Kese and kessa are the same kind of woven mitt from two bathing traditions. See how they compare with the Korean Italy towel, loofah, sisal, horsehair gloves and dry brushes in one table, and how to choose for your skin type.
Kese vs kessa is less of a contest than it sounds, because they are two names for the same kind of tool: a woven exfoliating mitt used on warm, wet skin. Kese is the Turkish word and kessa the Moroccan one, and the real difference lies in the bathing ritual around the mitt rather than in the mitt itself. A Korean Italy towel is a close cousin made of grippy viscose, while a loofah, a sisal or horsehair glove and a dry brush are different tools with their own textures and care needs.
We have made and exported kese mitts in İzmir since 2006, and one honest point comes first: we know of no study showing that any of these tools is better for your skin than the others. What differs is the material, the texture, how you use the tool and how easily it dries.
Body exfoliating tools compared at a glance
How abrasive a tool feels depends heavily on the weave and on your own pressure, so treat the texture column as a guide, not a lab measurement.
| Tool | Typical material | Texture / abrasiveness | Wet or dry | Best suited to | Care and replacement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turkish kese, silk | Raw cocoon silk | Soft and fine; the gentlest kese | Wet, before soap | Face, lighter body sessions | Rinse, air-dry outside the shower, hand wash only; replace when the weave loosens |
| Turkish kese, viscose and blends | Plant-based silk (viscose), viscose, viscose–polyester | Soft to firm, depending on the weave | Wet, before soap | Regular body exfoliation | Rinse, hang to dry, follow the label; replace when worn or smelly |
| Moroccan kessa | Woven mitt; fibre varies by maker | Varies with the weave | Wet, often alongside black soap | A Moroccan-style hammam routine | As for a kese |
| Korean Italy towel | Typically viscose rayon | Firm and very grippy | Wet, after a long soak | Resilient body skin | Rinse, dry fully; replace when worn smooth |
| Loofah | Dried Luffa gourd fibre | Stiff when dry, softer when wet | Wet, usually with soap | Lathering, light body scrubbing | Dries slowly; hang outside the shower; replace often |
| Sisal or horsehair ("crin") glove | Sisal, horsehair or synthetic fibre | Coarse | Mostly wet; check the product | Robust body skin, not the face | Rinse, dry fully; replace when fibres break |
| Nylon cloth or net sponge | Nylon cloth or mesh | Firm and stretchy | Wet, with soap | Lathering, reaching the back | Quick-drying; rinse and hang |
| Dry brush | Natural or synthetic bristles | Firm, depending on the bristles | Dry skin only | The body before a shower, never the face | Shake out after use; wash occasionally and dry bristles down |
Kese vs kessa: one mitt, two bathing traditions
Side by side, a Turkish kese and a Moroccan kessa are often hard to tell apart. Both come in several fibres and degrees of firmness, so the fibre and the weave tell you far more about how a mitt will feel than its name.
The Turkish kese and its materials
In the Turkish hammam the kese traditionally comes after a long warm-up: you sweat or soak first, the mitt goes over wet skin before any soap, and the foam wash follows. Our kese mitt range covers the main material families:
- Raw cocoon silk: a protein fibre from silkworm cocoons, matte and slightly crisp, and the gentlest choice in the family, as in our raw cocoon silk mitt.
- Plant-based silk: a market name for viscose, a regenerated cellulose fibre made from plant sources. It is soft and smooth, but it is not silk, which is why our plant-based silk gloves list viscose in the composition.
- Viscose: the classic, firmer body kese, also made as a triple-layer cross-stitch viscose glove.
- Viscose–polyester blends: versions from sensitive and soft-touch to medium thickness, including long gloves.
These are different materials for different needs. The real problem in the market is mislabelling, when viscose is sold as silk; our guide on how to tell a real silk kese from viscose shows how to check, and our kese buyer's guide to silk, plant silk and viscose compares the materials in depth.
The Moroccan kessa
Kessa (also written kees) is the Moroccan name, and "gant kessa" is a common shop term in France. Materials vary by maker, so read the composition.
The bigger difference is the routine. In the Moroccan hammam the kessa is commonly paired with black soap (savon beldi), a soft soap paste, and many routines also use ghassoul clay. The Turkish routine scrubs soaked skin first, then washes it with olive-oil soap and foam whipped up in a cotton foaming bag, as our guide to a Turkish hammam ritual at home shows.
Italy towel vs kessa: the Korean cousin
Despite its name, the Italy towel is a Korean invention. According to Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, it was developed in Busan in 1967 by Hanil Textile using viscose rayon yarn imported from Italy. The fabric was too rough for a towel, so it became a body scrubber instead, and it is still the familiar tool of the Korean bathhouse scrub known as seshin.
What separates an Italy towel from a kessa or a Turkish viscose kese? Less than you might think: all three are woven mitts for soaked skin, and our own 100% viscose gloves share the Italy towel's fibre family. The differences lie in construction and habit:
- Grip: Italy towels are usually thin and very grippy, so the same pressure feels firmer and it pays to press more lightly.
- Shape: most come as a slim mitt, and long versions exist for the back.
- Routine: they are used on skin that has soaked in a hot bath for a good while, often without soap, which is close to the Turkish order.
- Colours: some brands use colours such as red or green to signal coarseness, but there is no universal code.
Loofah vs exfoliating glove
A loofah is the dried, fibrous skeleton of the Luffa gourd, made mostly of cellulose and lignin. It is stiff when dry and softens in warm water, so it is normally used wet and with soap: a washing tool first and a light scrubber second, whereas a kese mitt is designed to exfoliate soaked skin before soap.
On hygiene, a 1994 study in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology traced a skin infection (Pseudomonas folliculitis) to a contaminated loofah and found that trapped skin cells helped bacteria grow; the authors recommended regular decontamination of loofahs and other exfoliating tools. Cleveland Clinic suggests drying a loofah outside the shower, replacing a natural one every three to four weeks and a plastic one every two months, discarding it if it smells musty or shows mould, and keeping it off the face and freshly shaved skin.
No exfoliating tool cleans itself, kese included. A thin woven mitt usually dries through more easily than a thick loofah, but it still needs rinsing after every use, drying outside the shower and replacing when the weave loosens or it smells.
Kese or lif?
In Turkey a common question is whether to use a kese or a lif. A lif is a soaping scrubber, either a loofah or a soft knitted one. The traditional order is the kese first, on wet skin, then a soapy wash with the lif or a foaming bag.
Sisal, horsehair gloves and African net sponges
These tools sit at the firmer end of the scale. None of them is wrong, but each calls for gentle pressure.
Sisal is a stiff plant fibre taken from the leaves of an agave. Woven into gloves, pads and long back straps, it gives a noticeably coarse, rustic scrub that suits robust body skin rather than the face.
Horsehair gloves, sold in France as "gant de crin" and in Spain as "guante de crin", take their name from horsehair, but many are now woven from plant fibres such as sisal, or from synthetics. Check the composition.
Nylon cloths and net sponges, such as Japanese nylon washcloths and the long, stretchy African net sponge, lather well, dry quickly and reach the back easily. Think of them mainly as washing tools that also scrub.
Dry brushing vs exfoliating glove
Dry brushing and a kese work in opposite conditions. A dry brush is used on dry skin, usually before a shower and with light strokes, while a kese is used on skin that is wet and softened by warmth, so we do not recommend using a kese mitt dry as a substitute brush. If you enjoy both, keep them to separate days: dry brushing is friction too, so it counts towards the weekly limit below.
Dry brushing is often marketed with big promises. Cleveland Clinic notes that there is no evidence it reduces cellulite, and that any visible change is most likely a temporary plumping effect from increased blood flow. The same source advises skipping it on sensitive skin, eczema, psoriasis, open wounds and sunburn, and never using it on the face.
Can scrubbing too hard harm your skin?
It can, which is why pressure and frequency matter more than the tool you choose. Case series from Italy and Jordan describe friction melanosis (brown patches over bony areas) after years of hard rubbing, and the medical literature on it names nylon towels, horsehair gloves, stiff sponges and loofahs among the causes. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) also warns that harsh exfoliation can leave dark spots on darker skin tones.
A few rules keep any tool on the right side of that line:
- Keep physical exfoliation to at most once or twice a week for normal skin, and less often for dry or sensitive skin. The AAD's rule of thumb is that the harsher the method, the less often you should use it.
- Press only as hard as feels comfortable. If your skin stings or stays red, stop and give it a longer break.
- Do not chase grey rolls; they are not a score, as our guide on how to use a kese mitt explains.
- Moisturise straight afterwards, while your skin is still damp.
- Skip exfoliating tools on sunburn, cuts, irritated skin or active acne, and right after shaving, waxing or laser treatment. If you have eczema, psoriasis or rosacea, or use prescription retinoids, ask a dermatologist before using any of them.
Which exfoliating tool suits your skin type?
There is no single best body exfoliator, so start with your skin and the job you want the tool to do:
- First time: a raw silk or soft plant-based silk mitt with light pressure, tested first on the inside of your forearm.
- The face: a separate small face mitt, used lightly and away from the eyes.
- Dry or sensitive skin: dermatologists generally advise the gentlest methods, such as a soft washcloth. If you prefer a mitt, choose the softest one, use it less often and moisturise straight after.
- Normal body skin: a viscose or viscose–polyester kese on well-soaked skin.
- Oily, resilient skin: a firmer viscose kese, still within the weekly limit.
- A strong Korean-style scrub: an Italy towel or a firm 100% viscose kese, with a lighter hand than you expect.
- Everyday lathering: a loofah, a knitted lif or a soft washcloth. That is mostly washing, with only a light scrub.
- Your back: a viscose back-scrubber strap with handles, a long glove or a net sponge.
- A dry routine before the shower: a dry brush, used gently and on the body only.
Texture is easier to judge in your hand than on a screen: our online sample shop sells single kese mitts and back scrubbers in raw silk, plant-based silk, viscose and viscose–polyester, with no account needed. You pay by Visa or Mastercard, shipping is added at checkout, and orders are shipped within 1–3 business days after payment. Any import duties or taxes are paid by the recipient.
Buying for a spa, hotel or shop? Request a wholesale quote for minimum order quantities and options for your own logo and packaging; the price of your samples is deducted from your first wholesale order.
Sources
- American Academy of Dermatology: guidance on exfoliating safely at home, rosacea and psoriasis.
- Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials: loofah hygiene, dry brushing and exfoliation for dry skin.
- Bottone EJ et al. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 1994; 32(2): 469–472.
- Siragusa M et al. European Journal of Dermatology, 2001; 11(6): 545–548.
- Al-Aboosi M et al. International Journal of Dermatology, 2004.
- Korea Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Gonggam: history of the Italy towel.
This guide is general information, not medical advice. If you have a skin condition, ask a dermatologist before using any exfoliating tool.