Sauna in Finland

No preparation is needed. Wet and wash yourself in the shower and enter the steam room. Wear a towel or a swimsuit, if you like. If you attend a sauna tour or have book a sauna experience, it is adviced to check what is included. It might be a good idea to bring a bottle of water with you or another sauna drink. After the sauna wash yourself and drink some water, also it’s good to wear warm clothes after the sauna at winter time.

Us Finns believe there’s nothing to be ashamed of in naked human bodies, so in the public saunas (such as swimming halls) in Finland people don’t wear swimsuits. The public saunas are divided to women’s and men saunas. In the mixed, all gender saunas people often tend to use towl or swimsuit. Yet, we totally understand wearing a swimsuit or wrapping a towel around you for sauna feels more comfortable for you.

Just relax and enjoy – take time to breathe and clear your mind. Sit on a sauna bench on your bench covering cloth. If more benches than one is available, you can choose a higher bench for more heat or a lower one for less. Anyone in the sauna can throw water on the stove to add more steam and heat. This will make a hissing sound and bring on a little extra heat quickly.

Everyone can stay in the steam room for as long as they feel like, there’s no rule to it, it can be from a minute or two, or much longer. If you are not used to sauna, listen to your body and get some fresh air in the between of the heat whenever necessary or just cool off and get back into sauna.

It’s good to have some water or other refreshing drink with you in the sauna. If the sauna has a swimming possibility, cool off by dipping yourself in the water and head back to sauna. This is the way we Finns do it through out the year!

This depends on the sauna and the people. Some like alternating from the sauna steam room to a dip in a pool, natural waters, or a jacuzzi. Some step out of the sauna to sit for a drink on the terrace. In the winter, taking a break from the steam room might mean a dip in a winter swimming spot or rolling in snow. The ultimate sauna experience is meant to leave a wonderful feeling to your whole body and relax your mind.

It depends on the situation, but generally the temperature is anything between 70 to 90 up to 100 centigrade. It also depends on a sauna type, wooden and electric sauna can feel different even though the temperature would be the same. Recommended temperature for a beginner is 70 centigrade.