The Sauna
Nature’s Bathhouse

The Finns combine three key elements of nature;
Heat – Steam – Ventilation
to create a genuine Finnish Sauna.

1. Heat

For centuries Finns have used heated stones as the heat source in their saunas. Originally, a wood fire heated the sauna stones. In contemporary saunas the method of heating may vary, but the hot stone principle remains.

2. Steam

For more than 2000 years, Finns have poured water on hot stones to create steam, and to activate the body’s natural ability to cleanse itself through sweating. Humidity and heat are uniquely combined in the Finnish Sauna Climate. This essential combination of steam and heat has often been misunderstood around the world, leading to the result of dry heat. This is a violation of one of the fundamental principles of a Finnish Sauna.

3. Ventilation

It is evident from viewing old drawings and photographs of ancient Finnish Smoke Saunas, that the heat and steam leaked from many places into the cold winter air. Whether the ventilation occurred by design, or accidentally as a result of haphazard construction, is subject to conjecture. Nevertheless these pictures demonstrate clearly that there has always been a third key element of a Finnish Sauna - proper ventilation.

The genuine Finnish Sauna is the only bath in the world where the heat and the humidity of a well-ventilated air mix are present at the same time. The high heat and the low humidity combined with proper ventilation open the pores and promote profound perspiration. The perspiration promotes a deep cleansing of the pores and flushes out the body’s impurities.