The sauna first originated in Finland, and it was traditional. Over the years, saunas have gained more popularity and exist in different types: wood-heated sauna, electrical saunas, steam rooms, and infrared saunas.
Infrared saunas use light waves from infrared lamps to heat your body directly without necessarily warming the room.
Infrared saunas operate at lower temperatures than traditional saunas and are considered safe and healthier for most people.
Infrared saunas have many benefits, including relaxation, pain relief, weight loss, cleansing, and detoxification.
As much as the benefits of saunas are not debatable, the vital question is what clothes are most suitable for an infrared sauna session, and this article aims to explain so in detail.
What To Wear To The Infrared Sauna
You can decide to wear clothing or go nude. You can wear workout shorts and a sports bra if you are a woman. Men can wear workout or swimming outfits.
The heat from the infrared sauna should penetrate as deep as possible into your muscles and body tissues to get the most out of a sauna.
To achieve this, there is a recommended attire that you should rock in saunas, and if your sessions are private, you can go in naked as long as you are comfortable.
1. Towels
A towel is essential when inside the infrared sauna, whether you have clothing or be naked. Some of the advantages of using a towel in sauna sessions are;
- You can use the towel as a cover to maintain privacy.
- You can spread a towel on the sauna bench where you sit.
- Using a towel will soak up sweat and prevent bacteria from spreading around your body parts.
- Using a towel ensures tidiness and cleanliness in the sauna.
- Towels are very comfortable and ensure you get maximum bliss from the session.
- Towels ensure that you don’t wear PVC fabric while the heat rays in the sauna soak you up and emit harmful toxins to the air.
2. Swimsuits
When going for infrared sauna sessions, swimsuits are naturally the best idea if worn correctly, and if not worn correctly, then swimsuits will ruin your experience. When swimming in the sea, men wear men’s trunks because of the weather at the beaches they go to. Likewise, in saunas, there is an appropriate outfit for this.
Below are some of the information you should always keep in mind when choosing swimsuits for a sauna session.
- Swimsuits that are loosely fitting and made from natural fibers such as cotton are recommended for sauna since they allow for proper ventilation of air of your skin.
- Swimsuits ensure you enjoy your sauna sessions to the maximum when in public saunas as it allows heat to reach most parts of your body while maintaining privacy at the same time.
- It would be best to avoid swimsuits made from PVC material and dyes in the sauna. PVC fabric swimsuits don’t allow your skin to breathe. There is a possibility of the material emitting toxins to the air at high temperatures.
- You should avoid jewelry attached to swimsuits or those containing decorative metal pieces at all costs. Such metal pieces get hot at high temperatures and burn your skin.
3. Cotton clothing
An oversized T-shirt, loose-fitting wraps, and shorts made from cotton are a perfect option for the sauna.
Cotton material clothing is safer, healthier, and classy. Some of the benefits of using cotton clothing in the sauna are;
- Cotton assures you of optimum comfort in the sauna.
- Cotton clothing absorbs excess heat from the lamp and ensures proper skin breathing.
- You can still keep a towel close to prevent bacteria from spreading with cotton clothing.
- Clean cotton clothes in the sauna are best for the sauna as it is very friendly to the skin and ensure good hygiene.
4. Sauna suits and belts
When it comes to weight loss, the sauna has a good reputation. Sauna suits and belts enhance weight loss benefits and are suitable for detoxification. Given below are the benefits of using sauna suits and belts.
- Sauna suits and belts raise body temperature just like the sauna heatwaves, making you sweat more.
- Sauna suits help increase body metabolism and blood circulation by shedding water weight associated with weight loss.
- Sauna belts help heal sore muscles by making them more flexible and increasing blood flow.
- Sauna suits help in burning calories even when resting. Burning calories is possible because sauna suits increase fat oxidation and help the body uses fat as fuel.
5. Shower shoes
Wearing regular shoes inside a sauna is not advisable because it limits feet off breathing and takes dirt into the sauna, which is quite impolite. If it is a must for you to have something on your feet, then shower shoes are recommended. Below are some of the benefits you gain from using shower shoes in the infrared sauna;
- Shower shoes protect your feet from bacteria such as athletes’ feet and keep them very clean.
- Shower shoes allow feet to breathe, thus proper blood circulation to your feet.
What To Avoid In An Infrared Sauna Session
When going to the sauna, you should avoid anything that inhibits sweating at all costs. Some items to avoid in the sauna are;
- Tight-fitting and dirty clothes- apart from being unhygienic, dirty clothes release dust into the air making the sauna uncomfortable. Tight clothes, on the other hand, cause a lot of discomfort.
- Workout clothes- it is not recommended to wear clothes made of PVC and spandex during sauna sessions as they are known to melt at high temperatures.
- Jewelry – Any jewelry made of metal, such as earrings and necklaces, is unsuitable for sauna sessions because it becomes hot at high temperatures and can burn up and heat the skin.
- Cosmetics- you should make-up, lotion, and cream in the sauna as they clog skin pores and prevent the skin from breathing properly. At high temperatures, make-up melts and becomes very messy.
- Electronic gadgets- it is not recommendable to have phones, earphones, ear pods, and wearables such as smartwatches in the infrared sauna.
This is because heat is harmful to electronics, and also sweat can from your body destroys gadgets since they are not waterproof.
It would be best to avoid phones because they distract the session, which is supposed to be calming and meditative. Excess heat causes the watches to explode.
- Alcohol consumption- consuming alcoholic beverages prior to sauna sessions is not an option. Alcohol alters your body’s ability to maintain blood pressure at a steady level and can cause health complications such as heat stroke amidst the sauna sessions.
Factors To Consider When Choosing The Infrared Sauna Attire
When choosing an attire to wear in the infrared sauna, you should consider the following factors in order to maximize your session’s benefits.
1. Looseness
For maximum sweating, it is recommended you look for loosely fitting clothes as they increase the session’s effectiveness. Tight clothes should be avoided because of discomfort and block the skin’s pores.
2. Breathability and lightness
To be worn to infrared sauna sessions, clothing needs to be as breathable as possible to ensure good skin sweating.
In addition, breathable clothes allow hot air to reach your skin directly and ensure maximum sweating. Light clothes should also be considered in an infrared sauna so that sweat can pass through it.
3. Ease of removal
When in the sauna, sometimes the temperature becomes very hot and uncomfortable. In such cases, sweating becomes so much.
In such cases, it’s advisable to remove as much clothing as possible and, if possible, leave the room.
Dangers Of The Infrared Sauna
Despite having many health benefits, the sauna also has many dangers, especially for people with health conditions.
Before using the sauna, you have to seek medical advice from a doctor. Some of the risks of the sauna include;
- Increase birth complications and defects for pregnant mothers.
- Due to poor temperature regulation, infrared sauna is considered very harmful for children below 15 years.
- Older people should stay away from sauna due to their fluctuating body temperature and blood pressure. The elderly may not withstand hot temperatures for a long time.
- The other category of people advised to stay away from the sauna are those with fever, hemophilia, sensitivity to heat, and those under the influence of alcohol.
Conclusion
The best option to consider when going to the sauna is naked though most people find it the most unconventional way, especially in public places.
Hence, if you feel uncomfortable, you should consider wearing loosely fitting clothes, sauna suits, swimsuits, or towels to enjoy the infrared sauna session to the maximum.
You should always maintain hygiene while enjoying the ultimate infrared sauna experience and enjoy all the benefits.
You should pay attention to the do’s and don’ts of an infrared sauna, and you should always learn to respect the rules of different infrared sauna places.
Despite having many health benefits, you should also consider the dangers of spending so much time in the sauna and make maximum use of every infrared sauna session that you attend.
