In the How to create steam in a sauna article, I will tell you how to correctly make steam in a sauna. I will also tell a little about the history of sauna steam and the origin of the Finnish word “löyly”. (Löyly means bursts of steam, achieved by throwing water on hot sauna stones.)
Finns are sauna people; steam is preferably created by yourself. This way, everyone can regulate how hot or humid the sauna is.
Read more about Finnish Sauna Culture
You cannot make the steam in Germany, but a sauna employee does it for you. Of course, it saddens us Finns living abroad.
What is a sauna bath?
Löyly or sauna bath is steam rising from water “thrown” on the hot stones of the sauna stove. Especially we Finns enjoy self-created steam.
Thanks to the water, the air humidity in the sauna increases slightly, and the heat rises. But both only momentarily.
When creating a sauna bath, the water vapour condenses on the colder thing inside the sauna, i.e. the person, and simultaneously releases heat on the skin’s surface. This is why it is said that you “sweat” in the sauna, even though it is condensed water, not sweat.
How to create steam in a sauna
Many Finns use the words “throw steam” when describing the process, and they may do so as well. “Löyly,” i.e. water is thrown on the stove, sometimes very forcefully.
I have written an article where I have told about different ways to throw or create steam. That list is still relevant because we all have different preferences.
One likes gentle steam, and the other just those angry bursts of steam that really “attack” the skin.
A sauna bath is not “thrown” or made; it is created
I started writing the Sauna Maailmalla blog in the fall of 2018, and in the spring of 2019, the blog saw the light of day. I have learned many things along the way about the sauna, saunas and sauna use. I probably didn’t think about many things at first.
I often used the word “throw” even when I meant created. However, experts in the sauna industry have mentioned on several occasions that a bath is not thrown, but a bath is created.
What is the right way to create a steamy sauna bath?
This custom certainly has its roots in smoke saunas, where a ladle is placed at one point of the sauna stones, and water is evenly poured onto the stones in the stove. This is an excellent way to create steam in other saunas as well.
The stove in the smoke sauna is heated once until they are glowing red.
When water is poured into one place, the stones in the stove cool down in that place. That is why it is important to change the place where the water is poured. This is less important in saunas that are heated throughout the sauna session.
The origin of the word Löyly
Löyly is said to be the spirit or soul of a sauna or sauna. Most of the Finno-Ugric languages have a counterpart to the word löyly. For example, leil in Estonian is one of them. The term originated from lewl, which meant spirit, breath or soul.
The word Löyly was first used during the time Mikael Agricola who is the father of the Finnish language.
According to old Finnish folklore, baths have healing and relaxing effects, especially if you put tree branches or birch twigs in the bath water. Each tree has its active substances.
To achieve the proper sauna and steam experience, various spells and sauna rhymes have also been used in Finland. They were pronounced when entering the sauna and were part of the creation of the sauna bath. You can find the original löyly rhymes on the Finnish blog if you want to try them (they are quite a tongue twister for non-Finns)!
To create a “löyly”, you need a bucket, i.e. where there is water and a long-handled ladle.
This is how you create “löyly.”
- Fill the bucket with warm water.
- Make sure the stones in the stove are hot
- Take a ladle of water
- Take the ladle to the stove on top of the stones
- Put the ladle right up against the stones
- Pour the water slowly into one place
- Enjoy!
You will notice how the sauna bath is wonderfully gentle. My ears don’t burn, and I feel relaxed anyway.
I got the instructions for creating Löyly from Pentti Hakala. He is a member of Löylynlyöjät ry and the International Smoke Sauna Club. There are plenty of honourable sauna mentions: e.g. he was Finnish sauna whisk master in 1993, Sauna master in 2000 and Sauna whisk world champion in 2001.
Are you going to try this new way to create a wonderful sauna bath? Or did you already know how to create a sauna bath correctly? Leave a comment.
Love, Sauna-Kati
