Löyly explained: how to use a Finnish sauna the way Finns do

Rounds, not one long sit: the shape of a Finnish sauna evening

A Finnish session is built from rounds. You go in warm and dry, stay as long as feels good, come out to cool down properly, rest, and go back in. Three rounds is the usual number. End each round before you are desperate to leave, and make the cooling between them real cooling, not a minute by the door.

The first round is the quiet one: the cabin is still climbing and your skin adjusts. The second is where most of the löyly happens. By the third, a few minutes is plenty. In a family-sized cabin such as the U330 barrel for six to eight, everyone finds their own pace.

Drink water between rounds. If you feel light-headed, come out and sit down.

• Shower before the first round so your skin is clean and slightly damp
• Leave each round while you still feel good, not when you have to
• Rest at least as long as you sat in the heat before going back in
• Water between rounds; alcohol after the last one, if at all

Water on the stones: how to make löyly rather than a scald

Löyly is the Finnish word for the moist heat released when water hits hot stones, and it is why a sauna with a Harvia heater feels different from a heated shed. Throw a modest ladleful across the stones in one motion rather than pouring it in one spot; a soft wave of humid heat reaches the upper bench a second later, then fades.

Two things spoil löyly. Too much water at once cools the stones and turns the steam harsh. Water that never reaches hot stone does nothing, which is why the bed must be stacked so steam can move through it. The SAUNARI shop sells 20 kg bags of original Harvia stones sized 5–10 cm: big enough to hold heat, small enough to stack loosely.

For scent, add a few drops of essential oil to the bucket, never to the stones. The SAUNARI essential oil starter set includes eucalyptus, pine and lavender; see the current price on the product page in the SAUNARI shop.

Temperature and humidity: what the Finns actually aim for

Ask a Finn what temperature the sauna should be and you get a shrug and a number between 70 and 100 °C at the upper bench. The more useful answer is that temperature and humidity trade against each other: a dry cabin at 90 °C can feel gentler than a damp one at 75 °C, because each ladle raises the felt heat sharply for a minute or two. Finns run a moderate dry temperature and let löyly set the intensity.

Let the cabin preheat until the stones, not just the air, are hot; stones lag behind the thermometer. How long that takes depends on cabin volume, the heater fitted to your model and the weather, so follow the heater controls and the product page. Once warm, the round shape of a barrel such as the U330 spreads heat evenly through the interior.

Anyone with a heart condition, blood pressure concerns or who is pregnant should speak to a doctor before using a sauna; everyone should keep early sessions short.

Cooling down: the half of the ritual British gardens forget

In Finland the sauna is one half of a pair; the lake, the snow or a cold shower is the other. Cooling down is not a gap between rounds, it is the point. Step out, stand in the open air for a minute, then use whatever cold you have: a hose, an outdoor shower, a bucket or a plunge tub.

A British garden suits this well. The cool, damp climate people worry about makes an ideal cooling stage; a drizzly November evening beats a warm July night for contrast. When placing a garden sauna, leave room to stand barefoot outside the door on something other than gravel, and plan where shower or tub water will drain.

Enter cold water gradually, never alone if you are new to it, and stop if you feel dizzy. As with the heat, check with a doctor first if you have a medical condition.

• Air first, then water: a minute outside before the cold rinse
• Feet, legs, arms, torso, then head, in that order
• Sit or lie down for a few minutes before the next round
• Wrap up warm after the last cool-down; the warmth returns from within

Etiquette: the unwritten rules of a Finnish sauna

Finnish sauna etiquette is common sense once you know the reasoning. Sit on a towel: it keeps the benches clean and stops sweat soaking into the wood. Ask before throwing water if you share the cabin; the top bench feels every ladle first. Voice down, phone outside. Nobody competes over who stays longest, and leaving early is never remarked on.

Nudity is normal in Finland; in a British garden most people choose swimwear or a towel, and either is fine. The last person out switches the heater off, empties the bucket and leaves the door ajar so the cabin dries.

One rule is really about the wood: no oils, lotions or drinks on the benches. Thermowood copes well with heat and moisture, but a spill left on a bench will still mark it.

Stones and heater care: keeping the löyly soft season after season

Stones are a consumable. Every ladle shocks them; over months they crack, shed grit and settle into a compact mass that steam struggles to pass through. The signs are harsher, shorter löyly, a dusty smell as the heater warms and a bed that sits lower than when stacked. The usual advice is a fresh load after a season of intensive use; a lightly used cabin can go longer, but check yearly.

When you restack, wash the stones, discard any that have split, and place them loosely, larger pieces at the bottom, leaving air gaps. Never wedge stones against the heating elements or stack them higher than the heater manual allows; the product page and heater documentation list what your model needs.

Beyond the stones, care is light: wipe the benches with clean water, air the cabin after every session, and call a qualified electrician if the heater behaves differently.

• Check stones at least once a year; replace after a season of heavy use
• Restack loosely, biggest at the bottom, no higher than the manual allows
• Air the cabin after every session with the door ajar
• Electrical faults are for an electrician, not a screwdriver