Do I want an infrared sauna?

January 19, 2021 8:45 AM

I'm intriqued by infrared saunas, either the blanket style or the little freestanding kind. Does anyone have experience with them, advice, tips, or recommendations to help me decide whether to get one and, if so, which type?
posted by DrGail to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

The main thing for me in considering a portable sauna option like the two you linked is what ends up happening to my SWEAT, of which there is pleeenty. I personally wouldn't be able to do the blanket style, and would wonder how often I'd need to clean my pooled liquids to keep the little box one sanitary and not smelling like an old locker.

The picture on that amazon box one is hilarious, though.
posted by stinkfoot at 9:01 AM on January 19, 2021 [2 favorites]

My mom has one of the freestanding ones. I used it while visiting last year and enjoyed it.

The pooled sweat is an issue. My mom happens to have an abundance of old towels, so she can line the floor and wash them.

My advice would be to set a loud timer before getting in. It's pretty damn relaxing and I found myself nearly falling asleep a couple times.
posted by kevinbelt at 9:04 AM on January 19, 2021

we had one that came with our house, but our house is tiny, so it took up more space than we liked, and we only used it twice. when we had it taken away it turned out it was not wired that well, so my advice is:
-think about how much you will really use it
-don't skimp on quality
posted by evilmonk at 9:15 AM on January 19, 2021

I thought this was an interesting use of a portable sauna. She seemed to like it, if not for her original purpose. She got a freestanding one from Amazon.
posted by fiercekitten at 5:47 PM on January 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

I ordered a blanket-style one a couple of weeks ago, and it should arrive any day now. I will come back to report on my initial experience!
posted by rpfields at 7:54 PM on January 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

For anybody who is following this question, I ended up finally getting
this one from Amazon

after nearly getting ripped off by a company called The Sauna Wrap, which seems to have gone out of business. I've only tried it a couple of times but it does the job pretty well and I think I'm going to enjoy using it to relax after a nice body scrub. I'm glad I got one with the little zippers that let you get your hands out, since otherwise things could get pretty awkward. I also think I'm not going to need those plastic wraps they seem to want to sell you--wrapping myself in a towel seems to do the trick.

In the end, I'm pretty happy with it, but I'm glad I didn't spend much more money than I did. There are some that are very expensive, but I honestly can't see how much of a difference the extra bells and whistles would make.
posted by rpfields at 4:13 PM on March 26, 2021