minute session is £150, and the ultimate two-hour rub and wrap is £270. This includes access to all of the gym’s superb facilities, including the 20-metre pool, sauna, steam room, and quiet library where you can partake in post-workout reading.
Where?
The Ned, 27 Poultry EC2R 8AJ.
