Olive, Argan and the Hammam: Beauty Rituals of the Mediterranean

14 November 2026 · MakeYourSkin Team

Illustration of an olive branch, a small amphora of oil, a ceramic bowl of black soap and an argan fruit — MakeYourSkin Journal

Few regions have shaped beauty rituals as long or as widely as the Mediterranean. Around one sea, cultures from Greece to Morocco built routines around olives, clays, steam and precious oils. Many of those ingredients are still in our formulas today.

Ancient Greece and Rome: oil and the strigil

The Metropolitan Museum of Art explains that in the Greek world, olive oil was basic for skin care. People applied oil, then used a curved metal tool called a strigil to scrape the skin clean, and vase paintings show athletes doing exactly this after exercise (The Met). An oil cleanse and a manual exfoliation, more than 2,000 years before "double cleansing" (see our cleansing oil guide).

Today's olive family: Olive Oil, Cosmetic Grade, the ultra-stable Olive Squalane (see our squalane post), antioxidant Olive Leaf Extract and Hydroxytyrosol, and olive-derived emulsifiers like Cetearyl Olivate and Sorbitan Olivate.

Morocco: the hammam ritual

The hammam, a steam bath, is a weekly ritual in much of North Africa. National Geographic describes the classic sequence: steam, then black soap (a soft gel made from olive oil and macerated olives), then a vigorous scrub with a kessa glove to remove dead skin, and often a wrap of rhassoul clay (National Geographic).

Bring it home:

  • A warm shower or bath to soften skin.
  • An olive-oil-rich cleansing gel or soap.
  • Gentle exfoliation with a mitt (gentler than a traditional kessa if your skin is sensitive).
  • A Rhassoul Clay mask for hair or body (see our clay guide), rinsed before it dries.
  • Finish with a few drops of oil on damp skin.

Argan: liquid gold from Amazigh women's cooperatives

Argan trees grow almost only in southwestern Morocco. Traditionally, Amazigh (Berber) women crack the hard nuts by hand. Today many work in cooperatives: at one, it takes up to three days of hand-grinding per woman to make a single litre of oil (Asharq Al-Awsat). Research on these cooperatives finds they provide women with income, literacy classes and a voice, but also notes low pay and limited bargaining power (Huang, International Journal of Intangible Heritage, 2017).

In formulas: Argan Oil is a beautiful all-rounder for face, hair and body. When buying, ask about cooperative sourcing and fair pay.

Prickly pear: the precious desert seed oil

The prickly pear cactus thrives across North Africa and the Mediterranean. Its seed oil is very rich in linoleic acid (roughly 49–79%) and naturally high in vitamin E and plant sterols. Because seed yields are so low, it's expensive and sold mainly for cosmetics (Al-Naqeb et al., Molecules, 2021). Use Prickly Pear Seed Oil as a luxury accent in facial oils and serums.

The supporting cast

A "Mediterranean ritual" body oil

Blend olive squalane, argan oil and a little prickly pear seed oil with Tocopherol. Apply to damp skin after a warm shower, the closest thing to a hammam glow at home.

Explore Carrier Oils, Clays & Mask Bases and Traditional Heritage Ingredients.