Spending time in a sauna is a great for your body and soul. While temperatures and humidity levels in a sauna will depend on their type and will create different conditions, there are various sauna accessories that you should know about when visiting a sauna. These sauna accessories/equipment might be useful or even mandatory depending on which sauna you visit or if you are building/buying a sauna in your own home. They will make your bathing experience more comfortable and enjoyable.
The main sauna accessories include:
- Towels
- Seat covers or a sitting pad
- Hat
- Mittens
- Slippers
- Bucket and ladle
- Brushes, sponges and other accessories
- Essential oil blends or herbal blends
- Whisk
- Back and head rest
Towels
Towels are a must accessory for a bathing experience. One, or better 2 towels are ideal when visiting a sauna. While there are different material towels, the best ones are those that absorb water well, dry quickly and feel soft. Waffle towels are great for sauna, but you can also choose cotton or terry cloth towels.
One towel can be used to wrap around the body between entering sauna and wiping off sweat or drying yourself after a shower. The second towel can used for placing on a sauna bench, as it will help you avoid burns from the hot surfaces and from getting in contact with possible sweat, bacteria and toxins from other people’s sweat. Instead of using one towel as a seat cover (can get a cushion instead), you can bring a smaller towel and wrap it around your head to protect your head and hair from heat.
Seat cover or sitting pad
Seat cover or a cushion is a must for a regular sauna goer. Covering your seat in a sauna is important for hygiene, and as mentioned in the previous point, will allow you not to overheat or get in contact with other people’s sweat and toxins that are released with it. You can use it for your back, feet, or other sensitive areas, too. Seat covers are made of different materials, including linen, cotton, and even polyethene, which is heat resistant to about 130°C (266°F).
Hat
Sauna hat is another accessory that can help protect your head from high temperatures in a sauna. Hats for a sauna are often made of felt or linen and cover the head completely (snug and up to eyebrows), without squeezing it too much. It also allows the air to pass, this way preventing overheating; prevents heat damage to the hair.
Some women even apply hair masks (often in saunas with high humidity) and then wear the hat or cover their hair with a towel. This allows a good absorption of a mask, as the scalp is warm and stimulated, without exposing it to extreme heat. A hat also offers protection for colored treated hair. But in general, a hat will protect your head, ears and hair from too much heat.
Mittens
Sauna mittens are another accessory that you can consider for a sauna use. Mittens help prevent overheating and accidental burns of your hands in a sauna. They can also be used to handle hot objects in a sauna, such as essential oil diffuser, ladle etc.
Some mittens are also great to use for scrubbing and cleaning yourself while bathing. These are often made of special materials such as coco fiber, wool fiber, horsehair, sisal and so on.
Slippers
If you have a sauna at home, you might skip wearing any type of footwear. However, if you are visiting a public sauna, you should consider wearing shoes to protect your feet from dirty water and the hot floor. Footwear is also necessary to avoid catching any fungal or other infectious diseases from using public spaces. Most often people wear slippers when visiting sauna, however water shoes and other types of shoes are widely available to wear at a sauna.
Bucket and ladle
You can often find a bucket and ladle in a sauna, and they are often an important part of a sauna in many countries. They are traditionally made of wood, and are used to keep water for splashing onto the stove of your sauna. In Finland, bucket is called (Löyly)kiulu and ladle is called (Löyly)kauha, and they are essential part of a Finnish sauna. Bucket and ladle made from fine wood, such as cedar wood like this one, will last for a long time and will tolerate heat well.
Brushes, sponges and other accessories
If you want to do a full bathing routine, you can take brushes, sponges, soaps and other bathing items with you to a sauna. You can use soaps and hair masks after bathing and brushes and sponges after or during a sauna. Brushes are used to massage a body: there are brushes for a dry or wet massage.
They can be different on exfoliating index and made of different materials. Often, you will find brushes made of wood and even silicone that you can use for massage and exfoliation. Loofah sponges are also natural and great for bathing and exfoliation.
Essential oils or herbal blends
Aromas with essential oils are amazing for a sauna experience. Not only do they fill a room with beautiful smells, but also invigorate the body and bring tons of health benefits. The most popular essential oil blends for sauna are eucalyptus, birch, mint, pine, fir and many more that can be easily found in stores, such as these on Amazon. You can add some essential oil aroma drops and mix with water, or use crystals, such as menthol crystals like these.
What you can also do instead of using essential oils is using different herbs added to filter bags like these (similar to tea bags). For example, you can use herbs separately or use blend of mint, chamomile, thyme, rosemary, Valerian root, linden, juniper and more. After adding herbs to these filter bags, you will add them to hot or boiling water in a sauna. After giving it around 10-15 minutes to brew, you can start splashing this water on top of rocks of a sauna heater or stove.
Whisk
Whisk is an integral part of a sauna experience in many countries, including in traditional Finnish saunas and Russian sauna, or banya. These whisks are made of natural materials, usually at home and then brought to a sauna for an enjoyable experience. In Finland, these whisks are called vihta, or vasta.
Whisks are great for massaging the skin and offer many health benefits. You can exfoliate with a whisk, improve blood circulation and get rid of dirt. They are also used to raise steam in a sauna (especially steam filled banya), or to splash water on a sauna stove. Whisks are often made of birch leaves. Before bringing it in a sauna, it should be soaked for 10-15 minutes in warm water, so it doesn’t break when using.
Whisks are made with twigs of various trees, most often being oak and birch. A great thing is that these trees contain essential oils and phytoncides, which in turn are antifungal and antibacterial. Whisks are not difficult to make at home.
Back and head rest
Back rests and head rest pillows are also essential accessories for a sauna. Back rests are traditionally made of wood (like this one on Amazon) and provide support for your back or even head when sitting on a bench or lying down. In Finnish saunas, for example, some people even bring special pillows (saunatyyny) to use as a headrest or backrest. They are often made of linen or cotton, dry quickly and are washed after use.