In the article “How to use essential oils in the sauna?” I will tell you how to use essential oils as safely as possible.
What are essential oils?
How are essential oils produced?
What can essential oils be used for?
How to use essential oils in the sauna
There are many types of essential oils, but are they all suitable for the sauna? First of all, you should make sure that the essential oil really is one hundred percent essential oil.
Many sauna fragrances are sold as essential oils but actually contain other substances and are not safe to use.
If you want to be sure that your sauna time is as good as possible and also smells wonderful and you only want to use natural products, then you should opt for a pure organic essential oil.
What are essential oils?
Essential oils are aromatic substances extracted from plants. Each plant species has specific fragrances, i.e. essential oils.
Plants produce aromatic substances in special glands and excrete them as fragrances, e.g. from flowers, leaves, roots, resin, fruit peel or other parts of the plant.
Although the name suggests it, essential oils are not oils at all, but a liquid substance that is light and evaporates quickly. For this reason, essential oil is also called volatile oil.
How essential oils are produced
Essential oil is distilled using water from various parts of plants, for example leaves, flowers, stems, roots, fruits and resin.
Genuine essential oil is a pure natural product with no chemical fillers added or ingredients removed.
What affects the price of essential oils?
The price depends on how rare a plant is from which it is extracted, which country the plant comes from and how much oil can be extracted from a plant.
What essential oils can be used for
Essential oils have been used for thousands of years for various treatments and fragrances.
They are used in aromatherapy treatments and as a raw material for aromatherapy products.
Essential oils can also be used in the sauna as part of aromatherapy or to fill the room with a pleasant fragrance.
How to use essential oils in the sauna
It is safe to use essential oils in the sauna. Simply add 2-3 drops of the oil to the water in the ladle and make a steam.
After the water has evaporated, the essential oils evaporate into the air and give the sauna a fresh fragrance at the same time.
This method is quite effective with eucalyptus oil, for example. The essential oils then have the effect of opening up the airways and purifying the air.
In winter, you can put a few drops on a snowball and place the snowball on the stove stones. This produces wonderfully fragrant steam.
Read more: Tips for taking a sauna in winter
Volatile oils can also have a refreshing effect on the psyche via the sense of smell and the skin.
The essential oil should be selected according to your own preferences or the desired effect. Eucalyptus, for example, is the absolute number one in the flu season.
However, it is important to note that only 8-10 drops of the essential oil should be used during a sauna session.
However, if the sauna is large and there are many sauna-goers, you can increase the amount to 4-5 drops per person.
Essential oil and children
When taking a sauna with small children, the amount of essential oils should be reduced by half.
Every plant and every essential oil has its own active ingredients. You should familiarize yourself with the oil you want to use. Direct application of oils to the skin or ingestion should be avoided by babies and small children. Certain strong active ingredients such as camphor or eucalyptus should be avoided.
Instructions and the effect of the oils should also be taken into account during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
How long does the essential oil last?
It has been calculated that one 10 ml bottle of essential oil lasts for around 40 sauna sessions.
Even if the price of a bottle may seem high at first, it is very low per sauna session.
By using organic quality essential oils, you can be sure of what you are adding to your steam.
Essential oils
Below I have listed a few popular sauna fragrances and their active ingredients.
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is wonderful during the flu season. Its scent opens the nose and airways. It is also excellent for clearing mucus. In addition, eucalyptus promotes sweating, which also removes toxins.
Rosemary
Rosemary is a strong smelling plant and I recommend caution when using it. Rosemary strengthens the heart and blood vessels, supports the healing of inflammation and cleanses. It is an excellent aid in the fight against viruses, bacteria and fungi.
Rosemary is also said to improve memory.
It should be used with caution if you are pregnant or menstruating. However, a small amount of external application is harmless.
Lavender
Lavender calms the central nervous system, lowers blood pressure and has a doubly calming effect on the sauna boards. Lavender relieves headaches and migraines, so why not give it a try next time you’re in the sauna.
Peppermint
Peppermint calms the heart and nerves and helps with headaches and migraines.
migraines. It can reduce inflammation, relieve pain and has a cooling effect.
cooling effect.
Lemon
Lemon and other citrus oils such as grapefruit are scents of good humor and spirit. They bring a wonderfully fresh scent to the sauna.
Lemon essential oil is excellent for treating sinusitis. Lemon also helps to improve the immune system.
However, when using lemon oil directly on the heater stones, it should be noted that the oil contains the peel of the fruit and deposits may form on the stones over time.
A separate aroma container directly on the oven stones is suitable for lemon oil.
The essential oils mentioned above were just a few examples that can be used in the sauna. However, the sky is the limit here, as they say. At this point, the best advice is to go by your own preferences and needs.
And the best thing is that essential oils can also be used outside the sauna.
Essential oils can be ordered in the “World of Sauna” online store. The essential oils in the online store are currently available for just €5 per bottle. The offer is valid until 31.6.24 or while stocks last.
With love,
Sauna-Kati
