If you are, like us, a wellness lover, you have most likely
heard of the infrared sauna treatments. Or, more realistically, you've probably
seen photos of them on your Instagram account. While models and ordinary people
are becoming fashionable, you may wonder if these saunas are really worth it or
not. And hey, you are not alone. As with any widely advertised treatment, it's
wise to consider whether the often-posted benefits are real or just the product
of a paid influencer reality.
To help you understand infrared storytelling, we spoke with
two of the leading women behind a couple of the industry's best infrared
contenders: Katy Kaps, co-founder and co-CEO of HigherDOSE, and Chillhouse
founder and CEO Cindy Ramirez.
What Is an Infrared Sauna
An infrared sauna is a wooden box equipped with infrared
heaters that are designed to detoxify and heal the body, improve mood, and
more. Unlike traditional saunas, which use steam or dry heat to heat a room,
infrared saunas use infrared lamps in a confined space to directly raise the
body temperature.
“Infrared heat is very gentle,” says Kaps. "It's like
lying in the sun on a warm day and feeling the heat radiating into the center
of your body." Unlike traditional saunas (with hot stones or steam), which
operate at temperatures well above 200 ° F, infrared heat has the advantage of
being effective at a more comfortable operating temperature of 100 ° -150 ° F,
so it is less likely to occur. ... they interfere with breathing and are likely
to be controlled within a 60-minute session.
Benefits
of an Infrared Sauna
Because infrared heat
penetrates human tissue rather than simply heating the skin's surface, Kaps
says infrared saunas are seven times more effective than traditional saunas at
detoxifying the body. “By raising core body temperature, infrared saunas can
produce 20 percent toxin sweat, compared to 3 percent toxins in a traditional
sauna,” she says.
Because infrared light
is so effective at removing toxins, it can help with countless body problems,
Ramirez said. “The powerful heat of infrared rays promotes circulation in the
body, which can lead to increased metabolism, relieve muscle and joint pain,
strengthen the immune system and, of course, reduce stress and fatigue,” says
Ramirez.
In addition to heat-induced
detoxification, infrared saunas can boost collagen production and improve mood
2, especially if you include chromotherapy lamps in your session (more on these
below). Best of all, the mood improvement is immediate - Caps says you'll start
sweating and feel the positive effects within the first 10 minutes or so.
However, if your goal is to witness a major change in skin or weight, you need
to continue with the sessions.
Some infrared sauna
treatments, such as those from HigherDOSE and Chillhouse, also include
chromotherapy (or light therapy). “Phototherapy is used for certain diseases of
the body as well as mood changes and allows more energy to flow into certain
chakras,” explains Kaps. "But most of all we see it these days in beauty
treatments." Chromotherapy uses different shades of light for different
therapies. By using red LED to generate collagen and relieve pain, for example,
blue LED is effective at killing acne-causing bacteria.
