Finnish sauna

1. Bring with you a towel, your shampoo and shower gel and a sauna bench towel on which you can sit in the sauna.
2. Remember to drink before going to the sauna, because the sauna is very hot and you will sweat a lot.
3. Shower well before going to the sauna.
4. Before sitting on a sauna bench, cover it with your sauna bench towel.
5. The sauna has a water container and a scoop for throwing water on the sauna stove. Throw small amounts of water on the stove at a time so that you know what is the right amount for you. Remember to be considerate of the other people in the sauna.
6. You can be quiet in the sauna and enjoy the atmosphere, or you can calmly talk with others.
7. It is good to take breaks and leave the sauna room for some fresh air outside or cool yourself down in the shower. It is also advisable to drink water.
8. Remember to wash yourself after you leave the sauna for the last time.
9. After the sauna, relax and enjoy feeling good! Good food and drink crown the sauna experience.

Swimming halls and many public saunas have separate saunas for women and men. In swimming halls it is not allowed to go to the sauna with a swimsuit on, you need to be naked. If you want, you can use a towel to cover yourself. In many mixed saunas, wearing swimwear is allowed. In a mixed sauna, women and men are in the sauna at the same time.

Finns are used to being naked in the sauna, and there is nothing sexual about sauna bathing.

Sauna bathing is good for you. After sauna bathing, you feel relaxed and your body is clean.

Sauna is suitable for all ages, and sauna bathing is safe when you remember these instructions.

• You should always start sauna bathing carefully and monitor how you are feeling. Leave the sauna if you feel weak or otherwise unwell.
• The Finnish sauna is hot: the temperature is usually 70–90°C. You can sit on a lower bench if you feel too hot on the upper benches.
• Keep an eye on any children to make sure they do not come into contact with the hot sauna stove.
• Do not go to a sauna if you have a fever or are ill.

Fire risk

A sauna must not be turned on without supervision. A sauna is always a fire risk and therefore no combustible material should be stored there. If you never use the electric sauna in your apartment, remove the fuse of the sauna stove. This prevents the sauna stove from turning on and heating up by accident.

The history of the Finnish sauna goes back thousands of years. The word “sauna” is an old Finnish word.

In the cold Nordic countries, the sauna was often the first building to be built when people moved to new areas. In addition to sauna bathing, the sauna was a place where people gave birth and carried out various rituals.  Sauna has been a sacred place, which is still reflected in the modern sauna experience.

Sauna is part of the everyday life of Finns, starting from childhood. Almost all houses have a private sauna. There are more than three million saunas in Finland.

Sauna is also part of many holidays: there is a Midsummer sauna and a Christmas sauna.

Finnish sauna culture has been named as an intangible heritage element by UNESCO.

• sauna: a room or building with a sauna stove that is heated
• kiuas (sauna stove): an oven with stones on top
• löyly (steam): steam that rises from the sauna stove when water is thrown on its stones
• vihta or vasta (birch switch): a bundle of birch branches, it is used to lightly hit or pat different parts of the body in the sauna. In Western Finland the bundle is called vihta, in Eastern Finland vasta.
• lauteet: benches you sit on while in the sauna.