Wooden sauna cabin by a lake at dusk with warm light in the window and smoke from the chimney

Finnish Sauna Guide: Tradition, Löyly and Building One at Home

A Finnish sauna is a wooden room heated by a stove full of stones, usually to somewhere between 176 and 212°F (80–100°C). You sit on wooden benches, ladle water onto the stones to make steam, cool off, rest and go back in. That is most of it. The rest is detail, and tradition.

This guide covers where the Finnish sauna comes from, what löyly is, how the heat works, how Finns actually use it, and what you need if you want one at home.

What is a Finnish sauna?

In Finland, sauna is everyday life rather than a spa treat. UNESCO, which added "Sauna culture in Finland" to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020, counts about 3.3 million saunas for roughly 5.5 million people. It describes sauna as an integral part of life for most Finns, in homes and public places, and names electric, wood-heated, smoke and infrared saunas as forms of the tradition, with no hierarchy among them.

The finland.fi guide notes that saunas were once the most practical place to wash during long winters without hot running water. Wikipedia's history adds that Finns also used saunas for tasks like laundry and curing meat. Today the sauna is about relaxing, washing and spending time together; a Finnish saying quoted on finland.fi is that in the sauna, everyone is equal.

What is löyly?

Löyly is the steam that rises when you throw water on the hot stones, and it is the center of the whole thing. UNESCO calls löyly the heart of the sauna experience, and Sauna From Finland calls it "the soul of the sauna experience."

In practice, löyly is how you control the feel of the heat. The air in a Finnish sauna is fairly dry: a 2018 systematic review describes relative humidity of 10–20%, interspersed with periods of increased humidity when water hits the rocks. Each ladle makes the room feel hotter for a while, then fades. Saunafin suggests one to two ladles at a time, adding more every few minutes. Sauna From Finland suggests waiting until you have adjusted to the heat before throwing any.

How a Finnish sauna works

The heater, called a kiuas, heats a mass of stones. The stones heat the air, store heat, and turn water into steam. Benches sit high, because hot air rises; the upper bench is the hottest place in the room.

Types of heater

The Finnish Sauna Society's guide to sauna heaters describes the main types:

Heater type How it works Notes
Continuously heated electric Elements heat the stones during bathing The most common type; a thermostat cuts power at the set temperature
Continuously heated wood Flames and smoke pass through channels around the stones You keep feeding the fire while you bathe
Heat-storing wood Fired before bathing; the stones store the heat Heating usually takes a few hours
Smoke sauna No chimney; smoke vents before bathing The original type; takes hours to heat

finland.fi notes that most Finns consider the smoke sauna the best, with a soft heat and a scent of wood smoke. For a home sauna outside Finland, the realistic choices are an electric heater or a chimney wood stove.

How hot is a Finnish sauna?

According to finland.fi, the Finnish Sauna Society recommends 80–100°C (176–212°F), and some people prefer about 70°C (158°F). Competing to tolerate the most heat is described as unhealthy and pointless. For more on temperatures across sauna types, see how hot is a sauna.

How to sauna like a Finn

Drawing on finland.fi and Sauna From Finland, a typical Finnish sauna goes like this:

  1. Take your time. Leave the phone outside. Avoid a big meal and alcohol beforehand.
  2. Shower first. Rinse off and remove jewelry.
  3. Sit on a towel. In private or single-sex saunas Finns bathe nude; in mixed public saunas, swimsuits are normal. Our guide to what to wear in a sauna has more.
  4. Warm up, then add löyly. Once you have adjusted, ladle a little water onto the stones.
  5. Cool off. A cold shower, fresh air, or a lake or snow in Finland. finland.fi notes that people with heart problems or high blood pressure should avoid cold-water immersion after the hot room.
  6. Rest and drink. Then go back in. Most Finns have at least two rounds, per finland.fi.
  7. Finish slowly. Wash at the end, and dress only once you have stopped sweating.

Some bathers use a vihta or vasta, a bundle of birch branches, to gently whisk the skin. It is optional. The Finnish Sauna Society notes that anyone allergic to birch should avoid a birch whisk. We carry a birch whisk along with oak and eucalyptus versions.

If you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, are pregnant or take regular medication, talk to your doctor before using a sauna. Our guide on how to use a sauna covers first sessions.

What you need for a Finnish sauna at home

The room

A wooden room with benches, a vent and a door that closes well. Indoor cabins and outdoor cabins or barrels both work. Our traditional saunas include indoor rooms such as the Golden Designs Forssa 4-person sauna ($6,999) and outdoor cabins such as the Mande MW16 in ThermoWood, which is offered with Harvia Kip 6.0 or 8.0 kW electric heater options.

The heater

Choose electric for convenience or wood for the fire. Harvia's rule of thumb is about 1 kW of heater power per cubic meter of room, with extra for glass and stone surfaces. Our sauna heater size calculator does the math. Browse electric sauna heaters or see our wood-burning sauna stove guide and wood-fired saunas.

Stones

The heater is only as good as its stone load. The Finnish Sauna Society notes that stone quantity depends on the heater, from a few dozen to several hundred kilos. Electric heaters in our catalog call for about 22–33 lb (10–15 kg). See sauna stones.

Accessories

Fire safety

The Finnish Sauna Society's fire safety guidance is worth reading before you install anything. Its main points: the most common cause of a fire is too little distance to flammable material; the stove and flue must be compatible; never dry laundry in the hot room; never leave a heater unattended while heating; and make sure nothing is on or above an electric heater before switching it on. Have a licensed electrician wire electric heaters, and follow the stove maker's clearance and chimney instructions.

FAQ

What is a Finnish sauna?

A wooden room heated by a stove full of stones, typically to 80–100°C (176–212°F), where you throw water on the stones to make löyly and alternate heat with cooling off and rest.

Is a Finnish sauna dry or wet?

Mostly dry, with short bursts of humidity from löyly. It never reaches steam-room humidity. See our dry sauna vs wet sauna guide.

How hot is a Finnish sauna?

The Finnish Sauna Society recommends 80–100°C (176–212°F), per finland.fi, and some people prefer around 70°C (158°F).

How does a Finnish sauna work?

A heater warms a mass of stones, which heat the room and turn ladled water into steam. Electric heaters use a thermostat; wood stoves are controlled by the fire.

Are Finnish saunas nude?

In private and single-sex saunas, usually yes. Mixed public saunas generally expect swimsuits. Follow the local rules.

Can a Finnish sauna be infrared?

UNESCO lists infrared among the forms of Finnish sauna culture. But löyly needs a heater with stones, so for the classic experience, choose a traditional heater.

Sources

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