The Art of Heat with Emma O'Kelly

Sauna culture is having a moment and Britain's wild sauna scene is drawing everyone in, from Gen Z seekers to wild swimmers. We asked Emma O'Kelly, Contributing Editor at Wallpaper* magazine and author of the newly published Wild Sauna: The Best Outdoor Saunas in Britain, to share what she's learned from visiting 250 different saunas across Europe.

Here's her essential guide to the art of heat.

What to pack

Water bottle, two towels, flip flops, comb, face cream, shower gel and swimsuit (or not, depending on which country I’m in; but that’s another story). This is my basic sauna check list and I’ve spent five years editing it down to essentials. I’ve sweated it out in more than 250 saunas, from Oslo to Anglesey, in horseboxes, tent saunas, floating spaces, sweat lodges, smoke saunas and Russian banyas. What I’ve learned is that there are many ways to sweat and travelling light is always best.

What makes a great sauna

Like coffee shops, no two saunas are ever the same. They echo the ethos of their owners; their atmosphere is shaped by the communities they create and, in the same way that making a good coffee takes practice, so too does creating good heat. Passionate aficionados in both fields have elevated their practice into ritualistic artforms that can take years to master.

Heat is the lifeblood of every sauna.  In Finland, Russia and the Baltics, a sauna is not a sauna unless you can pour water on the rocks to create steam (or Löyly in Finnish).

In these nations, babies would be born in the steam and the dead were prepared for burial. On any farmstead, the sauna was built before the home and sauna healers and shamans would travel from village to village celebrating rites of passage, from puberty to graduation to marriage.

Sauna's in the UK

In the UK, where we have no deep roots into sauna bathing, the wild sauna movement looks to these ancient traditions and takes most of its cues from the Finns, who are exceptionally proud of their rich bathing culture and treasure it fiercely.

According to the British Sauna Society there are now more than 600 wild saunas across the country and analysts predict the UK sauna market is set to grow 3 per cent a year until 2033.

As the scene develops, so do sweat bathing experiences. Pioneers such as Beach Box Brighton, Saltwater in Dorset and Soulwater in Edinburgh offer a range of rituals hosted by trained practitioners. Think nature-based treatments such as salt scrubs and leaf whisking, (inspired by Latvia and Lithuania) and aromatherapy journeys through aufguss.

Beach Box Brighton, photograph by @bethsteddon

Large event saunas such as London’s Arc and &Soul offer storytelling, breathwork, mindfulness and sell-out sober raves. All are a far cry from the steam-free, soulless gym sauna of old and they draw every generation; Gen Z go in search of a digital detox and the chance to meet people in real life, those with health conditions or in search of post muscle recovery enjoy hot and cold contrast therapy and wild swimmers warm up in beachside hotboxes.

Why sauna bathe?

As I travelled the UK researching my Wild Sauna book, everyone I met talked about physical and mental health benefits of the heat; how it lifts their mood and reduces anxiety and how they’ve made friends and found a new community.

I met bathers with Parkinson’s who find the sauna helps relieve pain, others with auto-immune illnesses who find it reduces inflammation and others who have suffered loss, trauma or tragedy and go to the steam to seek comfort away from the daily grid.

Those who are into sauna often pinpoint the moment when they ‘got it' and once you do, there’s no going back. Like cold swimming, it’s often not immediately likeable; it can require a few tries. And like cold swimming, it’s addictive. Where else provides a comforting, cosy space that’s neither work nor home (nor pub) that sends your blood pumping and fills you with endorphins, creating a buzz that can last for hours?

Yet despite plentiful anecdotes, there is still a dearth of studies into the health benefits of this powerful, centuries-old practice.

Those of us who enjoy saunas know how good it feels, even if we don’t know why. Perhaps it’s less about finding answers and more about learning to live with questions.

Saunacations

Anyone seeking deeper understanding, should try a ‘saunacation’ to the original bathing nations. In Norway, Finland and the Baltics, enjoyment of the steam is celebrated with sauna festivals and marathons which are not-to-be-missed diary dates. A saunacation is a fun way to have a healthy break, meet the locals and relax in under-the-radar beauty spots.

In 2014, Estonian smoke sauna culture was added to UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and this is honoured with an annual smoke sauna festival in Voru where the tradition originated.

Jamsa Sauna Village in Finland features 24 historic saunas dating back to the eighteenth century and bathers come from far and wide to try them all.

This spring, US podcast Sauna Times launches Sauna Circuits, a series of sauna routes recommended by sauna sherpas from New York to San Francisco. These sweat bathing breaks take in the best places to eat, stay and sauna.

Along with Vancouver, Bergen and Helsinki, Scotland is on the list, thanks to being the UK’s most buoyant sauna region. The circuit recommends hiking along the 188km Fife Coastal Path enjoying historic tidal pools and beach saunas.

There are plenty to choose from, along with modern food and shelter for the bliss-out bather.

Book those tickets now.

You can read more about Emma O'Kelly and buy her book Wild Sauna: The Best Outdoor Saunas in Britain on her website here.