blog

The article “How to use bar soap” goes through how to use and store bar soap correctly. The article also considers if bar soaps are hygienic.

Wie verwendet man eine Stuckseife — *How to use bar soap*

How to use bar soap

Bar soap can be used to wash both hands and body. You should pay special attention to a few things when using bar soap.

Wet your hands and take the soap to your hands. Rub the soap into your hands so that it starts to lather. Wash your hands or body as usual. Make sure to use enough soap.

If you want to give yourself a little massage in addition to washing, you can use a wash glove or brush.

Rinse the soap from your hands and body, and dry with a towel. Rinse the foam off the soap so it is clean and place it on a wooden surface or in a soap dish with holes to dry.

Apply hand or body cream if you want to.

How to store your bar soap

Bar soap should not be stored in the shower or other humid places. Soap cannot dry properly in a humid place, and it can cause the soap to run out faster. Humidity also helps bacteria to grow.

It is important is that the soap dries completely between uses.

The best place to store a piece of soap is a wooden tray or a wooden soap dish/box with holes underneath for the water to drain out. Plastic, ceramic, and other materials are not as hygienic, especially if water can not drain out of the soapbox.

Soap bags are also a convenient and hygienic way to store bar soap. However, keep in mind that soap shouldn’t be stored in the shower, even in a bag.

Pay attention to the material of the soap bag. For example, flax, hemp, and bamboo are antibacterial and breathable materials. Cotton is not antibacterial, so it’s worth thinking about what material the soap bag is made of.

High-quality bar soaps last a long time when used correctly. Generally, bar soaps last 12 months after their first use before they expire.

Soap storage:

Store the soap in a dry place, the shower is not the best place.
It is a good idea to store the piece of soap on a wooden surface, or in a soap box or a soap bag.
Allow the soap to dry between uses.

Check out: Soapbox

Are bar soaps hygienic?

Bar soaps are just as hygienic as liquid soap when it comes to home use. In public spaces, bar soaps are not as practical, nor are they as hygienic.

This is because wet bar soap can contain a lot of bacteria. So again, make sure that the soap dries between uses. You can also rinse the soap before and after use.

A soapbox is convenient at home and when travelling.

Organic bar soaps

Rose Salt Soap is wonderful for washing your face or beard as well as for shaving. It is also excellent for gentle cleansing of the entire body.

The soap is made from high quality vegetable oils and mineral-rich rose salt. Salt crystals melt and mix with the foam, making it very gentle for sensitive skin.

Rose Salt Soap is long lasting, fragrance and colorant free. Ecological choice for your skin and environment.

Check out: Kaurilan Sauna Salt Soap Rose

How to use bar soap — Kaurilan Sauna Salt Soap Rose

My experiences with Kaurilan Sauna bar soaps

I first tried Kaurilan Sauna’s Salt Soap Rose bar soap and I fell in love.

I am used to using liquid soaps, but this product worked really well. The soap was easy and quick to use and left a pleasant rose scent on my hands.

The soaps in the Kaurilan Sauna product range do not leave your hands feeling so funny or greasy as some soaps do. I think it’s because of the oils and wild herbs that they use in the soaps.

The soaps in the Kaurilan Sauna product family are really high quality. You cannot be compared to ordinary commercial soaps!

How to use a bar soap:

Rub the soap on wet hands and rub your hands together so it starts to lather.
You can create foam on your hands first or lather the skin directly.
If you use a washing glove or sponge to wash your body, remember to rub it lightly on the skin.
Finally, rinse the product off the skin with plenty of water.
Rinse with soap after use.
Store the soap on a wooden tray or in a soapbox.
Allow the soap to dry between uses.

The article “How to use bar soap” discussed how to use bar soap properly and how to store bar soap so it lasts for as long as possible. We also got acquainted with the Luonnokas bar soap selection.

Love,

Sauna-Kati

Are you interested in Korean sauna culture?

Did you know that there is a sauna culture in Korea?

Do men and women take a sauna together?

Do you have to be naked?

Can children take a sauna in Korea?

You will find the answers to all these questions in this article.

Welcome to the Korean sauna!

Korean sauna culture

Korean sauna culture probably dates back to the Middle Ages. Unfortunately, I could not find more information about the history of Korean saunas. I promise to update this post as soon as I find out new information.

Korean Day Spas are multi-storey buildings. Often windowless, a bit like concrete bunkers. Depending on the locality, they have different art and decorations. Day spas, which are popular with locals, are usually very simplistic.

Jjimjilbang Day Spa

There are changing rooms for men and women on the entrance floor. You will receive a T-shirt, shorts, and a towel at the entrance. The towel can be folded into a headdress, Yan Mori. The spas have gyms, restaurants, hairdressers, beauticians, massages, saunas, and other themed rooms.

The entrance fee is 5-10 € depending on the location.

From the dressing room, you go to the unisex area. Everyone has T-shirts and shorts on, so everyone looks the same.

Koreans take all day to enjoy time at the spa. Children are also welcome in the Korean sauna. Maybe very young children don’t come along, but you can often see children over the age of 10 at the spas. I also noticed that at least one day spa is free for small children.

It is possible to stay overnight at the day spa and the spas are often open 24/7. It’s quite a luxury for visitors, but maybe not for employees.

The day spa also has TV or movie rooms where you can wind down, watch TV and relax.

Firedome

Firedome is one name for a Korean sauna. The firedome is like an igloo built of stone. The entrance to the sauna is through a small door. There are no benches in the sauna, people sit on the floor there. If you want to lean on the wall, you can use a wooden backrest. There is no stove inside the sauna as the sauna is heated from the outside. The sauna has hotter and less hot seating areas, something for every taste. The temperature inside the sauna is about 100 ° C.

There are also hourglasses inside the sauna, the use of which is recommended. You should stay in the sauna for only 10-20 minutes.

Ice room

Korean sauna culture also includes an ice room. The ice room has a temperature of approx. -5 ° C. Inside the room there are benches where you can sit and enjoy the cold. The walls are icy. You can stay as long as you feel good. I would say 10-15 minutes is a good time for a Finn. However, the locals may not enjoy themselves for quite as long. Some of them enter and exit to the ice room quickly. They only visit the ice room because it is part of the sauna culture.

The Korean day spa has a variety of theme rooms and diffused with their own active ingredients. The theme rooms can accommodate up to ten people, depending on the spa.

Forest room

The walls in the forest room are lined with wood panels, mostly aspen or pine panels. The purpose of these rooms is to clean the lungs of air pollution (which is an unfortunate fact in Korean cities). Mechanically purified air is blown into the forest room. The temperature in the room is about 30 ° C and there are mattresses on the floor of the room. You can even take a little nap if you want. You stay in the forest room for about half an hour to get the health effects.

Salt room

The salt rooms are lined with salt all the way to the ceiling. There is loose salt on the floor. Is there anything nicer than putting your toes and feet in salt? Salt also cleanses the lungs, helps with allergies, atopy, and asthma. The temperature in the salt room is 30-40 degrees, but there are places where the temperature goes up to 60 ° C.

The pool area

The ground floor has a pool area with separate sides for male and female customers. You go to the pools naked. The water is 40-60 degrees. The area has a variety of health pools, outdoor pools and a cold-water pool. There are recommendations for times in front of each pool. For example, 3 minutes in this pool, followed by a 5-minute break. Then to the next pool for 7 minutes, etc.

The cold pool is not for swimming, you only take a quick dip. The pool area can also have a hot room where customers can warm up.

Korean massage

Korean massage is a little different from what we Westerners are used to. You will not actually be massaged but moved into different positions. This provides mobility to different limbs. During the massage, you will have your clothes on. Massage costs around 30-60 €.

Korean Wash

Korean Wash is done with a massage glove. The washers (often older ladies) have a sturdy wash style and the dead skin just flies away! I can imagine that after this treatment you will feel reborn. Korean Wash costs € 20 upwards depending on how long you want to be treated.

After this treatment, you feel squeaky clean and everything is “in the right place”.

Korean sitting bath

The Korean sitting bath (sorry, I didn’t come up with a better name) is a form of treatment for women. If you have lower back pain or problems with your period, this treatment is for you.

In this treatment, you sit on a teapot-like container. The teapot contains water and herbs, and healing fumes rise up to the uterus. You get yourself a cloak to protect your privacy so no one will see you naked.

This treatment can be used e.g. weight loss, menstrual cramps and haemorrhoids.

The sitting bath is usually 40-50 minutes, but you can be there for an hour if you wish.

After a sitting bath, it is good to take a shower.

Tattoos

If you have tattoos, you might encounter some problems as older people may wonder/ask about them. However, the situation is not as bad as in Japan, where you will have to cover up any tattoos.

Read more: Japanese sauna culture

There is something for everyone at a Korean day spa. There is a cooler sauna and a hotter sauna, cold pools, and ice rooms and many theme rooms. You can visit the saunas in any order and stay as long as you like.

Each masseur, hairdresser, the restaurant is all paid separately in cash. It’s good to keep a small bag of cash with you. And don’t worry when you leave your wallet and phone outside the sauna, no one will steal them.

Food and drink

Locals drink lemonade, green tea, fruit drinks or shikye, a sweet rice drink. Korean sauna food is a sauna egg, which is an overcooked boiled egg called maegbanseog gyelan.

After sauna

After the sauna, go back to the locker room, put on your clothes, dry your hair, put on your make-up and leave.

Did you know that Korean sauna culture is also prevalent in the US? You can experience the Korean sauna in many American cities.

Small sauna glossary:

Sauna culture – Sauna Munhwa 사우나 문화
Korean (Day) Spa – Jjimjilbang 찜질방 (Pronounced tsimtsilbang)
Wood-heated Korean sauna – Hanjeungmak 한증막 (pronounced hanzynmak)
Eggs cooked in the sauna – 맥반석 계란 maegbanseog gyelan (pronounced mekbansoggelan)
Sweet rice drink -Shikye 식혜
Sheepskin Hat: Yan Mori 양머리 (pronounced janmori)

For this Korean sauna culture article, I interviewed Finnish Saana who was on a student exchange in Seoul, Korea. She often visited the local spas during her stay.

Have you been to a Korean day spa? Share your experiences in the comments!

Here are some spas to try in Seoul:

Siloam Sauna Jjimjilbang

Dragon Hill Spa

Are you interested in other sauna cultures? My blog also provides comprehensive information on other sauna cultures. You can even start with Estonian sauna culture.

Read more: Estonian sauna culture