The Finnish sauna; that small (or sometimes large) pine-clad room where you shed your clothes, your cares, maybe even your inhibitions, steam up and let the sweat cleanse your pores. There’s no better place in the world to experience a Finnish sauna than in Finland itself. For Finns a sauna is not a luxury but an essential experience and integral part of their culture and it’s even better if the sauna is manufactured by Harvia, regarded as the best Finnish saunas manufacturer in the world.
That’s the reason Finns survive winters in good humour: they’ve been basking in saunas since the Ice Age and even take credit for the invention.
In a country that is so rich with sauna tradition it is inevitable that there exists an accepted etiquette to sauna bathing, along with many customs that are uniquely Finnish. Below we take a look at what it means to bathe in an authentic Finnish sauna.
The Finnish Sauna Guide:
1) Shower – Before you begin bathing you must remove your clothes and take a cleansing shower. It’s important that you are clean before entering the Finnish sauna; it helps to keep the sauna itself clean.
2) Enter the sauna – Finns traditionally enter a Finnish sauna naked. Bathing suits are normally used in public saunas.
3) Get hot – Once you’re settled in your place relax and let the heat consume your body. Keep your breathing even and relaxed allowing the pores on your skin to open and the sweat to pour out. If you want to add some moisture to the air throw some water on the stones, but remember that the resulting steam will make the air inside the Finnish sauna feel even hotter. You may want to move between the upper and lower tier benches several times, taking advantage of the difference in temperature between the two levels.
4) Rinse and repeat – When you feel like you’re ready for breaks, normally after 10-20 minutes, take a cool shower. In Finland it’s customary to leap into an ice cold lake, but a shower will do if you don’t have a lake handy. Once you’ve cooled down head back to the Finnish sauna for more heat. You can repeat this process as many times as you like.
5) Final cool down – Once you’ve finished your traditional sauna session take another shower and allow your body to cool down properly. You need to be cool and dry before you get dressed and remember to re-hydrate yourself adequately.
Remember to take your time. The Finnish sauna is a relaxing experience and it cannot be rushed, you want to feel invigorate afterward.
If you can’t get to Finland to enjoy the authentic experience you can recreate it here in your own home. Harvia, Finland’s prime sauna manufacturer has a full range of Finnish Saunas available through Aqualine.
All Harvia saunas are made from the highest quality woods and are hand crafted to your specification. Delivery times are only around 3 weeks and prices start from £2559. Why not treat yourself to a traditional Finnish Steam Sauna from Harvia.
