How to use a sauna properly: the step-by-step guide to your sauna session

Using a sauna properly is no rocket science – but if you know the routine, you'll relax much better. Showering, sauna round, cooling down, resting, drinking: each step has its reason, and the order makes the difference. We have been running the Meri Sauna at Lake Kulkwitz for more than 18 years. In this step-by-step guide we show you how a sauna visit usually works, what beginners should look out for and which mistakes to avoid. For many steps you'll find a link to a separate article with all the details.

Contents17

1. How to use a sauna properly: the routine at a glance
2. Before your visit: arrive well prepared
3. Step 1: Arrive, shower, dry off
4. Step 2: The sauna round
5. Step 3: Cool down
6. Step 4: Rest
7. Step 5: Drink
8. Step 6: Repeat – how many rounds?
9. Step 7: The finish after the last round
10. Using a sauna properly as a beginner
11. Using a sauna properly in summer and winter
12. Using a home sauna properly
13. The most common sauna mistakes
14. The right equipment
15. Health: listen to your body
16. Conclusion
17. Frequently asked questions

How to use a sauna properly: the routine at a glance

A sauna session consists of several phases that are repeated two to three times. The table shows the usual routine with guideline values:

Step	Guideline	What matters
1. Shower and dry off	approx. 5 minutes	With shower gel, then dry off well
2. Sauna round	8 to 15 minutes	Fully on your towel, listen to your body
3. Cool down	about as long as the round	Fresh air, then cold water from the bottom up
4. Rest	at least as long as the round	Towel on the lounger, keep warm
5. Drink	in every break	Water or unsweetened tea
6. Repeat	2 to 3 rounds	Better fewer rounds than breaks that are too short
7. Finish	after you've stopped sweating	Warm shower, cream, get dressed calmly

All times are guideline values that are customary in many saunas. More important than any clock is how you feel.

Before your visit: arrive well prepared

Using a sauna properly starts at home. A few things make the day much more relaxing:

• Plan your time: For two to three rounds with breaks you need about two to three hours. Under time pressure, you won't relax.
• Eat light: The heat is unpleasant on a full stomach, but also on a completely empty one. A light meal some time beforehand suits most people.
• Drink enough: A glass of water before your visit so you don't go into the first round thirsty.
• Pack your bag: Two towels, bath slippers, shower gel, a water bottle and, for longer visits, a bathrobe. The complete list is in Packing a sauna bag.
• Come healthy: With a cold, fever or sunburn, it's better to postpone your visit.

Step 1: Arrive, shower, dry off

After changing, take off jewellery and your watch and go to the shower. Before the first round you shower warm and with shower gel – for hygiene and out of consideration for other guests. Make-up, cream and perfume come off. Then dry yourself thoroughly, because with dry skin you start sweating sooner. When to shower with and without shower gel is explained in Showering after the sauna.

If your feet are cold, many people find a warm foot bath before the first round helpful. It's not a must, but pleasant, especially in winter.

Step 2: The sauna round

Now it's into the cabin. To use the sauna properly, pay attention to these points:

1. Lay out your towel: You sit or lie fully on your towel, including your feet. No sweat on the wood.
2. Choose your spot: It's hottest at the top and mildest at the bottom. For starters, the middle or lower bench is ideal. More in Top or bottom? Which sauna bench is right for you.
3. Lie rather than sit: Lying down, the warmth spreads more evenly over your body. If it's full, sit up.
4. Breathe calmly: Through your nose, evenly. Talking in the cabin is quiet and brief, if at all.
5. Duration: 8 to 15 minutes is usual. The hourglass is a guide, not an obligation. If it gets too much, leave earlier.
6. Get up slowly: In the last one to two minutes, sit upright before leaving the cabin.

How long a round, a break and the whole visit should last is explained in How long should you stay in the sauna?

Step 3: Cool down

After the sauna round comes cooling down – for many the best part. If you want to use the sauna properly, never skip this step. This order is customary:

1. Fresh air: A few minutes outside or in the fresh-air area, breathe calmly, walk slowly.
2. Cold water: Cold shower or hose, from the feet over the legs and arms to the upper body, the head last.
3. Plunge pool (optional): Only after showering off and only briefly.
4. Warm foot bath (optional): Where available, it warms your feet up again after the cold water.

All stations with tips and typical mistakes can be found in Cooling down after a sauna session.

Step 4: Rest

If you want to use the sauna properly, don't underestimate the rest phase: it is at least as important as the time in the cabin. Plan it to be at least as long as the sauna round, preferably longer. Dry yourself well first, slip into a bathrobe and lie down on a lounger – with a towel underneath. A lounger towel with a pocket for the backrest, such as the Ocean StayOn hammam towel (200 × 70 cm), doesn't slip.

The relaxation room is quiet: phone off, conversations moved outside. The unwritten rules there are covered in our relaxation room etiquette.

Step 5: Drink

When you sweat, you lose fluid. So drink something in every break, ideally water or unsweetened tea. You don't drink in the cabin itself, and you avoid alcohol during your sauna visit. How much and what is suitable is explained in Drinking in the sauna.

Your own stainless steel bottle is practical, because glass bottles are not allowed in many sauna areas. The IZY x Pip Studio Thermos Bottle "La Dolce Vita" (500 ml) is double-walled and, according to the manufacturer, keeps drinks hot for up to 12 hours – ideal for tea during the breaks.

Step 6: Repeat – how many rounds?

Two to three sauna rounds per visit are usual – so you can use the sauna properly even on a weekday evening. More doesn't automatically mean more relaxation. Many people make the first round a little shorter and milder, and the second or third one with an infusion. Important: better one round fewer than shortening the breaks. Only when you are completely calm again and have stopped sweating do you go into the next round.

Making the most of the infusion

During an infusion, the sauna master pours water, often scented, onto the hot stones and distributes the heat with a towel. The heat becomes much more intense. Arrive in good time before it starts, sit lower down as a beginner and leave the cabin if it gets too much – ideally during a pause between rounds. What exactly the sauna master does is explained in Sauna towel during the infusion.

Step 7: The finish after the last round

After the last cool-down and a rest, you shower once more – now lukewarm to warm and with shower gel, with shampoo too if you like. Wait until you've stopped sweating, otherwise you'll be damp again right after drying off. Then it's the right moment for skin care: face cream, hand cream, foot cream. Which care suits which moment is explained in Skin care before, during and after the sauna. Get dressed calmly, dry your hair well and, in winter, head home wrapped up warm.

Using a sauna properly as a beginner

On your first visit, a lot is new. These tips help you settle in:

• Start mild: A bio sauna or the lower bench of the Finnish sauna is more pleasant to begin with.
• Stay in for less time: 6 to 10 minutes is quite enough for the first round.
• Look around first: Where are the showers, cabins, cooling area and relaxation room? A short tour removes a lot of uncertainty.
• Read the house rules: Whether it's textile-free, where bathrobes are allowed and whether infusions follow a schedule is stated there.
• Ask: Staff and other guests are happy to help.

An example schedule for your first visit

This is what a relaxed first afternoon could look like if you want to learn how to use a sauna properly:

1. Arrive and look around (15 minutes): get changed, shower, explore the facility.
2. First round in the bio sauna or on the lower bench of the Finnish sauna (6 to 8 minutes), then cool down and rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Second round (8 to 10 minutes), cool down again, rest, drink.
4. Optionally a third round or a mild infusion if you feel good.
5. Finish: warm shower, apply cream, get dressed calmly.

The most important rules of conduct – from the towel to the relaxation area – are summarised in our sauna etiquette.

Using a sauna properly in summer and winter

The basic rules stay the same all year; the details change. In winter, the outside air cools you down quickly, a hooded bathrobe is pleasant on the way outside, and after the last round you go home dressed warmly with dry hair. In summer, the air hardly cools you, so cold water becomes more important. Shorter rounds, longer breaks in the shade and drinking more help you use the sauna properly in warm weather too. All the tips for hot days can be found in Sauna in summer.

Using a home sauna properly

The same routine is worthwhile at home: shower first, sit on your towel, cool down, rest. As there's often no fresh-air area, an open window, the balcony or the cold shower in the bathroom is enough. Put out towels, bathrobe and water beforehand so you don't walk through the house wet, and air the cabin between rounds. What is different about towels at home is explained in Sauna towel for the home sauna.

The most common sauna mistakes

• Too long in the cabin: Endurance is not the goal. If it gets too much, leave.
• Skipping the cool-down: Without cooling down, you miss the alternation that makes a sauna session.
• Breaks that are too short: Going straight back into the cabin throws you out of rhythm.
• Entering the cabin wet: Dry off first, otherwise it takes longer to start sweating.
• Drinking too little: A few sips of water or tea in every break.
• Getting up abruptly: Sit up first, then stand up slowly.
• One towel for everything: One towel for the bench, one for drying off, one for the lounger.

The right equipment

To use a sauna properly you don't need expensive gear, but a few good textiles make the day more pleasant:

• Sauna towel for the bench: Long enough to lie on completely, for example 180 × 100 cm like the Hammam Towel Ocean (approx. 400 g, 100 % cotton). You'll find more models among our sauna towels.
• Towel for drying off: In our experience at the Meri Sauna, a light hammam towel dries indoors in about 60 minutes and is often ready to use again by the next round.
• Lounger towel: For the relaxation room, ideally one that doesn't slip.
• Bathrobe: For walking around and the breaks. Light cotton is more comfortable than heavy terry, such as the Trimita Barok Bathrobe.
• Bath slippers, shower gel, water bottle.

All three towels in one package are offered by the Hammam Towel Set Single: 2 × Ocean (180 × 100 cm) and 1 × StayOn (200 × 70 cm) for €89.90 instead of €104.70 individually.

Health: listen to your body

Using a sauna properly also means knowing your own limits. If you feel dizzy, nauseous or unwell, leave the cabin immediately and sit down calmly. If you have heart or circulation problems, are pregnant, take medication regularly or are unsure whether the sauna is right for you, check with a doctor beforehand.

Related reading: How long should you stay in the sauna? Rounds, breaks and the whole visit · Top or bottom? Which sauna bench is right for you · Relaxation room etiquette: the unwritten rules of the sauna break

Conclusion

Using a sauna properly follows a simple rhythm: shower and dry off, 8 to 15 minutes in the cabin, cool down with fresh air and cold water, rest at length, drink – and repeat two to three times. At the end, take a warm shower and apply care. If you take your time, listen to your body and take the breaks seriously, you'll get the best out of every sauna visit.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a sauna round last?

8 to 15 minutes is usual. Beginners start with 6 to 10 minutes. What matters is how you feel.

How many sauna rounds make sense?

Two to three rounds per visit are usual. More important than the number are breaks that are long enough.

How long should the break between rounds be?

At least as long as the sauna round, preferably longer. Only when you've stopped sweating do you go into the next round.

Do I have to take a cold shower after the sauna?

Cooling down is part of the sauna session. Whether cold shower, hose or just fresh air is up to how you feel. If you have health questions, check with a doctor beforehand.

Sit or lie down in the sauna?

Lying down, the warmth spreads more evenly. In the last one to two minutes, sit up before leaving the cabin.

What should I eat before the sauna?

Ideally a light meal some time beforehand. On a full stomach or a completely empty one, many people find the heat unpleasant.

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Personally written by Martin – founder of BeachAndSteam. As a family, we have run the Meri Sauna at Lake Kulkwitz for more than 18 years.