Turkish Exfoliating Body Mitt (birch bark)

Exfoliating Mitts (kese) are a tradition dating back to 14th century Turkish communal bath houses to help refresh the body by effectively removing dry skin and stimulating renewal.

This is a pre-cleansing ritual, never use soap or oils with your kese.  

Relax in a hot steamy environment for 5 to 10 minutes (bath, shower, sauna or steam bath if you are lucky).  This will soften dead skin cells, making them easier to remove.

Wet the kese mitt with hot water  and with your hand inside, begin rubbing one section of the body at a time with long slow strokes up and down (not in circles).  After a few strokes you should begin to see skin sloughing off.  Do not overwork an area (no more than 10 strokes) and adjust stroke pressure to your comfort.  Move from arms to feet/legs to torso, do not use this body kese on the face.

Follow exfoliation with a gentle cleansing featuring our Triple Butter BODY BAR or Bastille Conditioning FACIAL BAR (we do not recommend the Coffee EXFOLIATING BAR for this ritual) and finish with a nourishing dose of the BODY BUTTER.  

This is a weekly or monthly ritual as needed based on the seasonal dryness of your skin.  Take your time... after a few weeks your skin will feel amazing.  No matter how tempting, do not overwork your skin with aggressive pressure or strokes, this is a subtle tool and your skin deserves the time and care required. 

After each use rinse your kese well with very hot water and hang until thoroughly dry.  Do not store in your shower, as the constant moist environment will shorten the life of your kese.

You may choose to occasionaly wash with a simple natural unfragranced soap powder (I use Charlie's Soap) and again hang dry - never tumble dry.

With proper care and use your kese will last for years.

Jennifer's Hamam, ISTANBUL

Just 40 short years ago, weaving villages around Turkey were chocker-block full of many old-style shuttled looms.  Even in Istanbul, looms making the famous looped Turkish towels (plush terry towels) could be found.  Then less expensive machine woven and cheap imports took over the market,  bankrupting most shuttle loom weavers and nearly destroying this precious cultural heritage. 

The remaining artisans can only be found in a few villages scattered from the south to the southeast of Turkey. Jennifer's Hamam works directly with these artisans to create beautiful traditional hand woven linens from indigenous organic fibers (GOTS certified organic cotton, goat fiber, linen and hand reeled silk), keeping this priceless cultural tradition alive and sharing it with the world.