We design saunas, but what's a sauna and what's not?
People who have just heard about this thing called "Sauna" are easily misled by various commercial website that are desperately satisfy people's craving for sauna.
The world today knows a huge of what we call "thermal experiences or treatments" and only some of them are part of the Eastern European and Finnish sauna tradition.
We see the world of saunas as follows:
|
Saunas |
Close, but different |
Definitely not-saunas |
|
Finnish sauna, Estonian saun, Latvian pirts, Lithuanian Perenè |
Continental European Biosauna, Russian banya, Swedish sauna |
Steam room, Infrared cabin, Hammam aka. Turkish bath, Onsen, Sento |
This table is based on the definition of sauna established by the International Sauna Association and further refined in Dr. Liikkanen's new book. It goes as follows:
A sauna is a hot room with walls preferably made of wood. It is heated by a sauna heater powered by firewood, electricity, gas or another energy source. The heater is equipped with a sufficient amount of sauna stones to provide steam, known as löyly in Finnish. Heating can be continuous or in advance. The temperature measured at a maximum of one metre (3’4”) above the highest bench is usually between 60°C and 105°C (140°F and 220°F). The humidity is varied by pouring water onto the stones, resulting in a peak dew-point temperature exceeding the body surface temperature.