wellness hub

A detox to remember: Insights from my first infrared sauna experience

June 29, 2023

Until recently, I had never experienced nor had I heard of infrared saunas.

I’d been inside traditional hot rock and steam saunas before and constantly wondered why my body wasn’t sweating as much as the others around me– perhaps I couldn’t tell the difference between the steam and my sweat? Or maybe it was due to the fact that I never could stay in long enough due to the intensity of the steam and humidity (not sure why, but being in a heavily-steamed atmosphere makes me feel slightly claustrophobic).

Enter the Sunlighten infrared sauna. Unlike your traditional hot steam sauna, whilst a great experience for those who prefer it, an infrared sauna doesn’t cloud the atmosphere with steam or produce heat that is too high before you really start breaking a sweat.

As it was my first time in an infrared sauna, I was booked in for a 45-minute session in a 2-person mPulse cabin infrared sauna. After being shown around the bits and bobs, including the really cool in-built entertainment system –which had everything from Netflix to Spotify – I selected the 15-minute detoxifying program. I sat, and meditated. Within about 10 minutes, my forehead started dripping. It was literally the most I’d ever sweated in my life.

15 minutes in, my legs were also sweating (my legs never sweat!). I truly felt as if I was being cleansed of the bacon breakfast burrito I had eaten that morning. It was rejuvenating.

After 20 minutes, I could feel my heart rate increasing. I thought about how I couldn’t wait to tell my cardiologist how I was doing cardio inside a sauna – all while sitting and relaxing.

Here are some other benefits my body experienced from the infrared heatwaves:

I could breathe better!

Unlike hot rock steam saunas, I found that I could breathe easier, possibly due to the lower temperatures. I also felt much less claustrophobic due to the absence of visible steam. And best of all – I could bring my smartphone inside without the worry of damaging my device!

It helped improve the elasticity of my skin
- As I work outdoors in a job that gets physically tiring, my hands are always dry, leading to cracked skin and dermatitis (due to constant hand-washing),even sometimes making it painful to bend my fingers. After the infrared sauna session, my skin felt slightly more flexible, and although I still have some broken skin, I was able to fully bend my fingers with minimal discomfort.

I got my glow on!

My skin felt smoother – especially my face and neck. I noticed that my cheeks were rosier, and I was glowing (I tend to look close to jaundiced during the colder months). Plus, the discolouration on my face had disappeared post-session, even if only temporarily.

I felt like a better, healthier me.

Would I recommended it? Definitely! It feels strange at first, but once you start experiencing the benefits of a detoxifying sweat, it feels great.Plus, it’s fuss free – no periodically spilling water over hot rocks! All you have to do is step in, relax, sweat and feel the benefits. You’ll feel rejuvenated and amazing after your Sunlighten Wellness session.

Click here to book your infrared sauna session at Sunlighten Wellness Rooms today!