Scent in the sauna has become one of the most contentious issues in bathing. Some delight when oil-infused snowballs sizzle on the stove, releasing heady vapors. Others consider them a toxic assault on the senses. We quiz three sauna masters and a biologist about the often misunderstood superpower of aroma and how to use it. Illustrations by Martin Groch. Plus artist and forensic chemist Sissel Tolaas on bathing in the smell of St. Louis and scroll down to check out the latest bathing news.

Adding essential oils to water poured over hot sauna rocks sounds like the ultimate wellness ritual — but could that scent-imbued steam actually be poisoning us?

Scent is a powerful tool in aufguss rituals for its ability to transport bathers on a sensory journey. Smell is unique among the senses because it bypasses the cognitive filters of the brain and goes straight to the limbic system, the main centre of emotion, memory and motivation. This gives smell the potential to unlock childhood memories and emotions, regulate the nervous system and even influence metabolic process.

In aufguss, scent is most commonly introduced by placing an ice ball topped with a few drops of oil on the stove. Although using essential oil isn’t necessary for aufguss, in practice it’s expected. “Aroma has become an extremely marketable part of sauna. Oils can be bottled, branded and sold as relaxing, energizing, detoxifying, calming — there seems to be an oil for everything. Somewhere along the way, an optional tool has begun to be presented almost as a necessity,” says sauna master Thor Moeller.

With the exponential increase in aufguss, the debate on safety has surged around growing awareness of potential health risks. When exposed to extreme heat, even natural plant extracts can be transformed into a toxic chemical cocktail. Research to date is limited, but reports have shown increases in airborne formaldehyde concentrations when scents are not used with proper care.

“I would rather smoke some Cuban cigars than be exposed to petroleum or alcohol-based aromas in the sauna”

Cosmin Cîrîc, Wellness Manager at Therme Bucharest

On top of that, not all essential oils or scents are created equal; synthetic fragrances or inferior carrier oils, used by those without sufficient knowledge and widely sold, make the air even worse. As Cosmin Cîrîc, Wellness Manager at Therme Bucharest with a biochemistry and medical background, bluntly puts it, “I would rather smoke some Cuban cigars than be exposed to petroleum or alcohol-based aromas in the sauna”. Is fragrance in the hot room a health hazard, or a matter of technique? We spoke to three industry pros and a scientist to settle the debate.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND AROMA IN THE SAUNA

Essential oils are composed of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), mainly terpenes like limonene (found in citrus), pinene and linalool (found in lavender). But when these VOCs are splashed directly onto scorching rocks they don’t just evaporate, they undergo pyrolysis - a thermal breakdown that transforms gentle plant extracts into airborne toxins. Secondary compounds form, including the carcinogen formaldehyde, toxic eye and lung irritant acrolein, and other skin and airway irritants. Research is limited but a 2016 report (in German) showed that rising formaldehyde levels are present in saunas following aufguss, and formaldehyde emissions greatly increase above 390°F (200°C). Another report similarly shows that pouring water blended with oil on the stove increases formaldehyde concentrations already present in the air. The consensus is that guests would only be exposed to the increase within a safe time limit, but that could differ for professionals.

Patron of scent: Lasse Eriksen

Lasse Eriksen is an aufguss master with over 30 years’ experience, and an aromatherapist and aromatologist. He is Development Manager at Farris Bad, Norway, President of Aufguss WM and board member of the International Sauna Association.

“Scent is the catalyst for our imagination, and a single aroma can bring you into that imaginary space super-fast.”

Lasse Eriksen

“Scent is an incredibly powerful tool in sauna and, when used intentionally, it calms, energizes or aids focus. Scent is the catalyst for our imagination, and a single aroma can bring you into that imaginary space super-fast.

Essential oils contain ketones, phenols, and other chemical compounds. They come from plants harvested at a certain time of year. And, rather like wine, there are more ketones or phenols in one year than another. I always ask for the GLC (Gas Liquid Chromatography) because it shows the levels of chemical compounds and helps me determine how much oil to use. For a more powerful batch, I use a drop less.

I guide over 130 people in my sauna at Farris Bad and need to make it safe for everyone. People have different response levels and aromas can connect people to different types of memories. For example, rose is connected to both love and sorrow - it might remind someone of their grandmother, someone else of a funeral. Are you prepared? As a guide, are you trained to handle what might happen? I tell my new sauna masters to use lighter and more common scents – like lavender, which is commonplace but still powerful.”

Whisk whisperer: Katie Bracher

Katie Bracher trains sauna masters at Sauna Master UK, and is founder of the off-grid forest spa Wild Spa Wowo, Sussex, UK.

“I am very cautious with essential oils in the sauna as they are potent. To avoid burning them, I find other ways to work with them.”

Katie Bracher

“I have learned from a wide variety of bathing practices and traditions such as aufguss, Lithuanian pirtis, Finnish saunotus and their varying perspectives on aroma. I am very cautious with essential oils in the sauna because they are potent and can be dangerous, but I don’t think they’re a total no-no. The important thing is to avoid burning them, so I find other ways to work with essential oils and scent in the sauna:

• salt inhalations - pour essential oil-infused salt from bowl to bowl to release the oils

• atomiser sprays add a couple of drops of oil to water and spray that around the room

I use a lot of natural products in the sauna space. Leaf whisks have their own amazing scent; I throw herbal infusions on the rocks. I give people bunches of herbs to smell. You can create steam and whisk different herbal scents into the air. There will be scent in every sauna experience - the wood smoke, the scent of the timber the sauna is built from, or it might be the scent of the people who you’re sharing the space with.

You can have a beautiful, powerful experience without additional scent.”

Aufguss academic: Nate Daubert

Co-founder of Ritual Heat American Sauna Master training. Known locally as the ‘sauna science guy’, Nate Daubert translated Sauna-Meister: A deep dive into the science of sauna by Dr. Karsten Gröning.

“I once used basil oil in a session and a guest threw up IN THE SAUNA because it brought back a memory of being sick. I have never used basil again.”

Nate Daubert

“Bringing aroma into the cabin requires proper training. Essential oils are highly flammable with flash points between 120°F - 194°F (50°C - 90°C). Using flammable liquids inside a box of dry wood demands caution. You must cool the rocks down with room-temperature water first, ideally using an ice ball or diffuser to let the oils evaporate safely. Throwing fragrances straight onto scorching rocks is a health hazard.

The health effects of natural oils can be just as dangerous. Potent anti-inflammatories like thyme and oregano need strict limits, while mint and cinnamon can burn bare skin. Allergies are another issue in public sessions. I’m personally allergic to frankincense which leaves my face burning for hours. Aromas should always be announced ahead-of-time so people can step out.

Finally, scent can trigger strong associations. I once used basil oil in a session and a guest threw up IN THE SAUNA because it brought back a memory of being sick. I have never used basil again. If we use scents at all, technical safety and guest wellbeing have to come before the aroma.”

The science: Dr. Karsten Gröning

Dr. Karsten Gröning is a biologist, and lecturer in sauna science and facilities. His book Essential Oils in the Sauna – A Professional Guide to Safe Aroma Use, Air Quality and Health-Oriented Aufguss Practice was released in June 2026.

“Sauna first, fragrance second. A good aufguss is not the one that produces the strongest smell.”

Dr. Karsten Gröning

Essential oils undoubtedly have sensory and psychological effects. But this should not automatically be translated into medical or therapeutic benefit in the low concentrations used in aufguss. The primary physiological stimulus of sauna bathing is heat, followed by cooling and recovery.

I consider the additional health risk from essential oils to be comparatively low. The sensible approach is to use the lowest effective fragrance concentration and avoid unnecessary thermal decomposition. I use the principle: sauna first, fragrance second. A good aufguss is not the one that produces the strongest smell.

Ice balls are not a guarantee against thermal decomposition. Ice should be regarded as a thermal buffer, not as a complete safety barrier. I believe using lower-risk methods of introducing fragrance is one of the most interesting areas for the further development of professional practice.

The verdict

While the risk is low when used carefully or by professionals, messing with essential oils without training is dicey. Consider politely declining if your friend offers to bring some oils to the bathhouse, and chat to your aufguss guide to find out what training they have actually done. Level 1 Towel Waving probably won’t cut it.

If you choose to use scent, use pure, natural oils sparingly. Never apply oils directly onto hot stones – even when diluted – and opt instead for safer techniques like atomizer sprays or herbal infusions. If in doubt, leave the aromatic rituals to trained sauna masters.

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Steaming in the smell of Saint Louis

Smell – perhaps our most misunderstood sense – is the subject of the work of Norwegian artist and researcher Sissel Tolaas. Over the years, Tolaas has explored the power of smell in various contexts from creating a ‘smell archive’ of over 7000 airtight jars to hacking aircon systems. In her project RE_a_DE for Counterpublic 2026: Coyote Time in Saint Louis (Sept 10- Dec 12) Tolaas attempts to capture the smell of St. Louis past and provoke visitors to reflect on its future.

Tolaas’ starting point was the discovery of an archive of building materials conceived as a legacy of the disappearing city. Her curiosity was aroused by a sealed crate purported to contain a mural depicting naked bathers in the Mississippi river taken from the Rivoli Theatre which was built in the 1920s and later became the first underground gay cruising site in Saint Louis.

Tolaas extracted the smell from inside the crate to create an olfactory time warp, staging encounters with the smell of Saint Louis past in several sites around the city, and inviting visitors to reflect on its precarious present. “The city is disappearing. It’s not just about architecture, it’s neighbourhood, it’s rituals, it’s all the qualities of a city that disappear with the buildings,” says Tolaas.

In a further bid to immerse visitors in a St. Louis past, Tolaas has built a sauna the same size and shape as the crate by the Mississippi, deliberately recalling the mural’s depiction of naked figures by the river and an earlier relationship with the Mississippi: “a time when the waterfront could be imagined as a place of leisure, pleasure, and well-being.”

“The sauna is a metaphor for a different reality,” says Tolaas. “Being in a sauna, smelling the past, thinking about the future, how to protect where we are at this moment…. Why is the river poisoned? Why can we not swim in the river? It poses a lot of questions, and these questions are not just verbal, it’s the body asking these questions.”

Tolaas has used Nordic bathing traditions as a vehicle for her smell provocations before. For her retrospective at Oslo’s Astrup Fearnley Museet in 2021, visitors steamed in the smell of money before jumping into the sea to wash off the aroma. “When you start to understand the world through the sense of smell, everything changes. You bring back joy and playfulness to the rhetoric.”

Picks from our friends

Sauna Channel heads into the heart of the Andes Mountains to visit the incredible Termas de Cacheuta, a historic thermal complex in Mendoza, Argentina in the foothills of the Andes. Fed by natural hot springs, pools range from warm to very hot and are arranged across a terraced landscape overlooking the Mendoza River. Today, the site combines traditional thermal bathing with a resort, spa and water park, making it one of Argentina’s best-known destinations for hot-spring bathing.

News, happenings and openings

• The New York Times Magazine on Why the Best Ocean Swimming Happens in Sea Pools

• Banya No.1, Paris reopens on September 4. Book here

• Tickets are on sale for Toronto Sauna Festival, October 2-4. Expect guided sauna, cold plunge plus breathwork and movement. Book here

• Join a talk in New York focusing on “the radical act of bathing together, with Basalt, the architects behind by Iceland’s Pavilion for the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale. 2 Oct, 2-4pm. Book free tickets here

One last thing

How to take advantage of the abundant natural minerals and vitamins in Irish seaweed? Bathe in it, of course, in a 100-year old bathhouse.

We’d love to hear from you - please send a DM, or email hello@cultureofbathe-ing.com

Culture of Bathe-ing is presented by Therme Group

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For Taka Miyake, the visionary behind Mobile Sentō, communal bathing is a mobile art. He built a sentō inside a Japanese truck, complete with a hand-painted Fujiyama mural and drove across America sharing bathing rituals with strangers. Even Eric André dropped in for a soak - check out his interview here. We catch up with Taka en route to Burning Man (Aug 30 – Sep 7) to talk bathing dreams and the best bucket. Plus sweat and steam on Burning Man’s playa, and scroll down for news.

Taka’s Mobile Sentō goes to Burning Man

CULTURE OF BATHING: Last year you travelled across America to New York in a self-built mobile sentō, and now you’re crossing America again on your way to Burning Man. Can you tell me more about the project?

TAKA: Three years ago, I bought a truck in Japan, shipped it to Victoria on Vancouver Island and built a mobile sentō from scratch in Canada. It took two years because shipping, vehicle registration and everything was expensive. I worked as a landscaper in Canada to save money and practise English. I worked on the truck every weekend. Last year I finally finished the sentō truck and came to the United States on June 1, 2025. Then I started a big journey from Seattle to San Francisco and Los Angeles, through Route 66, to Chicago and finally New York in November. I met a lot of nice people on the way.

COB: How did the idea to build a mobile sentō come about and what was your inspiration?

TAKA: When I was a college student, I backpacked to almost 50 countries around the world to see new cultures and meet new people. After graduating, I decided I wanted to combine Japanese sentō culture with travelling. I thought it would be cool to mix old and new cultures, so I just gave it a shot. Actually, this is my second sentō truck. I had a smaller one in Japan, so this project is eight years in the making.

COB: What was your first bathing experience, and did you bathe with your family?

TAKA: I don’t remember but I think it was an onsen or sentō – my Dad used to take me as a child. When my grandmother passed away six years ago, her friends told me that she went to the sentō every day at the same time, in the same seat and talked to everybody. So my grandmother’s love for sentō has inspired me too.

COB: What did you study? Would you describe yourself as an artist?

TAKA: I majored in business management, so no architecture, design, painting or carpentry. Everything was self-taught.

COB: That must have been a big learning curve! Are there any stories behind the paintings that you’ve done and the artwork on the sentō truck?

TAKA: There’s a huge Mount Fuji on the side of the truck which is inspired by traditional wall murals inside sentō. It took me five days! On the back of the truck, I did a traditional Ukiyo-e-style painting. At the entrance, I also have a Torii gate (which usually marks the approach to a Shinto shrine). It’s kind of a secret gate because it’s not made of wood. When I travelled across Japan with my first mobile sentō I found this small rural shrine which had a gate made from PVC pipes. Some smart elders probably decided to do this because it’s cheap so I recreated that in the truck.

COB: I noticed you have the typical yellow buckets – did you bring them from Japan?

TAKA: The yellow Kerorin bucket? That’s also my favourite! You can find them everywhere in sentō and onsen in Japan. They’re made by a pharmaceutical company which used to advertise on the buckets. I sent them a letter to explain the project and was surprised when they gave me a lot of things.

And I can tell you the story of the tub. I couldn’t ship one from Japan, so I had to find one in Canada. I found a company, Forest Cooperage, which makes tubs from cedar and visited their factory. When I saw their craftsmanship, I was worried about how I could afford it, but eventually they sold me a second-hand tub for only $100 bucks, as a sponsorship – so they are my friends too.

COB: How have people reacted to Mobile Sentō?

TAKA: If I do the sentō, usually they are very surprised: “what a super-crazy truck!” In Mendocino, California, last July, after I parked my vehicle at a grocery store, I found a note inviting me to stay with someone. Of course, I said yes, and stayed with their family for a few days. Later I made a lot of bathing connections and people put me in touch with others on the way. But I can’t do a sentō everyday as it takes 5-6 hours to set up, so I just keep driving. Actually, I hate driving. I often don’t talk to anyone all day.

COB: What have you learned by doing Mobile Sentō?

We have an old Japanese saying that we are all the same when we are naked, just human beings. In the United States, everybody is so different; background, religion, culture, eyes, hair, skin, language, even their English language is very different! But we have so much in common once we sit inside a sauna or sentō and we can share that special moment.

“In an age of evolving AI, I ask myself what does it truly mean to be human? We need connection and shared experience – so I think people need bathing culture.”

Taka Miyake

COB: What are your plans and expectations for Burning Man? Why do you want to go there?

TAKA: Visiting Burning Man is one of my dreams but I didn’t make it last year. During my last sentō session in Brooklyn, I met Daniel and his fiancé Lei-ling who are Burners and founders of Metaphormosa. They bought my truck, which was a miracle as I couldn’t take it back to Japan. They are getting married at Burning Man this year, so they invited me to drive the truck and of course I said yes! I have no idea what to expect or how I’m going to do a sentō at Burning Man because people have told me that water is hard to find. So perhaps the sentō is a sculpture, or we could use the sauna in the back. But they told me not to worry about it and just keep driving to Black Rock City.

COB: And what’s next after Burning Man?

TAKA: I will go back to Japan to save money. At the beginning of next year, I’m planning to build a new mobile sentō in Europe. I have no friends, no connections, but, yeah, maybe I will just give it a shot. I can make it.

COB: I’m sure you will.

TAKA: I’m going to buy the truck in Europe this time, and start painting it. And then start exploring next Spring. I want to visit a lot of places like UK, Finland, Norway, Germany.

COB: What were the most difficult moments during the sentō project?

TAKA: Everything was difficult! Now, I think it’s funny but at the time I had no idea what to do, for example, shipping the truck to Canada. But people have helped me – thanks to everyone. As a teenager I was bad at communicating, I was shy and not good at making friends, so I always felt lonely. And now I have made friends around the world – maybe that’s why I continue the mobile sentō project.

COB: What’s your perspective on how bathing culture is developing? Are more people into bathing?

TAKA: Yeah, definitely! Especially now, in an age of evolving AI, I ask myself what does it truly mean to be human? We need connection and coming together, we need shared experience so I think people need bathing culture more, in Japan, in the U.S.

Interview by for Culture of Bathe-ing @ria.hawthorn
Find out more about Taka’s journey here: @mobilesento_japan

Steam on the Playa: Bathing at Burning Man

This year, Taka joins a tradition of maverick sweat bathing at Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada, where “avant-garde revelers come to bend their minds, shed their clothes and incinerate a large wooden effigy” says the New York Times. Cash is out, as individual camps bring offerings of entertainment, drinks, wellness, legendary art cars, installations and, of course, sweat bathing. Desert and water make unlikely companions and, in a temporary city built on radical self-reliance, hauling in the materials and fuel needed for bathing is an exercise in efficiency. But here it’s not only about cleansing, it’s also about creating transformative bathing experiences.

Each sweat-bath offering is described as an “individual work of art” by Mikkel Aaland who visited while filming the final episode for his documentary Perfect Sweat. There he met long-time burner John Payne who brought the first sweat-bathing experience, the Steam Bath Project, to the playa from the early 2000s onwards. Payne uses a hot tub water heater to create steam and finishes with a spray rinse, cutting water use from 30 gallons to just a quarter gallon in a ritual of relaxation that “washes away emotions”. Since then, bathers have steadily caught on to the pleasure of steam on the playa.

Each year the offering differs depending on which camps are running, says steam aficionado Wendy Liu. You can find Finnish sauna at camps like Black Rock Sauna Society where sauna-elves guide guests through rituals. Art of Steam offers a Russian banya heated by a flamethrower along with venik (whisking) rituals, herbal teas and a huge, dreamy swing for recovery. Blockhaus’ steam bath art car is more of a participatory installation the size of a double-decker bus where burners ascend through steam and emerge, renewed on the top deck where an openair DJ lounge and (naked) dance party await. It’s about spiritual cleanliness and participating in an almost transcendental communal, soul-cleansing experience.

News, happenings and openings

• Afar Magazine highlights the Great Victorian Bathing Trail which opened in Victoria, Australia in 2024 to connect natural springs, spas, and sea pools

• Building reports that architect Tuckey Design Studio and CoB’s own Jane Withers Studio propose reviving the lost tradition of London’s civic bathhouses

• The Guardian reports on Sauna Theatre and their 80-seat venue at Edinburgh fringe that combines sauna rituals with theatre, music, storytelling

• In another step towards opening, Therme’s planned $850M Dallas resort wins key zoning vote, reports The Dallas Morning News

• So excited to get our hands on a copy, we’re sharing again: after 45 years, Mikkel Aaland’s cult classic Sweat is being reissued along side his new book Naked Sweat as a Collector’s Edition. Pre order now

One last thing

Built between 1895 and 1897, Wrocław’s historic swimming hall was designed by architect Wilhelm Werdelmann, with a glass skylight inspired by the grand barrel vaults of Roman baths.

More than 125 years later, the listed building remains intact and open to the public.

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We started out by laughing at the optimization-obsessed Sauna Bro. But two years since beginning this newsletter, co-founder Robert Hammond ponders whether near-constant immersion in bathing culture has infected him with the very wellness rituals we once mocked. Illustrations by Grant Schaffer. Plus pre-order Mikkel Aaland’s cult classic Sweat and new book Naked Sweat and scroll down for news and events.

By Robert Hammond

When we started Culture of Bathe-ing about two years ago, we needed something to poke fun at. Many subcultures have a light-hearted villain. Skiers have snowboarders. Cyclists have other cyclists. And we, the earnest new congregants of communal sweating, had the Sauna Bro.

If you’ve spent any time in a bathhouse, you know him. The Sauna Bro is a close relative of the tech bro, possibly the same organism in a different habitat. He treats the sauna not as a place of rest but as a performance venue for his own optimization. He has metrics. He has protocols. He has opinions about your protocols. He says “heat shock proteins” out loud, to strangers.

I loved making fun of Sauna Bros. It was one of the founding pleasures of this newsletter. And we took some criticism for it. Readers wrote in to say that bathing is supposed to be for everybody, and did we really need to dunk on the men? Fair. Noted. We kept doing it anyway, because it was fun, and because we were certain we were nothing like them.

Reader, I have some symptoms to report.

I do weird, awkward stretches in the sauna. Not graceful ones. Not yoga. These are stretches with no name and no lineage, performed at hip height in a small room full of strangers. I have become the person other people politely angle away from.

I time stuff. My sauna is timed. My cold plunge is timed. And they are timed by the beeping of my Casio watch, which is arguably not as bad as a souped Garmin watch.

In the cold plunge, I hum loudly on my out-breath. I would like to tell you this is a subtle, meditative sound. It is not. It carries.

I over-sauna. Sometimes I sauna so much that I wake up that night with a headache and have to take an Excedrin Migraine in the dark like a person nursing a hangover. This is what happens when you treat rest as a competitive event.

My son wants to train to be an aufguss master. I have raised a child who waves a towel theatrically at home. I cannot pretend this happened in a vacuum.

I lie about where I’m going. Sometimes, instead of telling my husband I’m going to a bathhouse, I tell him I have a work meeting. Then I go and try to fit a full sauna and a cold plunge into under 30 minutes — which, if you’re keeping score, combines the deception of an affair with the scheduling of a CrossFit class. Speed-bathing. Efficiency-relaxing. The bros invented this, and I do it in secret.

I own an AG1 water bottle (Ed: a bottle where you can shake in AG1 soluble supplement). I want to be very clear that I did not buy it. It was free, at a wellness event (Eudemonia which is another wellness bro symptom).

I have owned multiple Oura rings. Plural. And one of those bracelet things. I stopped using all of them, which I’d like to count as recovery, but buying wearables and then abandoning them is not the opposite of Sauna Bro behavior. It’s just the second stage of it.

For the record, my remaining innocence

There are lines I have not crossed, and I’d like them entered as evidence. I have never worn cologne in a sauna. I have never done push-ups in a hot room. And I have never once shamed anyone for how they pronounce “sauna” — SAW-na, SOW-na, live your life.

So that’s where I stand: not fully symptomatic, but no longer able to claim I’m just an observer. Somewhere in the last two years, while I was busy laughing at the guys with the timers and the breathing techniques and the branded water bottles, I became a person with a timer, a breathing technique, and a branded water bottle.

I guess the lesson is that I shouldn’t have made fun of the bros. The bathhouse humbles everyone eventually — usually at around minute twelve, when your Casio starts beeping and the whole room turns to look at you.

A final credit where it’s due: the term “Sauna Bro” came to us from Megan Kress, the woman who first named the species and who created the original Sauna Bro Bingo card [Ed: who we wrote about in our Sauna Sirens post]. Megan, I regret to inform you that I am four squares away from bingo.

By Robert Hammond, co-founder of Culture of Bathe-ing and President, Therme Group US
@thehighlineguy

Illustrations by Grant Shaffer, commissioned by Culture of Bathe-ing
@nyseecomic

News, happenings and openings

• After 45 years, Mikkel Aaland’s cult classic Sweat is being reissued along side his new book Naked Sweat as a Collector’s Edition. Pre order now

• Who doesn’t love a boogie New York Times Magazine buyers guide to update your summer beachwear?

• The San Francisco Chronicle wades through the facts of sauna wellness in the midst of a sauna explosion in the Bay Area

• Grotto Baths, built in the Wynwood neigbourhood of Miami, is opening with a concept that has more in common with ancient Rome than with the neighborhood’s usual rooftop bars

• Angelique Chrisafis details the fight to save France’s rural swimming pools in The Guardian

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One last thing

In Odesa the Kuyalnyk Sanatorium, a swimming pool designed by architect Henrikh Topuz, has a striking steel pyramid roof. The pool is filled with salty water pumped in directly from the Kuyalnyk Estuary.

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What happens when you mix the communal heat of a sauna with the magic of live performance? For over two decades, theatre director James Grieve and designer Lucy Osborne have brought shows to highly unconventional spaces. Now, they’re launching Sauna Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe - the world’s largest performing arts festival – until August 31. Supported by Therme Manchester the program mixes international aufguss artists with Virginia Woolf, showcasing the creative potential of this emerging art form. Jane Withers talks to Lucy and James about using sauna’s superpowers to redefine how we experience storytelling and their ambitions for building an art and culture ecosystem around bathing.

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JANE WITHERS: Tell us about yourselves and how the idea of Sauna Theatre came about?

JAMES GRIEVE: I’m a theatre director and Lucy is a theatre designer; we have been making shows together for 20 years. We have a shared passion for inviting people who think theatre isn’t for them into the theatre space. And we’re passionate about sauna.

But we only recently started thinking about the similarities between sauna and theatre. They both evolved from sitting around a campfire telling a story. They both give people communal sensory experiences in a world that has become increasingly screen-orientated and disconnected. We’ve been talking about how these two worlds could merge for three years and now we’re opening Sauna Theatre in Edinburgh.

JANE: How exciting! What previous work have you drawn upon to develop Sauna Theatre?

JAMES: Much of our experience for Sauna Theatre came from our work on Roundabout, a plug-and-play theatre which flat-packed into a truck. It popped up in places where there was no existing theatre infrastructure. We took it to the Marsh Farm estate near Luton, notable for riots in the 90s, and stood outside for a week to tempt people to step inside. Sceptical teenagers would come in when we told them that they could play music really loudly or learn how to be a lighting designer. Word spread around the estate, and whole families came to watch new plays.

JANE: How do you expect sauna to change the audience’s relationship to theatre?

JAMES: Profoundly I think. I am more emotionally available in a sauna and I’m sure that’s to do with being somewhat vulnerable without clothes. It’s to do with heat and my body’s heightened sensory awareness. As theatre-makers, we’ve spent our whole careers thinking about how to tell stories and how to make an audience feel something. We’re excited about harnessing some of sauna’s superpowers - heat, humidity, aroma.

JANE: And what will it be like? Are you talking about aufguss or other forms of performance?

JAMES: Aufguss is how we’ve been introduced to theatricality in a sauna space and we have seen a lot of show aufguss which is governed by rules and regulations. As theatre-makers, we are naturally rule breakers and enjoy subverting theatrical form. So what we are most excited about is bringing theatre artists together with sauna masters and finding new ways to create worlds.

“As theatre-makers, we think about how to tell stories and make an audience feel something. We’re excited about harnessing sauna’s superpowers - heat, humidity, aroma.”

James Grieve

We are doing an adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel The Waves, chosen because the language of the book is so sensory. The text has been pre-recorded by actors and beautifully sound designed. The aufguss masters will interact with the language rather than the music. It will be freestyle aufguss in a way.

JANE: A kind of experimental aufguss?

JAMES: Exactly. We’ve got a literary salon with aufguss masters duetting with poets and non-fiction writers, it’s a big experiment.

JANE: There are plenty of precedents for mixing bathing and culture, and performance in particular - whether you think of musicians and jugglers in the Roman thermae or the play artist Rashid Johnson staged in the hot room of the Russian & Turkish Baths last year.

JAMES: We have found a thriving arts and culture scene in sauna, whether that is song and mythology in Finland or show aufguss in Poland and Slovakia. Our excitement is introducing new creatives and, in a few years’ time, it’s genuinely possible that we will have an incredibly rich art and culture ecosystem around bathing.

JANE: Tell me more about the design of Sauna Theatre and the thinking behind it?

LUCY OSBORNE: We’ve always tried to create spaces that are intimate and focused. It’s as much about seeing the other audience members as how the experience is for you.

We’ve fine-tuned the design by talking to as many sauna masters as possible – the horseshoe shape is lovingly borrowed from Satama in Germany because they love to perform there. With a capacity of 80, we will be the UK’s biggest sauna when we open.

There are three big EOS stoves in the center with three tiers of amphitheatre seating. The lower level is low by European standards. We expect many of our audiences will be new to this and won’t necessarily want the intense heat levels at the top. There’s one way in and two ways out at the end so people can leave and cool down quickly. And musicians will be behind a big glass window so they and their instruments aren’t affected by the heat.

JANE: What are the biggest challenges – it must be quite a complex operation as not only is it a sauna theatre, it’s a portable one.

LUCY: We want people to feel like it’s a solid structure but it has to pack down into a truck. We’ve been looking for lightweight timber that can cope with the heavy demand. Sustainability has driven our material choices, ensuring we have no wastage, that everything is mindfully built. If something breaks we can easily replace a small component rather than rebuild a whole section of the wall.

JANE: After Edinburgh, what’s next?

JAMES: The hope is that from 2027 onwards, we return to Edinburgh every year and that the rest of the year we land around the country. The building’s modularity means it’s capable of going to a town square or a beach promenade. With a bit of work it could go to a field in the countryside.

JANE: In terms of the programming for Edinburgh, Bubble Schmeisis and Mysteries of the Picts stood out.

JAMES: Bubble Schmeisis premiered 10 years ago at Summerhall Arts Festival in Edinburgh (where Sauna Theatre is now). There aren’t many theatrical shows set in saunas or steam rooms so we decided, with creator Nick Cassenbaum, to remake a show that is loved all around the world but has never actually been performed in a bathing space. I think it’s going to be wonderful because the show is about the Canning Town Schvitz and the tradition of being inducted into the Schvitz as a young Jewish man by relatives and friends who have been going for years.

“I’m excited there is an emerging bathing culture in the UK which feels a bit up for grabs. I would love for Sauna Theatre to be a small part of moving the culture forward.”

James Grieve

With Mysteries of the Picts we wanted to foreground rituals conducted by UK sauna masters, and to acknowledge the indigenous history of sweat bathing and sweathouses on these isles. There is no historical evidence that the Picts (tribes who lived in Northern Scotland from 300-900 AD calld Picti or “painted people” by the Romans) used sweathouses but we are building a speculative storytelling show that asks: what if these rituals have evolved through millennia? The Picts are mysterious and left so little behind, but what we do know is they were artists. By conducting sauna rituals together we’re doing something that has indigenous roots and is not just imported. It’s building that origin story.

JANE: I think that sounds great. Who will be performing in it?

JAMES: We’ll have two actors and two sauna masters so it’s a mix of more traditional theatrical form and ritual form.

JANE: And lastly, what does culture of bathing mean to you?

JAMES: There are defined cultures of bathing in certain parts of the world. I’m excited that there is currently an emerging culture in the UK which feels a bit up for grabs. I would love for Sauna Theatre to be a small part of moving the culture forward, to encourage more people to try it.

JANE: I agree, it’s how we create a contemporary bathing culture but one with the richness of the past.

LUCY: For me, culture is a fundamental pillar in life, in the same way as food, sleep and exercise are. Bathing culture is also essential to a healthy, broad life and it’s about encouraging people to have that regularity and relationship over time. Culture is about something that you can’t imagine living without.

Sauna Theatre is at Summerhall Arts, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, August 6-31, 2026. Directed by James Grieve, and designed by Lucy Osborne, Studio Three Sixty. In partnership with Therme Manchester.

Therme is continuing the show for the duration of Sauna Fest Month, running from October 5 until November 8 2026 in Bucharest and Germany. The program will feature countless performances by aufguss masters from around the world. Check out a recap of last year’s festival here.

Book here
IG: @saunatheatre

News, happenings and openings

• Didi Gluck for Women’s Health asks “Bathhouse Culture is Coming For America. Are We Ready?

• Stockholm-based artist duo Biggert & Bergström have designed a Crystal-shaped sauna rising from former industrial site in Sweden

• Should N.Y. Bathhouses Be Allowed to Offer Space for Sex? Grace Ashford details the movement to bring back spaces in Bathhouses for the queer community in NYC

• Plunge, swim, steam or bathe in these urban centres with these seven super swimming spots in Europe, Financial Times reports.

One last thing

Swimming on the subway?

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Deep in the heart of Japan's cities lie sentō – vibrant, urban public bathhouses where neighbors gather to cleanse and socialize. But as numbers dwindle and many of these historic community hubs face threats of closure, an energetic new generation is fighting to keep the tradition alive. Kyoto based Illustrator and sentō nerd, César Debargue explores the challenges sentō face, and tells us how new owners like Sanjiro Minato, manager of the Kyoto-based sentō collective Yutonamisha, are regenerating these historic institutions, and shares the true meaning of “naked friendship”. Plus César’s pick of Kyoto’s sentō and a film by Sauna Channel. Scroll down for latest news and happenings.

Text and illustrations by César Debargue with Minato Sanjiro

What’s a sentō?

You might already have heard of onsen, the rural Japanese natural thermal baths, but sentō are quite different. Located in the heart of Japanese cities, sentō are the popular bathhouses, local places for neighbors to cleanse, bath, relax and socialize together after a hard day of work. A sentō engages all five senses through an ingenious sequence of hot, cold, scented, and electric baths, alongside showers and saunas. To me, it is a profoundly human, welcoming, and poetic place, deeply rooted in everyday Japanese life.

I first experienced these places as a student in Kyoto, bathing every night with my classmates - and even my teacher! I realized that sentō are not only places of ablution and relaxation, but also essential places for social bonding: a true affordable, inclusive and intergenerational space for caring, where I experienced for the first time Hadaka no tsukiai: “naked friendship”.

“In 2012, there were 180 sentō in Kyoto. Today, fewer than 100 remain. In ten years, there may be only 30 or 40 left.”

Sanjiro Minato

The former imperial capital of Kyoto is one of Japan’s richest sentō cities, with nearly 100 bathhouses still in operation. Kyoto is a city of water. Fed by its two main rivers, the Kamogawa and the Katsuragawa, the city is renowned for producing some of Japan’s finest tofu and sake, both of which rely on exceptionally pure water. Beneath the city lies an aquifer said to be as vast as nearby Lake Biwa, and locals like to say that if you dig a hole in your garden, water will spring forth. These abundant water resources guarantee exceptional bathing water, which the local sentō owners are deeply proud of. Kyoto is also a city of traditions, where an exceptional number of historic buildings are preserved, sentō architecture included. Nevertheless, every year several bathhouses close and sentō are demolished at an alarming rate. Despite their deep roots in Japanese society, sentō are now facing major challenges: the availability of private bathrooms, rising inflation and fuel costs, the expensive maintenance and renovation of aging buildings, and the aging sentō owners. All these factors are contributing to their rapid decline.

Fortunately, a youthful generation of bathhouse owners in Kyoto is determined to carry the torch forward. Led by Sanjiro Minato and the Yutonamisha collective, these sentō activists are rescuing bathhouses from closure by reinventing and revitalizing bathhouse culture through concerts, exhibitions, cultural events, and collaborations with artists, craftspeople, and designers.

How can sentō culture be revived? Minato has a few ideas:
“In 2012, there were 180 sentō in Kyoto. Today, fewer than 100 remain. In ten years, there may only be 30 to 40 left. It is very frightening. Our company’s motto is: don’t let sentō disappear from Japan. To achieve this goal, we will not simply take over and operate existing bathhouses. We want to build a sustainable business around the facilities and buildings that support them. It is essential to cultivate sentō as a cultural experience that appeals to younger generations. The most important factor is creating an enjoyable workplace where young staff can thrive. This includes developing original merchandize and organizing events. We see ourselves as caretakers of sentō, ensuring that they continue to exist 50 or even 100 years from now. While making small updates to suit modern times, we will preserve their essential role in public hygiene and everyday community life.”

“Our company’s motto is: don’t let sento disappear from Japan….We see ourselves as caretakers, ensuring sentō continue to exist 50 or even 100 years from now.”

Sanjiro Minato

The essential sentō to visit in Kyoto

Kyoto’s 100 sentō make it one of Japan’s most active bathing cities. I believe you can discover and understand the city by crossing the bridges of the Kamogawa river and embarking on a sentō pilgrimage. With sentō located all around the city, there’s no limit to exceptional bathing experiences. Here are a few of my favorites.

Sauna No Umeyu

Conveniently located near the central station, Umeyu might be the best first visit if you have never experienced sentō: foreigner-friendly, young and popular, you’ll be warmly welcomed and initiated into the mysterious etiquette of the Japanese bath. The revival movement of Kyoto’s sentō began here, so it’s a good place to understand what the future of bathing could look like. Some nights it’s so popular, you queue outside, as if it was a nightclub!

Funaoka Onsen

A legendary sentō that gained its onsen title for introducing the first Denkiburo to Japan, a bath giving massages through electric shocks. The luxury bathing setting has a traditional wooden roof, architecture and sculptures, an interior garden, a large sauna, and several indoor and outdoor baths. Afterwards, I recommend a drink at nearby Sarasa Nishijin, a former sentō reopened as a cosy café. Gokuraku (it’s a divine feeling!)

Kamogawayu

Along the Kamogawa riverbank, in quieter and wilder north Kyoto, Kamogawayu offers a familial place to relax with a central hot bath, an electric bath, and a perfectly temperate mizuburo (cold bath) at 18°C. After it was closed for a few years, a young couple, Niwa and Sakura, decided to revive it, offering a traditional wood-heated bath, a cozy lobby with drinks, books and goods.

Matsuba-yu

West of the city center, Matsuba-yu is a local and quite original sentō: there is a large vivarium near to the bath, allowing you to watch exotic birds while taking a bath. Instead of a traditional penki-e (wall painting) of Fujiyama, you’ll be surrounded by a Swiss Alpine landscape. You’ll even be blessed with two outside baths, a hot and a cold one, perfect for a soak when it’s raining or snowing outside.

Higashiyama-yu

An iconic sentō located near Kyoto University, at the heart of the student district, amongst the numerous ramen shops, Higashiyama-yu is famous for its theme: The Beatles. Even before entering, you’ll be welcomed by a noren (entrance curtain) featuring John Lennon soaking in a hot bath, and portraits of the band members hanging in the locker room. And in the sauna, you can enjoy their greatest hits. Do they play anything other than the Beatles? No, never

.

Imomatsu Onsen

A recently renewed sentō in a traditional building hidden in a maze of narrow streets in a residential district, the manager Shiho puts her heart into providing the best bathing experience possible for the local community. Pure underground water, clean and perfectly temperate baths, a fresh Penki-e (wallpainting of Fujiyama), lots of space and light, beautiful tiles, and a spacious and relaxing lobby to enjoy a fresh drink after your bath.

A few others to visit

Minamotoyu, Shinchi-yu, Hinode-yu, Eisei-yu, Heian-yu, Murasakino Onsen, Sakura-yu, Choja-yu… And so many more !

Purchase César Debargue’s Kyoto Sento Map or Sento Zine Nuages Flottants

Our friends at Sauna Channel made a lovely film with César and Sanjiro about the Kyoto sentō scene, give it a watch!

News, happenings and openings

• Do you sauna during a heat wave? Repeated use of saunas could help people cope better, reports The Guardian

• First images emerge via Dezeen of NYC’s Plus Pool’s floating prototype nearing completion in Brooklyn

• Elite Traveler catches on to the rise of wild swimming and sauna in the USA

• Book an early ticket for Minnesota’s Banya Fest where you can experience steam, cold plunges and hearty Slavic cuisine. Saturday October 3, 2026 Tickets here

• Moving Meditation are organising a Nordic Reset diving into Finnish Sauna Culture in January 28 - February 5, 2027, including a visit to the Winter Sauna Carnival. Book here

One last thing

Spot the sauna, complete with moving bench, in a new ad recreating Jamioquai’s seminal Virtual Insanity music video, 30 years on.

We’d love to hear from you - please send a DM, or email hello@cultureofbathe-ing.com

Culture of Bathe-ing is presented by Therme Group

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Sweltering from successive heat waves, we’re dreaming of chill winds, ice saunas and arctic plunges. So this week we decided to dig into our archives of frozen architecture. Enjoy the cool.

When you think of ice architecture, igloos probably spring to mind. For thousands of years, Inuit communities across Alaska, Canada, and Greenland have carved these temporary shelters from blocks of snow as winter dwellings. Before modern refrigeration, ice was cut (à la Frozen) in Arctic regions, stored, and sometimes transported thousands of miles to keep food cool in Bombay or Rio de Janeiro.

But there is little evidence of ice being used more widely in construction until the winter of 1739-40, the coldest in central Europe in 600 years known as The Great Frost. Russian Empress Anna Ivanovna commissioned a spectacular ice palace in St Petersburg to celebrate Russia's victory in the Russo-Turkish War. It included a banya built from ice and hosted bizarrely cruel festivities including a human zoo, and a mock wedding of a former prince-turned-jester to a maid. Sources say the couple arrived at the palace in a cage on an elephant and the event was topped off with an enforced overnight stay in the ice suite.

The fantasy ice-castle vibe continues at the annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in Heilongjiang Province, China, where ice sculptors carve a 296-acre (120-hectare) neon-lit ice city featuring recreations of historic landmarks, fairytale castles as well as huge sculptures of anything from Buddha to the Moomins.

Not surprisingly, architects and artists love experimenting with this most impermanent of materials. Since 1989, ICEHOTEL, 200km north of the Arctic Circle, has pioneered the frozen hospitality genre. Conceived as a habitable installation, every winter it is built to a fresh set of designs selected from annual submissions.

“Humidity can hit 100%, creating a microclimate between a steam bath and sauna. Bathers get a front-row seat to a spectacular elemental transition”

Culture of Bathe-ing

Another benchmark was The Snow Show which took place in Kemi and Rovaniemi, Finland in 2004-5. The curators invited seventeen artist-architect collaborators to push the structural and aesthetic limits of building with ice and snow. Large scale works included a parabolic tunnel by Tadao Ando and Tatsuo Miyajima, and Jene Highstein and Steven Holl’s Oblong Voidspace (above), a glowing monolith with a huge interior void open to the sky.

In sweat-bathing-obsessed Finland, the ice sauna, usually constructed with walls built from blocks of lake ice and an insulated timber ceiling, has long been ‘a thing’. What makes them so special? The physics inside are fascinating. With walls made of frozen water, the humidity can hit 100%, creating a microclimate somewhere between a steam bath and a typical Finnish sauna. Bathers get a front-row seat to a spectacular elemental transition: as the walls slowly melt a thick mist of löyly forms in the extreme temperature difference.

We dig into our archives to share a few of our favorite ice builds. Have you seen any we should know about?

DIY ice sauna

Built by a group of five Finnish friends Jaakko, Paulus, Eetu, Heikki, and Tapio looking to supercharge their annual cabin getaway, this isn’t your average backyard sauna. They built the ice sauna directly on a frozen lake next to Jaakko’s cabin in central Finland. Thanks to a brutal cold snap, the ice measured a hefty 17 inches (43cm), easily supporting the sauna’s 18,700-pound (8,500 kg) weight. The blocks were cut from the lake and, after pulling an all-nighter to beat an incoming weather shift, the crew celebrated their first steam the only logical way: by plunging straight into the icy lake-hole they’d just carved out. The team said: “The first sauna was incredible, and all the hard work was definitely worth it. The steam was much more humid than a regular sauna and when the hot air met ice it created mist. The atmosphere inside was magical, with water flowing on the surface of ice and the bubbles trapped inside creating mesmerizing patterns.”

ICEHOTEL

The originator of the frozen hotel concept, the annual ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi, Northern Sweden, follows a carefully developed formula. Two-tonne ice blocks are harvested from the nearby Torne River, when the ice is thickest and clearest in March and stored all summer until the 6-week build commences in November. The basic form of the rooms is consistent – a self-supporting arch for structural strength – before decoration is applied. Blocks are cut or ground and, for more particular shapes, Icehotel makes a mixture of snow and ice they call “snice” to cast in molds. Blocks are joined by slightly melting the facing edges and letting them refreeze. And of course there is a sauna - but it’s not made of ice! Alongside the annual hotel, ICEHOTEL 365 on the same site has 20 suites open year-round, cooled by solar energy in summer, and there are ICEBARS in major global cities.

Cedar & Stone ice sauna

Leaders in Minnesota’s sauna scene, the team at Cedar & Stone couldn’t resist building their own ice sauna. In Minnesotan winters, the cold easily beats that of central Finland. Now an annual event, the crew built the sauna with cedar ceilings and floors, timber benches and 18-inch thick ice walls which allow the Lake Superior sunrise to filter gently through. Watch the build here.

Tampere ice carousel

In March last year Janne Käpylehto and Alex Lembke (who we interviewed for Bathe like a local: Tampere) built a rotating sauna on the ice next to the Tahmela Villa, Lake Pyhäjärvi, Tampere. Janne and Alex cut a huge 30m diameter disc in the 30cm-thick ice and installed a boat motor to make it slowly rotate. They set up tent saunas for bathers to have revolving views of the frozen lake.

Jäätalkoot ice sauna, Aaltosiilo, Oulu

To launch Oulu’s stint as 2026 European Capital of Culture, Aalto Siilo hosted an exhibition of Bernd Nicolaisen’s glacial photography. Naturally, the only appropriate pairing for a gallery of frozen landscapes was an ice sauna. Seppo Mäkinen of Snowhow Oy (who also built the works in The Snow Show, above) led 15 volunteers in constructing the sauna which was only open for a few days. It was built at Finnish architects Alvar and Aino Aalto’s first industrial building – a former a grain silo and factory in Oulu – which is in the process of being reborn as a cultural center and bathhouse.

Arctic SnowHotel

At Finland’s SnowHotel a working sauna is built from snow every year. Directed by Mika Hotakainen, this documentary by The Sauna Channel follows Samuel Aarnio and Julius Laukka through the Arctic SnowHotel, a vast ice castle complex in Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland. Inside the sauna, the clash of ice and heat triggers 100% humidity, enveloping bathers in a thick fog while the walls slowly melt.

News, happenings and openings

• National Geographic looks at the mounting research that is pushing back on the hype over cold plunges

• AN Interior interviewed Ali McQuaid Mitchell head of Toronto-based firm Futurestudio, on her process for designing some of North America’s most iconic bath houses

• Edinburgh’s Sauna Theatre welcomes some of the world’s leading aufguss artists for theatrical sauna rituals that blend heat, scent, music, and movement into immersive performances. Edinburgh Fringe, August 6-31. Tickets here

• Early-bird bookings have opened for the six-day The Sun & Moon Retreat in Lithuania at Midsummer 2027 including pirtis rituals, tree medicine, herb walks, hydrosol crafting, sound and somatics and the Rasos fire ceremony

One last thing

Before wellness became an industry, there was the legendary Sanctuary Spa. Opened in 1977 it famously featured in The Stud (1978), with Joan Collins swinging in one of film’s most memorable pool scenes.

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Seven years ago, Bathhouse opened its first site in a former Williamsburg soda factory. Today it’s the clear leader in the fast-growing social bathing movement in the US. talks to co-founder Travis Talmadge about brand-building, endorphins and why aufguss is bathing culture's next big thing. Plus read on to join our Bathhouse Block Party in collaboration with Lore Bathing Club in NYC on Saturday!

ROBERT HAMMOND: So, what is the thing people don’t know about Bathhouse? What’s the thing that makes it special?

TRAVIS TALMADGE: We are diabolically meticulous about having best-in-class facilities. Our saunas are always at the right temperature. Our pools are always perfectly managed. That allows the guest to get what they’re seeking from contrast therapy — the endorphins, the serotonin, the dopamine, the longevity benefits that come with it.

The coolest part about contrast therapy is that it’s almost foolproof: it works every time, when you do it right. The big thing about Bathhouse is that we work incredibly hard behind the scenes to make sure we deliver that every time. Building these saunas to the standards we’re building them, handling the volume, making sure they’re always working — it’s a lot.

“Contrast therapy is almost foolproof: it works every time, when you do it right… we work incredibly hard behind the scenes to deliver that”

Travis Talmadge

ROBERT: I know you’re sick of doing this, but can you outline the expansion of Bathhouse?

TRAVIS: We have three open in New York, and seven either under construction or starting construction in seven other states, all scheduled to open by the end of next year.

ROBERT: What are the locations?

TRAVIS: Philadelphia, Berkeley Heights New Jersey, Chicago, Nashville, Minneapolis, Stamford Connecticut, and Los Angeles.

ROBERT: And all by the end of next year. How is that possible?

TRAVIS: The way we structure our deals is a little different: our property co-partners are effectively capitalizing the deals for us, and as a result most of them are actually building out the spaces to our specs. It allows us to move faster — they’re paying to build it, and we have a robust project management team that helps keep things on track.

ROBERT: And you’re able to do that because of your balance sheet? For other people, the landlord doesn’t know if the business is going to be around in a few years.

TRAVIS: We definitely have a bigger balance sheet than most others trying to do this. And not to take more credit than I should, but it’s also a novel structure that really hasn’t been applied to a business like ours before. The catalyst was that I had a whole career in real estate before this — I owned a brokerage company, worked in capital markets for a long time — so there was a competitive advantage in understanding at a really intimate level how these deals get done.

ROBERT: They do similar deals for other businesses, right?

TRAVIS: It depends. Restaurants sometimes get done that way, but usually on a percentage-of-sales basis where the landlord is a real partner in the business — that’s not how ours work, the nuances are different.

ROBERT: Do the landlords also see it as driving business to the rest of their real estate?

TRAVIS: Definitely. We’re real snobs about locations — we’ve never done a deal just because it’s a good deal financially — but in a lot of cases it’s been this great scenario where we’re part of a larger development, and we’re bringing 1,000 to 1,500 people a day. That’s really good for the whole master project they’re doing. So there’s genuine mutual appeal.

ROBERT: Who are your largest investors, as far as what’s public?

TRAVIS: That round was led by Imaginary and Plus Capital, who have both been amazing partners. They’re our two institutional investors, for lack of a better term.

ROBERT: And why did Imaginary come in? What are they known for?

TRAVIS: Imaginary was started by Nick Brown and Natalie Massenet — Natalie was the founder of Net-a-Porter. I don’t want to speak for them, but one of the things they said to us was that they really want to build and define a category that vision is what got them excited.

ROBERT: What’s your preferred temperature for a cold plunge?

TRAVIS: My personal preference is 43 or 44 degrees Fahrenheit (6°C)— I think that’s the right balance. You get the sharpness of a really cold plunge with an extra endorphin kick, but it’s still tolerable to stay in for 5 minutes. Some days though I just want 50 degrees (10°C). It’s more intuitive for me than the sauna — I go by feel.

“My personal preference is 43 or 44 degrees — that's the right balance. You get the sharpness of a really cold plunge with an extra endorphin kick”

Travis Talmadge

ROBERT: So you’re the biggest aufguss advocate in the US right now. What got you into it, and why did you commit to it so strongly?

TRAVIS: It was so not on my bingo card, but I’m glad it is. The way my partner and I work — Jason (Goodman, Bathhouse co-founder) is really the operations wizard, I do more of the business side. As we started growing, I realized I wasn’t naturally connected to our customers. I’d go over and sauna, but I was just kind of there.

When we saw aufguss, we thought: this is a missing piece. We love the unguided experience, but here’s a moment that can be the cherry on top, that makes it all feel complete. So when we decided to do the training, I thought, fuck it, I’m going to go learn it with the team. It was a cool team-building thing and I had no expectations of getting this deep into it. I’m more connected to my business than I’ve ever been, and it’s genuinely fun.

ROBERT: Yeah. One of the biggest lessons from our pop-up (Culture of Bathe-ing in New York earlier this year) was that I assumed aufguss was for people like us, already into this world — but it wasn’t. Regular people were the most excited about it. Do you see it moving the needle in your business, or is it more of a retention tool?

TRAVIS: It’s a retention tool, primarily. For a lot of people I think it makes coming back really easy and compelling — you’re going to use the facilities, and then there’s an aufguss, and it’ll be a little different every day, a different sauna master. So it keeps the experience fresh.

ROBERT: What does the culture of bathing mean to you — not the Substack, just the thing itself?

TRAVIS: For me it’s really the culture of sauna and contrast therapy. Sauna is the center of the universe, and the bathing is a halo effect on that — the pools make sense in this environment, and humans inherently want to be near water, want to be social. But at its core, the culture of all of this is that it scratches these fundamentally human itches. Especially in 2026, you get to put your phone in a locker and just be human with other humans, by the water. And sauna is what I’d call monkey-proof — we all want to feel things, and it’s really easy to go do contrast therapy, feel that immediate state change, and get hooked. It all comes back to something basic and impactful that you do with other people and come out feeling better.

“It scratches these fundamentally human itches…you get to put your phone in a locker and just be human with other humans, by the water.”

Travis Talmadge

ROBERT: What do you hope bathing culture looks like in ten years?

TRAVIS: My hope is that there are a lot more facilities — we’re trying to be a big driver of that — and that it’s not just a New York thing. That people everywhere have options, because contrast therapy makes happier people. My hope is that it becomes as integrated into people’s lifestyles as it is in Europe and other parts of the world.

Find out more about Bathhouse and book tickets here:
abathhouse.com
IG: @bathhouse

Interview by , President at Therme Group US
IG:

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Join us for The Bathhouse Block Party

We’re teaming up with Lore Bathing Club to celebrate the best of summer in NoHo. Spend this Saturday on Bond Street and bathe at one of NYC’s hottest new bathing spots.

Book your session @lorebathingclub on Saturday, 8am-8pm and enjoy:

🥯 Complimentary @apollobagels
💧 @im8health hydration station
🦪 Complimentary fresh-shucked oysters & evening refreshments

While you’re there, don’t miss the Sky High Farm Farmer’s Market just around the corner on Bond Street.

Use this link to book your session on Saturday. As a Culture of Bathe-ing subscriber, you’ll get a complimentary off-peak session at Lore Bathing Club when you book to come to this Saturday’s event.

News, happenings and openings

• Marcellus Hall illustrates the New Yorker’s cover story about the NYC subway manifesting sauna-like conditions in climate-induced heatwaves

• Taka’s Mobile Sento is embarking on another trip across the US to Burning Man. Follow to meet him along the way

• Kiln Sauna is just about to open the doors to its rather spectacular new location overlooking Porthmeor Beach in St. Ives, Cornwall. Watch this space for opening details

• Domus tells the story of the pool that became the Milanese urban beach, designed in the 50s as an icon of Italian Modernism, and now awaits regeneration

Upgrade to support Sauna Aid

One last thing

A French swimming pool becomes a museum

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Therme Group’s Robert Hammond gives us the local’s perspective on the newest bathing openings in Manhattan’s “wellness alley” created with our friends at Sauna Times.

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By Robert Hammond

New York has more bathhouses than one person can hit in a week. So when of Sauna Times asked me to share my recommendations for a bathing circuit around the city, I decided to stick close to home in the Village. NoHo to Flatiron, a stretch of about 20 blocks a few of us call “wellness alley,” is probably the highest concentration of bathhouses in the country. It’s also on my mind: I did four of these bathhouses in four days over the Fourth of July weekend. I’m now convinced that sauna in 100°F weather is just a better sauna experience.

That said, this selection really just scratches the surface. For a better sense of all the offerings, check out my Google map with over 30 bathhouses and growing.

“NoHo to Flatiron, a stretch of about 20 blocks a few of us call “wellness alley,” is probably the highest concentration of bathhouses in the country.”

Robert Hammond, Therme Group

As I said in my previous Substack article on the new wave of bathing openings in New York City, it feels like we’re at the beginning of something huge here. A new bathhouse is opening almost every month, for example SCHWET which opens later this year.

Russian & Turkish Baths

Russian & Turkish Baths is the first bathhouse I visited back in the 90s, and it’s still the OG. No polish, no pretense: this is the closest you’ll get to an old-world Eastern European banya. If you’re searching for the hottest, best heat, the Russian room is for you. And I won’t judge you if you finish with a vodka shot, or a Baltika, or whatever else they’re pouring.

In the area
The R&T Baths is on one of my favorite blocks in New York, right in the heart of the East Village, East 10th between 1st Ave and Avenue A. There’s an eclectic crystal shop called Crystals Garden, a plant store that still feels like the New York I moved to in the 90s, a Japanese sticker-and-stamp store called Nico Neco Zakkaya, a great bakery called From Lucie, and a string of quirky little food spots in between. The whole area is worth a slow wander through either before or after the heat; it’s easy to spend a whole afternoon on the block. One of co-owner Dmitry’s favorite restaurants to go to after a sweat is Il Posto Accanto. Also, Tompkins Square Park has a pool that’s just for kids.

Othership Flatiron

Othership Flatiron is the bathhouse I’ve visited most over the past few years and the one that’s most distinct from a traditional bathhouse. To me, it’s a really thoughtful North American take on the tradition. I love the structure: there’s a hangout room and an event sauna where you can just chitchat with friends, or you can go through one of their guided programs and come back to the hangout afterwards. The staff is very knowledgeable and helpful, and the cold plunge is famously brutal, the coldest in the city as far as I can tell. I celebrated my birthday there with my friend and Othership guide Kym.

In the area
It’s right next to The Gallery by Odo, which is the less expensive outpost of the Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant next door. They have nice plants and always show great art. Right across the street is Fireclay Tile, a tile store where the samples are so beautiful I’ll buy one even when I’m not actually in the market.

Bathhouse Flatiron

Bathhouse Flatiron is my go-to double-date spot. It’s more of a traditional bathhouse format as you don’t have to follow any prescribed activities or programming. I’ve spent the whole time just sitting in the warm bath catching up with a friend. If that’s not what you’re looking for on any given day, they also have the most developed Aufguss program in the city led by Alonzo Solorzano, who won the US Aufguss Championship in 2025. There is a bar and snacks on site, which I love because bathing makes me hungry.

In the area
It’s not right next to Bathhouse, but you can walk a few avenues west to the High Line, the elevated rail line-turned public park that I co-founded and ran for 20 years before getting into the world of bathing. That’s why my Instagram handle is The High Line Guy.

Elahni

Probably the least-known stop on the circuit, but Elahni was actually one of the first to open. It’s been nicknamed the “speakeasy bathhouse” because it’s a small second-floor space with a four-person sauna, a four-person cold plunge, and a wellness bar to enjoy after you’ve finished a circuit. The owners are almost always there, and they’re warm and knowledgeable, so this is the place I’ll take both first-timers nervous about contrast therapy and friends who are deep into it. They also have a free take-with-you library that really captures the spiritual side of the practice – and which inspired the library at our pop-up in February.

In the area
Speaking of books, Rizzoli Books is right around the corner and has a great section devoted to New York City books and architecture. Madison Square Park is close by with its beautiful old trees and the original Shake Shack, if you’re into that.

Lore Bathing Club

I was happy when Lore opened: it’s the closest bathhouse to my office, and a genuinely different product. Membership-based and built for daily drop-ins. One big main room holds what might be the biggest cold-plunge tub in the city, plus a large event sauna, with aufguss occasionally led by the founders themselves. It’s warmer and more welcoming than the nightclub-lit spots, and the clientele skews a wider range of ages. Thirty minutes, in and out, when I need it.

In the area
A perfect Saturday for me is Jiu-Jitsu at Clockwork with my son, a Lore session, Go Greek for yogurt, and then Spiral Books for the best selection of children’s books in the city.

The Altar

The Altar is the newest stop on the circuit and the closest to my apartment. Beautifully designed, and you can tell they worked with a range of craftspeople. They have one of the best-curated shops and, even if I don’t buy anything, I go in just to look at the packaging. The last things I bought were a St. Lucie sauna serum and an over-the-counter peptide drink that tasted like gasoline. The crowd skews a little more gay and a little more fashion-forward, which I don’t mind. And they have a whole longevity clinic attached so if you want to do peptide injections and sit in a hyperbaric chamber, then this is the place.

In the area
Union Square Greenmarket (Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat) is right there. Plus two of my favorite coffee shops in the neighborhood, OCafe, which has great Brazilian pastries, and Travelers Poets and Friends, where they make fresh pasta every day and the baristas are actually Italian. It’s also not too far from my favorite store in the city, Eva Joan, where you can bring any piece of clothing and they’ll embroider whatever you choose on it. Maybe you’ve seen one of my bathe-ing button-downs?

A few more worth knowing about

This circuit is really just the wellness alley slice of it, there’s so much more happening around Manhattan that didn’t make the cut this time but deserves a mention. Remedy Place in Flatiron and Soho is a great bet for an upscale experience. Saint just opened and I haven’t even had time to go. Wall Street Baths is a good classic if you’re already down in the Financial District and need a reset mid-week. Kove Studio is in the East Village and opening one in the West Village soon. And keep an eye out for Akari, coming soon to the Lower East Side. They already have two great facilities in Brooklyn.

Speaking of Brooklyn, there’s so many new bathhouses you could probably do three or four circuits. Next time.

Robert Hammond, President of Therme Group US and founder of Culture Bathe-ing.
@thehighlineguy @thermegroup

News, happenings and openings

• The Financial Times talks us through how the French fell for wellness

• A new Finnish study by stove-maker Harvia challenges global sauna norms: the research shows humidity is as crucial as heat for health benefits

• Are at home snowrooms the new saunas? The New York Times has the details.

• Soma sauna opened at the beginning of this summer in London to encourage people to build a simple sauna ritual into their week.

One last thing

How many public saunas should you expect where you live? Mika Meskanen, one half of Sauna Wave with Wendy Liu, delves into the data in the UK. We’d love to see the results in other countries too.

We’d love to hear from you - please send a DM, or email hello@cultureofbathe-ing.com

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By Liz Baker Plosser

Long before the United States enjoyed a bathhouse boom—before wellness club memberships and sauna hats took off in cities big and small—the American Southwest was already in deep. Water comes out of the earth here at temperatures up to 140-plus degrees (60°C), mineral-rich and abundant, and people have been gathering in and around it for thousands of years. The Tewa peoples considered the springs at Ojo Caliente sacred. Ute tribes soaked at Pagosa, whose name comes from the Ute word for healing waters. The bathing culture we’re all discovering? In Colorado and New Mexico, it was always there.

The health case is real, too. Passive heat exposure through soaking has been linked to improved cardiovascular function, lower blood pressure, and better sleep, and balneotherapy—the clinical term for mineral-water immersion—has a legitimate research base for musculoskeletal pain.

“The Tewa peoples considered the springs at Ojo Caliente sacred. Pagosa comes from the Ute word for healing waters. The bathing culture we’re all discovering? In Colorado and New Mexico, it was always there.”

Liz Baker Plosser

I drilled into all of it in my science of hot springs deep dive, so I’ll spare you the citations here and get to the point. This corner of the country, roughly the triangle between Durango, Ouray, and Santa Fe—the heart of the famous Four Corners region, where Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico meet—boasts some of the most soakable, swimmable, hikeable geothermal water in America. Some of it costs $200 a night. Some of it costs nothing. All of it is worth the drive. I should know! I visit these spots every summer on my own road trip adventures around the Four Corners.

Here’s where to get in the water—starting with five I’ve soaked in myself.

The Springs Resort, Pagosa Springs

More than fifty terraced pools stacked along the San Juan River, all fed by the Mother Spring—the deepest measured geothermal spring on Earth—1,002 feet (305 meters) deep, rich in 13 minerals including sulfate, potassium, and magnesium. The pools range from barely-warm to don’t-linger steamy, and the move is working your way down the terraces toward the river, where brave souls dip into nature’s very own cold plunge. It’s the most polished operation in Pagosa—a renovation was completed in 2025—and the adults-only upper pools are where you want to be. Day passes available; overnight guests get 24-hour access, which means soaking under actual stars.

For a deeper look at Pagosa Springs’ history, waters and facilities, watch The Sauna Channel’s short film on Pagosa Springs Resort

Nathan’s Hippy Dip Hot Spring, Pagosa Springs

Directly across the river from The Springs Resort—same Mother Spring, same mineral water, zero dollars. Geothermal water seeps out of the bank into hand-stacked rock pools along the San Juan, and the temperature of your soak depends entirely on which pocket you find. It’s the people’s bathhouse, open 24/7, and there is something satisfying about watching resort guests paying resort prices across the river while you soak in water from the very same source for free. Wear river shoes; the rocks are slick. More info here.

Durango Hot Springs Resort & Spa, Durango

Locals knew this place for a century as Trimble, and the renovation that turned it into Durango Hot Springs kept the water and upgraded everything around it: 30-plus mineral pools now run from the high 90s to 112 degrees (37-44°C), scattered across the property with cold plunges in between—a ready-made contrast circuit, no membership required. The water here is rich in 32 minerals including lithium, magnesium, and calcium. The crowd is a mix of Durango families, post-hike soakers, and people who clearly drove a long way for this. Summer means frozen drinks from the concession stand, winter brings coffee and cocoa to the ski bums.

Wiesbaden Hot Springs Hotel & Spa (The Vapor Cave), Ouray

One of only two known natural vapor caves in the United States, Wiesbaden puts you in a low-ceilinged steam grotto beneath a Victorian-era hotel—108-degree (42°C) vapor rising off a spring-fed pool in the rock. Soakers cool off by shimmying against the cold water trickling down the mossy walls. It’s primal in a way no built bathhouse can replicate, and that’s before you factor in the Lorelei, a private clothing-optional hot spring on property (with a just-added Finnish barrel sauna). Hotel guests get extended access; day visitors should book ahead. I stayed at The Western, a newly remodeled cowboy-chic hotel a few minutes’ walk across town, which—you guessed it—has its own sauna and cold-plunge circuit in the gorgeous, dimly lit downstairs spa.

Dunton Hot Springs

Dunton is a restored 1880s mining ghost town tucked across a mountain pass from Telluride, reborn as an all-inclusive resort where the saloon is real, the cabins are hand-hewn, and the geothermal water shows up everywhere: a gorgeous glass-enclosed 19th-century bathhouse, an outdoor source pool, even a spring inside one of the cabins. It is the splurge on this list by a wide margin, and the rare five-star property where the luxury is restrained. (As long as you’re splurging, invest in a next-level massage, which you can take in an outdoor tent.) Book far ahead; the whole “town” sleeps about 40 people with 16 more accommodated, glamping-style, down the road at the sister property, Dunton River Camp.

More excellent soaks in the region

Overlook Hot Springs, Pagosa Springs, CO
Old-west saloon energy downtown, with rooftop tubs overlooking the San Juan; the locals’ pick. Book here.

Healing Waters Resort & Spa, Pagosa Springs, CO
The no-frills, old-school option across the street from The Springs, for purists who just want hot mineral water without the production. Book here.

Piedra River Hot Springs, near Pagosa Springs, CO
Primitive rock pools on the Piedra River, a 1.5-mile hike in, where you dig and dam your way to your preferred temperature. More info.

Rainbow Hot Springs, Weminuche Wilderness, CO
The pilgrimage: 10 miles round trip into Colorado’s largest wilderness area for a backcountry soak you’ll have mostly to yourself. More info and trail.

Ice Lake, Silverton, CO
The opposite of hot, the two glacial lakes at the tip top of this strenuous 7-mile round-trip hike just down the road from the old mining town of Silverton are worth an icy dip after your hard effort. In town, check out Shangri-La Soaking Pools for a non-geothermal soak. More info and trail.

Orvis Hot Springs, Ridgway, CO
A clothing-optional, electronics-free soaking pond under the San Juans, with on-site camping for the committed. Book here.

Ouray Hot Springs Pool, Ouray, CO
The big municipal pool in the “Switzerland of America,” where families do lap lanes while adults claim the 105-degree section, all inside a mountain amphitheater. More info.

Box Canyon Lodge & Hot Springs, Ouray, CO
Terraced redwood tubs stepped up the hillside behind the lodge, with deer wandering past at dusk. Book here.

Ten Thousand Waves, Santa Fe, NM
Not geothermal, but an essential stop for soakers: the Japanese-style mountain onsen that imported ritual bathing to the Southwest a generation before the bathhouse boom. Book here.

Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa, Ojo Caliente, NM
One of the oldest continuously used bathing sites in North America, with four distinct mineral waters (lithia, iron, soda, arsenic), each in its own dedicated pool. Book here.

Liz Baker Plosser, wellness expert and founder of Best Case Scenario, and former editor in chief at Women’s Health.
IG:

Illustrated map (top image) by Cesar Debargue
@cesardebargue

News, happenings and openings

• London’s first “floating lido” has opened in Canary Wharf, reports the Evening Standard. The 50-metre pool is filled with filtered water from the docks to meet EU Excellent standards year round

• Outside asks “Are Americans ready to bathe together?” in a report on Therme Group’s plan for new US wellness resorts

• The Seine used to be a toxic mess. Now it’s the hottest new swim spot in Paris, says CNN, as the river opens to bathing for the summer

• Milan is losing its public swimming pools just when they are needed most, according to Domus, with citizens priced out or pools closed for renovations for years on end

• Eater takes a deep dive into spa dining, scrutinizing menus at bathing establishments including Onsen in San Francisco and The Schvitz

• If you’re going to the International Sauna Congress in Oslo, participants are eligible to book a “epic sauna journey” organised by the Norwegian Sauna Society. Book here

• Register for the Swimmable Cities European Forum 2026, taking place in Basel, Switzerland August 11-12 and which begins by taking part in the annual Rhine Swim.

One last thing

Bathe like a snow monkey in the hot springs.

We’d love to hear from you - please send a DM, or email hello@cultureofbathe-ing.com

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When it comes to the ideal post-sweat fuel, a quick community poll serves up a feast: salt-cured sauna gherkins, birch sap water, chicken soup, tomato juice, salty cabbage, cool cantaloupe, coconut water … the list goes hungrily on. This week, we grilled the menus of storied bathhouses and, to bridge the gap between post-bathing cravings and science, invited Therme RPC’s team of Registered Nutritionists to take us on a tour of bathing snacks from around the world. They explain why we reach for the pickles post-sauna, and share recipes to try at home.

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What’s on the menu?

Ever wondered what sweating does to your appetite? We’ve interrogated masters of steam from Detroit’s historic Schvitz to London’s Banya No. 1 to find out what actually hits the table when the towels come off. Whether it’s a hearty steak, a shot of vodka with a pickle chaser, a sea buckthorn tea or a glass of birch sap, a roll call of bathers’ favourite dishes show the feast is just as important as the heat.

Andrei Formin, Banya No. 1

Between steams and icy plunges, bathers at Banya No. 1, refuel in leather-upholstered booths in typical Russian style. The menu focuses on Russian classics and, according to founder, Andrei Formin, “Popular dishes are salmon caviar on rye, good for maintaining your electrolyte balance. And kvass, a fermented drink that helps to rehydrate. The Banya team is currently enjoying pelmeni (Russian dumplings), herring with onion, and Bobkoff shots, a 35ml vodka shot with a little pickle on the side.”

Paddy Lynch, The Schvitz, Detroit

Paddy Lynch who took over The Schvitz, Detroit’s fabled bathhouse, has kept many – but not all – of the old classics on the menu. He says “back in the late 80s and early 90s, they had a night known as Hookers & Lobstertail. We no longer have either on the menu.”

“Back in the late 80s/early 90s, they had a night known as Hookers & Lobstertail. We no longer have either on the menu.”

Paddy Lynch, The Schvitz, Detroit

“The Schvitz has long been known for its exceptional steak dinners. Ribeyes, strips and filets - often covered with mushroom and onion - have been a staple for nearly a century. We also have great salads, homemade soups, and lighter dishes as well. Our Russian dressing is made in house. There’s something for everyone.

“I often crave a steak after I steam. Whether that’s nurture or nature I don’t know, but it’s been the tradition at the Schvitz for decades.”

Dmitry Shapiro, Russian & Turkish Baths, New York City

The restaurant at the Russian & Turkish Baths has been serving Anna’s Borscht to hungry bathers for decades. Bathers eat in various states of undress alongside photos of past celebrity patrons. Co-owner Dmitry Shapiro says “People love Chef Leon’s food. In fact, some people come just for the food. Customers love vegan soups, like borscht, split pea and mushroom barley. And a heartier Georgian beef soup called Xorcho.

“I personally like a breakfast after a schvitz: omelette, sausage, or smoked salmon. If we have a bigger group, Chef makes us a giant family meal which could be short rib, pappardelle, octopus salad and potatoes and mushrooms. There’s no end to his creativity.”

Feeding bathing cravings around the globe

By Therme RPC Nutrition Team

To help us understand the physiological benefits of traditional bathing snacks, we spoke to the team of nutritionists at Therme RPC who are devising modern food and hydration concepts that are rooted in ancient bathing traditions for Therme’s global resorts including Therme Manchester, set to complete construction in late 2028. Therme RPC explains:

In most cultures, bathing is a communal ritual where the "after" is as vital as the "during." Nourishment is the finale to the bathing experience, a moment to recharge and reconnect.

Although the victuals served post bathing vary between cultures, it is clear that post-bathing foods have intuitively evolved to be rehydrating, cooling and salt-replenishing:

• After a Turkish hammam, ayran, a cooling traditional yoghurt drink is served and is a source of probiotics, sodium and calcium. Black or herbal tea is also served with lighter snacks including dried fruit, nuts and Turkish delight as an energising sweet snack.

• In Finland, salty grilled sausages served with mustard help replace lost electrolytes, and a lonkero – a grapefruit and gin long drink, a beer or a cider-like mead called sima cool.

• In Korea, post hanjeungmak and jiimjilbang foods include “sauna eggs” slowly cooked in hot rooms – a source of protein to deliver steady fuel, dried fish, simple stews and sikhye, a sweet rice drink and tea to support rehydration.

• At a Russian banya, cured fish, pickles and sausage are served to replenish lost salts. Kvass, a fermented rye drink, and tea with honey rehydrates, and more festive occasions include beer and vodka to add to the social element.

• In Japan, onsen tomago – are traditionally made eggs, soft cooked using the heat from hot springs.

What your body actually needs after a sauna

As the evidence base begins to align with ancient wisdom, we are beginning to understand how bathing snacks can physiologically aid post-bathing recovery. The Therme RPC Nutrition Team explains exactly what bathing does to our bodies, and which refreshments are beneficial to consume post bathing.

Therme RPC’s favorite post-bathing recipes

These recipes are inspired by traditional ingredients and will satisfy those post-sauna hunger pangs as well as quench dehydration.

Gilda

In Spain’s Basque region, bars serve pintxo (or pincho) snacks on a cocktail stick. We love the “Gilda” a combo of moreish olives, anchovies and pickles. This salty bite will help replace lost electrolytes, the anchovies contain Omega-3, protein and calcium, while the olives include antioxidants such as polyphenols and healthy fats.

Spear a green Manzanilla olive, an anchovy (marinated or in olive oil), a pickled Guindilla pepper or other favorite pickle, and a second olive on a cocktail stick. Eat! And serve with:

Beet Martini

A spin on a traditional Borscht, using beetroot juice, herbs and spices – we recommend a mocktail version. Beetroot contains dietary nitrates, which the body converts to nitric oxide to help regulate blood vessel function and circulation.

Shake 50 ml alcohol-free gin, 30ml Versin alcohol-free vermouth, with 70 ml Beetroot juice. Pour into a martini glass and garnish with toasted fennel seeds, a slice of lemon and dill.

Cacao and chia seed pot

A chia seed oat pot is a great post-sauna snack as it helps rehydrate and refuel your body with slow-release carbs: fibre and plant protein from chia seeds, antioxidants from cacao, probiotics and healthy fats, all in a cooling, easy-to-digest form.

To make it, mix 3tbsp chia seeds, ½tbsp cacao, ½ cup almond milk or coconut water, 1-2 tbsp honey or maple syrup, ¼ tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp kefir or natural Greek yoghurt and a pinch of sea salt and leave in the fridge to soak overnight. Serve topped with 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt, 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds and a handful of berries.

Jessica Kanerva is a BANT and CNHC registered Nutritional Therapist and is part of the food and wellbeing Therme RPC team.

News, happenings and openings

• The Gothamist shares more detail on the former Jacob Riis pool set to reopen as a private members club by the end of July

• A medieval board game has been discovered in a Moroccan bathhouse, reports Archaeology Magazine, leading researchers to imagine that it was part of the bathing experience

• Forget forest bathing, star bathing is the internet’s latest wellness trend, according to Vice

One last thing

It’s one thing to eat after a sauna - but would you eat a Burger King in a sauna?

@cbcPaul Rudd tries a Burger King sauna in Helsinki. 🍔🥵 Stream Travel Man's Greatest Trips on @CBC Gem via link in bio. | #TravelMansGreatestTrips #PaulRudd #RichardAyoade #BurgerKing #saunatiktok

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References:

Baker, Lindsay B. 2019. “Physiology of Sweat Gland Function: The Roles of Sweating and Sweat Composition in Human Health.” Nutrients 11, no. 10: 2284. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11102284.

Barwood, et. al. 2018. "The Effect of Hot and Cold Drinks on Thermoregulation, Perception, and Performance: The Role of the Gut in Thermoreception." European Journal of Applied Physiology 118: 2643–54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-018-3987-8.

Dorling, James et al. 2021. “Effects of Acute Heat and Cold Exposures at Rest or during Exercise on Subsequent Energy Intake: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Nutrients 13, no. 10: 3424. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13103424.

Geerling, Joel C., and Arthur D. Loewy. 2008. “Salt Craving: The Psychobiology of Pathogenic Sodium Intake.” Physiology & Behavior 94, no. 2: 223–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2008.01.017.

Hõbepappel, Urmas, et al. 2023. Sauna: History, Culture, Health and Construction. Tartu: Populus alba.

Kitson, Olivia, et al. 2021. “Sensory Perception of an Oral Rehydration Solution during Exercise in the Heat.” Nutrients 13, no. 10: 3313. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13103313.

Leppäluoto, J. 1988. "Human Thermoregulation in Sauna." Annals of Clinical Research 20 (4): 240–43. PMID: 3218894.

As Therme Singapore breaks ground, we asked Therme’s Adrian Mah to give us his take on Singapore’s blossoming bathing scene and the island’s bathhouses.

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With Adrian Mah

Like Singapore’s famed food scene, its bathing culture is an exuberant melting pot of regional influences that reflects the country’s rich demographic mix. Although little of this small island’s historic bathing traditions survive, influences from Malay rituals to Japanese onsen, Thai massage and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are shaping a distinctive local style.

Evidence of bathing in Singapore dates back to the 14th century when the Malay royal court of Singapura bathed in Pancur Larangan, the “Forbidden Spring” in the grounds of a place on the site of Fort Canning. When Singapore was colonized in the 1800s, the British formed swimming clubs as a means to allay the punishing tropical heat, and swam in pagars, fenced in sea enclosures that protected swimmers from sharks and currents.

“As the global bathing boom lands in Singapore, it is centered on wellness, active lifestyles and recovery blended with pan-Asian influences.”

Adrian Mah, Therme Group

Although fans of Pirates of the Caribbean might think they know what a colonial-era bathhouse looks like from the steamy, atmospheric, and treacherous headquarters of the Pirate Lord of the South China Sea, the reality was rather different. In the 1880s, the bathhouses built for basic hygiene, motivated in part by a colonial desire to protect Western residents from the sight of locals washing nude in streets and rivers, were described as “tastefully designed” with whitewash and tiles.

Today, as the global bathing boom lands in Singapore, it is centered on wellness, active lifestyles and recovery blended with pan-Asian influences. With Therme Singapore set to open in 2030, offering wellbeing experiences at scale amid lush planting and biophilic architecture, the scene will shift again. In the meantime, here are Adrian’s picks for the best bathhouses to visit on the island.

Nowhere Baths

Nowhere Baths in Dempsey Hill is arguably the most design-forward of Singapore’s bathhouses with interiors by Type 0 Architects. Curvaceous spaces, soft lighting and views of lush greenery create a relaxing atmosphere. It has two hot baths, a sauna, steam room and a cold plunge. (Ed’s note: Nowhere seem to have adopted Culture of Bathe-ing’s motto - Soak, Steam, Sweat, Dream – we’re flattered).

Ticket: $55 2-hr drop in

Capybara

Sydney’s cult wellness brand opened its first outpost in Singapore earlier this year in a restored traditional “shophouse”. Apparently, the bathing sanctuary is inspired by the character of the capybara, described as shy, yet social and harmonious, water-loving and placid. Capybara is a place for family, friends, and community to come together and slow down, accommodating just 25 people at a time, it never feels crowded.

From $55 per 90 minute session

Sembawang Hot Spring

Sembawang, Singapore’s only accessible hot spring, is sited in a public park. The chloride and sulphur-rich water cascades down a series of shallow concrete pools where visitors either soak their feet or cook eggs – although not in the same pool! Sembawang has had a varied history. Officially discovered in 1909, its waters were bottled in the 1920s; later, in 1942, the Japanese Imperial Army built an onsen on the site. In the 1960s, gamblers used the waters as a lucky charm, and the spring was part of an unrealised bathhouse proposal. The spring was reduced to a tap coming out of the ground until its redevelopment in 2020.

Free entry

The Ice Bath Club

Founded in 2024, this contrast therapy membership club positions itself as a place “where ambitious people come to reset”. With three Singapore locations and another on the horizon, each outpost is based on the same blueprint designed for recovery: a 30-person sauna, cold plunge pool and magnesium hot pool. Each has a distinct vibe – the East Coast branch gets more families, while the River Valley hub is brimming with young professionals and members who make The Ice Bath Club part of their daily routine. (Although, full disclosure, I don’t think I could do a cold plunge more than once a week). Look out for rollouts in Bangkok, Jakarta, Australia and more.

Membership from $273 per month, drop in from $45

Bubble House+

This newcomer inspired by Chinese-style mega-spas is less quiet retreat and more complete leisure and wellness ecosystem. Gender-segregated bathing areas host soaking pools with regularly changing mineral infusions for benefits such as easing muscle tension or skin nourishment, a dry steam room, salt therapy room, and an “earth nest” for deep relaxation. Treatment rooms offer massage, traditional tapping, and beauty therapies. The refreshment bar keeps bathers hydrated, and a full buffet is an optional feast. Alongside this, the complex has an in-house cinema, Esports gaming room, and sleep pods which you can book overnight, blurring the lines between a hotel and a spa. Bubble House+ offers a bit of Chinese hospitality where you are looked after from the moment you arrive.

From $59, 6-hour pass plus treatments

Yunomori Onsen

One of the first new bathhouses, Yunomori Onsen originated in Thailand and opened in Kallang a decade ago. It’s a very popular traditional spa which combines Japanese onsen style with Thai massage treatments. Bathers can enjoy a soak in the various mineral pools, the steam room or book a massage.

From $38, day plus treatments

Hideaway

Tucked into the creative enclave of New Bahru, a neighborhood defined by its independent, homegrown brands, Hideaway is a boutique bathhouse and massage concept that uses nostalgic design cues like the retro glass bricks once ubiquitous in Singapore. Hideaway’s treatments take inspiration from local heritage working in collaboration with Singaporean brands like Jing Botanics whose products are rooted in TCM. The offer demonstrates the Singaporean melting pot ethos – you might begin with infrared sauna and cold plunge, have a Guasha head and scalp ritual, and finish with a sports massage.

From $60. Packages with a massage from $85

Reva Social Wellness

Reva, right in the middle of the main shopping district, was founded by former national swimmer and Olympian Leslie Kwok. It’s in interesting sports facility, Trifecta, that does surfing, plus snowboarding and skiing. The focus is on contrast therapy with twin cold pools set to 5-7°C and 10-12°C, a 41°C hot pool and Singapore’s first outdoor Finnish social sauna.

Day pass: $38

News, happenings and openings

• The Straits Times reports on Therme Singapore as work gets started on the new 720,000 sq ft venue in Marina South

• Singapore Business Times interviews Dr Robert Hanea and Mah Bow Tan of Therme Group on why Therme Singapore will be their first outpost in Asia.

• Last chance for tickets to FLOW, a one-day festival of movement, music, ritual, and rest on June 28 at Wild Spa WOWO, East Sussex, UK. Book here

• Archaeologists have unearthed a large Roman bathhouse in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, the largest to be found in the country

One last thing

The only rule in Captain Sao Feng’s Singaporean bathhouse? MORE STEAM!!

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At our Culture of Bathe-ing festival in New York, the classic Airstream sauna had a magnetic draw and the steam inside did not disappoint. We dig into our archive of bathing customisations, conversions, and change-overs to bring you some of the most accomplished, unexpected and delightfully absurd. Read on to win a ticket for an exclusive conversation and bathing event exploring Social Sauna and the modern bathing movement, plus our reports from the British Sauna Summit and World Sauna Forum.

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Next stop: steam

Sauna Ikitai, Japan’s largest sauna search engine, is transforming decommissioned buses into mobile saunas. For their debut vehicle “Sabbath,” Osaka-based architects OSTR reimagined the interior by swapping bus seating for sauna-grade timber while maintaining the double-seat layout. In keeping with the bus aesthetic, some of the original features are retained or repurposed – benches in the cosy rest area made from the bus upholstery, circular handles hang from the ceiling (one of which is now a thermometer), and, our favorite, a stop button that generates steam when you press it. For a similar experience stateside, we recommend Sauna Social’s converted school bus in Indianapolis.

Arita’s cable car bath

In the 1980s, the Arita Kanko Hotel in Wakayama, Japan, elevated the traditional rotenburo bath to a leisurely journey while suspended over the coastline. The “floating cable-car bath” was a novelty that enabled guests to scrub and soak or drink a beer while gliding back and forth to a nearby island. By 1989, the tubs were grounded and the resort closed, sadly ending a decade of sky bathing.

Are these Finland’s most unusual saunas?

In their 2010 documentary Steam of Life which explored male bathing culture in Finland, directors Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen unearthed some unconventional sauna conversions. One of the more eccentric finds is a retired combine harvester, repurposed for steam by a sauna-obsessed Finn. If you’re lucky, you might spot it at the Teuva Mobile Sauna Festival (more later). For those seeking a more intimate experience, there is the phone box sauna; though its transparent walls mean it isn't the best choice for those concerned with modesty.

Taka’s mobile sento

This was one of CoB’s favorite bathes of 2025 - Japanese artist and bathing-obsessive, Taka Miyake arrived in Canada, bought a truck and spent a season converting it into a mobile sento. Taka decorated every inch of the tiny bathhouse and installing authentic Japanese features like a timber hot tub and a bamboo water spout. Last year, Taka toured across the US, inviting bathers to join him at every stop and winning many friends along the way, before finally arriving in New York. Next stop Europe!

Subscriber offer: Win a ticket to an evening of conversation and bathing with Therme Group in NYC

Deborah Needleman (former Editor-in-Chief of T: The New York Times Style Magazine) and Robert Hammond (Co-Founder of the High Line and President of Therme Group US) will discuss the rise of the modern bathing movement, alongside a showcase of Social Sauna – Culture of Bathe-ing by Jane Withers and Ria Hawthorn. The book explores the design, culture, and history of social sauna, tracing a path from ancient bathing traditions around the world to today’s new wave of bathhouse experimentation.

The first five subscribers to email hello@cultureofbathe-ing.com with the subject line “Social Sauna” will receive a complimentary ticket and event details. The event takes place on Tuesday, June 30, from 6:45–8:00pm.

Wild sauna architects

In the early 2010s young Czech studio H3T Architekti (now disbanded), produced a series of outlandishly inventive mobile, hanging and whimsical saunas. To coincide with the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival 2010, H3T explained that they acquired a “barely functional trailer to transform into a chassis of a new mobile sauna” descriptively titled “Sauna on wheels”. Using simple materials, they fitted it with a stove and a bench on each side. Other designs included a sauna hanging from a bridge that could only be accessed by boat through a hole in the floor, and a bike sauna.

The stretch steamer

In 2024, Luke Moran realised his dream to convert a 2007 Lincoln Town Car Limo into a sauna. Using scraps from other sauna builds, he lined the interior with red cedar, installed a stove with a side-mounted chimney and filled the trunk with timber offcuts to fuel the stove. Remarkably, the limo remains road-legal due to a convenient lack of legislation regarding onboard fireplaces. In the SaunaZine, Moran has taken his home state New Hampshire’s "Live Free or Die" motto to its most literal, sweat-inducing extreme.

Hydrotherapy haven

HAVN is converted from a 150ft U.S. Navy workshop barge built in 1943 to make rapid repairs at sea. After decades of slow decay in northern Canada, the HAVN team stripped the barge back to its bones and created a hydrotherapy deck featuring three saunas, hot tubs and cold plunge pools and an interior relaxation lounge and café moored in Victoria, Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada. Book here.

Boat and barge conversions are another common typology – try a floating sauna at Sisu & Löyly, MI; new build boat Kos Sauna, NY or converted barge Fjord, San Francisco.

Steam on the frontline

In the same way Finns traditionally first build a sauna before they build a new house, the Finnish military build or bring saunas to every base, including building dugouts in remote forests during WW2. This truck-sauna built on the back of a UN vehicle and was used by Finnish UN peacekeeping forces in the 1970s.

Teuva Mobile Sauna Festival

For the ultimate in Finnish mobile bathing craziness, a visit to this biannual, volunteer-run mobile sauna festival is essential. Expect at least 50 off-beat DIY saunas - from mini caravans, to saunas on cars, fire trucks and every other imaginable vehicle – including the aforementioned combine harvester.

Estonia’s hot wheels

In Järva-Jaani, several decommissioned fire engines have been converted into working saunas and are displayed at the Järva-Jaani Fire Department Museum. This project combines the preservation of historic firefighting equipment with Estonia’s established sauna culture. The sauna can be enjoyed at the museum, or be delivered to you.

Summer’s here! Reporting from British Sauna Summit and World Sauna Forum

It’s a bumper season for sauna heads, with the British Sauna Summit in Brighton last week and World Sauna Forum firing up in Finland as I write. At British Sauna Summit, the standout for me was the rising theme of the bathhouse as a cultural space headlined by Therme’s Adam Tanaka and brought to life by Lucy Osborne from Sauna Sessions Arts Club who described their ambitious project to bring Sauna Theatre to the Edinburgh Festival this summer. Afterwards, steamers took to Brighton Sauna Festival on the beach (above).

We asked Tea Lindberg for the lowdown on World Sauna Forum in Jyväskylä, Finland on the theme of happiness.

In the opening keynote, Löyly co-founder Jasper Pääkkönen reminded us that the sauna is more than a wellness service – it is a democratic social space to disconnect and meet without titles. clothing or status. He warned against reducing the practice to biohacking, strict temperatures, or timed endurance. While health benefits attract new audiences, traditional sauna is about listening to the body and finding peace.

Most striking was the diversity of people gathered around a shared passion - entrepreneurs, researchers, sauna professionals and enthusiasts. The day concluded in the sauna village proving happiness resides in löyly and meaningful encounters.

Reports @janewithers.london and Tea Lindberg, visitsauna.com. Images by Florian Seemüller / EOS Sauna & Spa

News, happenings and openings

• In Pin-up magazine critic Andrew Pasquier recounts the return of public bathing architecture in the 21st century

• The inaugural Swimmable Cities European Forum takes place in Basel, Aug 11-12 - register here

• Sauna Theatre is coming to Edinburgh Fringe, August 6-31, bringing together performance and aufguss. Book here

• See Hurvin Anderson’s magnificent public bathing spaces in his show at Tate Britain in London

• Can a hot tub save democracy? Architect magazine reports that Iceland’s Pavilion at Venice Architecture Biennale 2027 argues that the geothermal pool just might do that. Watch this space.

• The Times documents 18 of the best baths, hammams and saunas in London

• Acclaimed architects are designing the hottest saunas around the world, The Times

One last thing

How many kids can you fit in a stretch-sauna ?

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Join us this Father's Day as we team up with Othership for a family morning in Williamsburg. Softer heat, live music, tiny snowballs, and yes, freezies. As a CoB subscriber, you get a little something extra — use code FATHERSDAY15 for 15% off tickets. Valid for the next week. Grab yours here. Read more below! 👇

We’re also republishing one of our favorite pieces from Alisa Cardenas of Howl at the Moon Sauna Co. Consider it the reading material for why you should absolutely bring your children into the sauna.

Father’s Day at Othership: A Morning for the Whole Family

Sunday, June 21st · 8–11 AM · Othership Williamsburg

This Father’s Day, Othership Williamsburg and Culture of Bathe-ing are co-hosting a half-day family event built around something we genuinely believe in: bringing kids back into bathing culture.

What’s happening

On Sunday, June 21st, Othership is opening their Williamsburg space for families with children ages 7 to 17. Softer heat, a warmer cold plunge, and a morning designed for dads and kids to actually hang out together, in one of the best settings there is.

Come anytime between 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM and move at your own pace. Children must be accompanied by a parent throughout.

🎵 Live Music — Settle in to the sound of a live musician setting the vibe all morning long.

✨ Fun Activations — Hands-on activities and surprises, from tiny snowballs to a scent-making station, designed for the whole family.

🧊 Treats for Kids — Ice-cold freezies waiting at the front. You’ve earned it.

📅 Sunday, June 21st ⏰ 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM 📍 Othership Williamsburg

🎟️ Tickets – $69 Get tickets here. Each ticket covers one parent + one child.

• CoB subscribers: Use code FATHERSDAY15 for 15% off.

Why we’re doing this

In Finland, babies are welcomed into the sauna within their first year of life. In Japan, Turkey, Estonia, and Latvia, the bathhouse has always been an intergenerational space — a place for cleansing, yes, but also for connection, presence, and passing something wordless between generations.

Somewhere along the way, “adult-only” became the default. We’re pushing back on that. And Father’s Day felt like exactly the right moment to start.

For more on the philosophy behind this event, we asked our collaborator Alisa Cardenas, founder of Howl at the Moon Sauna Co. and one of the sharpest voices in bathing culture, to share her thinking. Her essay is below.

School of Steam: Life Lessons in the Bathhouse

By Alisa Cardenas, Howl at the Moon Sauna Co.

We begin in water

Before we take our first steps or speak our first words, we swim. Humans are born into water. We kick, stretch, and swirl suspended in the warm, quiet dark of the womb. Water is part of life and where we come from.

Somehow, even as children grow and become little wild-hearted people, they remember the comfort of water. Splashing in the bath, puddle jumping, running through sprinklers, diving into swimming pool or lake, kids everywhere associate bathing with play, freedom and presence.

Cultural inheritance of bathing rituals

Just as we know water, we know heat. Being held in warmth is woven into memory before we can even speak. Communal sweat bathing has been a way of life and family ritual across time and cultures. In many parts of the world, heat is introduced early, gently and lovingly. In Finland, babies are welcomed into the sauna within their first year of life. Toddlers sit in buckets of water on the floor of the sauna to keep cool, while parents and grandparents watch intently. Kids and adults enjoying mild heat and a little löyly together. In other bathing cultures like Latvian and Lithuanian pirts, Japanese onsen, Turkish hamams, and even Roman thermae, early bathing was, and still is, a sacred practice. One that includes cleansing, spiritual purification, grounding, and ancestral connection.

What happens when we bring children in?

Bringing children back into bathing culture might just be a profound act of reclaiming a slower, more attuned way of being that is deeply necessary in today. Within the warmth of the sauna, children begin to cultivate a vital language of consent and boundary-setting, learning to honor their own sensations and feelings. Social bathing becomes a living classroom for body wisdom, where the rhythms of breath, heat, and presence teach them how to navigate discomfort, connection, and self-awareness.

When children are invited into bathing spaces alongside adults, they’re soaking in powerful, unspoken lessons about how to move through the world. Kids witness the diversity of bodies; real, lived-in, imperfect, and worthy. They witness how space is shared, how stillness or conversation flows between people. These are seeds of empathy and social awareness. When we model reverence for our own body and for the people around us, children begin to do the same.

“When children are invited into bathing spaces alongside adults, they’re soaking in powerful, unspoken lessons about how to move through the world. Kids witness the diversity of bodies; real, lived-in, imperfect, and worthy.”

Of course, it’s not always serene. There will be unauthorized splashing, running on the pool deck, tantrums, and tested limits (of adults and children alike). But isn’t that exactly what life is?

Throwing the baby out with the bathwater

At some point in modern bathing history, age restrictions crept in and “adult-only” became the default for many spas and saunas. Whether out of liability or longing for silence, the message was clear: children don’t belong here. But in doing so, we may have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. We sanitized the sacred and replaced presence with policies. Perhaps the rules were born of good intentions of safety, relaxation, and boundaries. In America at least, they might also be rooted in discomfort: our unease with nudity, the unpredictability of parenting in public, or possibly the awkwardness of communal vulnerability. In a culture obsessed with productivity and solitude, we’ve undervalued the slow, layered beauty of intergenerational spaces.

Reclaiming the bathhouse for all ages

Not every bathhouse needs a “Toddler Tuesday,” but what if we opened a few more doors? What if sauna sessions were designed with families in mind? What if we revisited those arbitrary hot tub age limits? After all, the hot tub at the YMCA isn’t exactly a temple of zen, so why are we pretending kids would ruin the mood?

Let’s dream bigger. Right now, many wellness spaces are adult-only sanctuaries. In some cases, rightfully so. But what we’re talking about isn’t removing those spaces, it’s making room alongside them. Let’s acknowledge that accessibility across age and family matters, and the future of wellness and bathing must hold space for complexity, not just comfort

Imagine family-centered wellness festivals where sauna and wild swimming aren’t off-limits to little ones and their parents. Imagine teen recovery centers where sauna becomes a rite of grounding and self-trust. Coming-of-age ceremonies that celebrate presence over pressure, and help young people build body awareness, resilience, and ritual.

Wellness shouldn’t always require you to disconnect from your kids to connect with yourself. Let’s aim for a slower, more intentional way forward that invites everyone to belong.

Alisa Cardenas, Founder, Howl at the Moon Sauna Co.
@howlatthemoonsaunaco

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Bathing attire and etiquette can be riddled with anxiety. Therme’s Grace Pandola, a seasoned bather and author of G That’s Nice, tussles with our worst nightmare. Illustrated by at . And we report from The Saunaverse where UK bathing culture is defining new ways of sweating, connecting and letting go.

By Grace Pandola

People often ask me what “that” entails when I tell them I work in bathing. My answer changes, but one thing is constant: always pack a swimsuit. A spy always has a burner phone, a variety of foreign currency, and a few passports. A bather always has a swimsuit.

On a recent work trip to Austin for SXSW, I packed my suit every day. Until the day I didn’t.

I distinctly remember removing my suit from my tote, thinking, “def not today.”

Wrongo.

We’re going to Sauna House Austin.

While driving to Sauna House Austin, I thought, “I’ll just buy a suit there.”

Wrongo.

No suits. Instead, disposable shorts.

What are disposable shorts? I’m so glad you asked.

Disposable Sauna Shorts are made out of the same material as hospital scrub hair nets. Shorts made out of the same material as the shoe covers you sometimes wear in white cube art galleries. Shorts made out of the same material as a “modesty underwear” you may wear during a bikini wax or a massage or during a spray tan.

As the semi-sheer black disposable shorts were passed to me, I realized my bottom half was “covered.” But the top half was not….

“As the shorts slip on, my soul slips out of my body.”

Grace Pandola

The manager tells me that a lot of women just wear their sports bras. Alas, this is a nude Natori underwire bra day.

Which leads me to the t-shirts…

A bestselling white crop top is recommended. I have minimal STEM skills, but I am proficient in girl math. And one of the earliest formulas of girl math is: white tee + water = wet t-shirt contest.

So it’s a large black t-shirt for me.

As the shorts slip on, my soul slips out of my body.

It can’t get worse.

Wrongo.

I have to take a sanitary shower fully clothed as a courtesy to my fellow bathers. WHICH I SUPPORT. I DID THE THING. But I did wonder, “How wet do I need to get to sauna virtue signal to everyone else that I am clean?”

I do the same quick rinse everyone in a swimsuit did.

I enter the sauna. I sit on a towel. I’m very committed to hygiene and sauna virtue signalling.

It’s not so bad to start. Then I begin to perspire. And the fabric does not wick my sweat.

The dampness sets in.

This is Dickensian dampness that would most certainly concern my acupuncturist.

To distract myself from the dampness, I start rattling off the toxins that are fumigating my nether regions:

There are PFAs, BPAs, BPS, phthalates, formaldehyde, heavy metals, and, of course microplastics. It’s basically Industrial Revolution pollution in my pores.

Are all of these things in typical swimwear? Bet your swass they are.

BUT AT LEAST I’M SACRIFICING MY HORMONAL HEALTH FOR COMFORT.

The silver lining of doing anything to your own detriment is that at least you enjoyed it! That it felt good at the time!

I exit the sauna. I look at the cold plunges and then look away. God as my witness, these disposable sauna briefs aren’t getting any wetter. While the shorts aren’t getting wetter, I’m not feeling much better. Cold damp is more soul-sucking than hot damp. There is a reason Éponine dies in the cold rain.

Back into the sauna I go.

I’m greeted by a man. A man in his underwear. A man, who is quick to clarify, he’s wearing clean underwear. Sauna bro sauna virtue signalling. If the phrase, “male privilege” comes to the forefront of your mind, I see you. And you see me.

“I find vengeance as the disposable sauna shorts are chucked in the trash.”

Grace Pandola

I talk to Underwear Man and he’s nice. He’s a regular here. I talk to a couple and one of them is wearing a Casio beta test sauna watch. They are also regulars here. I enjoy a social sauna experience.

I choose peace when I realize I won’t get to take a proper shower because the only shower is outdoors so I’ll be doing a wipe me down remix in the bathroom with paper towels and a sink.

I rediscover my humanity as I change back into natural fiber underwear.

I find vengeance as the disposable sauna shorts are chucked in the trash.

Grace Pandola is Director of Brand and Marketing at Therme US and author at

Illustrations by ,

Here comes The Saunaverse

In the middle of a record-breaking May heatwave, a sauna festival wasn’t the first thing on my mind. But after the first steam, sliding into the cold plunge at The Saunaverse was blissful. Taking over Community Sauna Baths in East London’s Hackney Wick, Saunaverse took place across 12 saunas. According to Founder Tom de Wilton, “This year the festival was all about rituals – we hosted 28. This is where UK sauna culture is both leading international practice and forging its own path.” How about Laughguss, Sauna Disco or Sauna Astrology?

Foxey Hardman took us on a cosmic journey through the star signs, and, in an hour-long ritual with UK sauna master of the year 2025 Nick Tettersell, we ululated Finnish chants, inhaled the rich scent of birch and juniper whisks, and covered ourselves in a lickable coffee-cocoa-honey scrub.

“This year, the festival was all about rituals. This is where UK sauna culture is leading international practice.”

Tom de Wilton, The Saunaverse

During the second steam, I went through what Nick described as “a mini-death” after getting unbearably yet beautifully hot, found rebirth in the cold plunge before floating through the rest of the ritual. Sauna disco spilled out onto the dance floor with a conga complete with disco ball. Bridging wellness and mellow party energy, Saunaverse showed how UK bathing culture fosters experimentation and cross-pollination.

By
Follow @thesaunaverse for info on the next edition

News, happenings and openings

• Aufguss took Brooklyn by storm last week as the US Aufguss Nationals came to Bathhouse with Joli & Alex Irvine taking the Show Aufguss team title, and Tovi Wayne the Show solo crown and Travis Talmadge winning Modern Classic. Here’s Liz Plosser’s recap

• Secret NYC reports that after 54 years, the huge 1932 Art Deco bathhouse at “The People’s Beach” is reopening this summer as The Rockaway Ocean Club

• The Guardian’s “Is it true?” muses on the widespread question of sauna reducing sperm count

• Office got steamy to celebrate Lore Bathing Club’s grand opening with Simon Rasmussen, office’s founder and sauna master, leading the party

• The UK has launched this year’s 13 new official wild bathing sites at rivers, lakes and beaches, but the BBC finds that water at 12 of the 14 sites launched in 2025 is unsafe for swimming

• Forbes recommend their best home saunas of 2026 for US readers

One last thing

“Respectfully, absolutely not.”

@danielacannyRespectfully… absolutely not. #coldplunge #wellnesstok

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Ahead of the US Aufguss Nationals 2026 next week, explores the meteoric rise of aufguss in the USA — and how America is putting its own distinctive spin on the ritual. Plus sauna master Grace Edmunds of Kin Ritual reports from Herbarium Festival at Therme Bucharest.

By Liz Baker Plosser

Inside a 175-degree sauna at Bathhouse in Williamsburg last June, 100 nearly naked spectators watched a cowboy in a Stetson wave wet towels like a gunslinger, two sisters in crystal-studded unitards perform a synchronized aerial routine, and an Austrian-American giant named Thor — hair to his shoulders, beard to his chest — move heat through the room like it was a storm.

This is aufguss, a European sauna ritual that blends heat, scent, storytelling, and choreography. Sauna masters drop essential-oil ice onto hot stones, then use two towels to choreograph heat through the room for 12-15 minutes.

The signature moves have names. You feel them before you see them: a thwack, a snap, a sudden gust of heat. A folded towel whirs overhead like a rotor blade in the helicopter. The pizza sends terry cloth skyward the way a pizzaiolo tosses dough. And super 8 threads two small towels through alternating figure-eights, one chasing the other.

At last year’s U.S. Nationals, Nico Fiery traced the evolution of hip-hop, while pouring water onto the stones from a sneaker. TJ Lupo offered “Reflections of Grief.” Alonzo Solórzano, took the solo title with a Wild West set — cowboy hat, towels spun like six-shooters.

After decades of refinement in Europe, the practice is gaining momentum in the United States through studios, training programs, and annual competitions with international judges, formal rules, scoring systems, and timed backstage preparation.

A year ago, you could count serious aufguss venues in the U.S. on one hand. Today, a sauna enthusiast landing at JFK could spend a long weekend sweating it out at Bathhouse, Othership, World Spa, and newcomers like Lore and The Altar. If you visited in February, you could’ve experienced aufguss from near and far at Culture of Bathe-ing’s Domino Park sauna festival in Williamsburg, which popped up in the midst of a dreamy winter snowstorm.

Brooklyn will host the modality’s competitive apex from May 19-21, when the Aufguss USA Nationals return for their second year at the new Bathhouse location – Downtown Brooklyn. Team USA has already earned expanded qualification for the World Championships in Berlin this September, an incredible achievement for a national program still in its infancy.

Don Genders, whose firm Design for Leisure partnered with Aufguss World Masters to launch the U.S. competition last year, has watched the ritual develop across Europe for three decades. “Some countries take nearly a decade to reach this level of development,” said Genders, who also chairs the Global Wellness Institute's Hydrothermal Initiative. “The U.S. has done it in one year.”

Bathhouse’s new venue promises to be a mesmerizing backdrop. The social contrast-therapy operation Travis Talmadge and Jason Goodman opened in a former soda factory in 2019 already spans Williamsburg and Flatiron. Bathhouse Downtown Brooklyn adds, technically speaking, a lot more sauna.

“The signature moves have names. A folded towel whirs overhead like a rotor blade in the helicopter. The pizza sends terry cloth skyward the way a pizzaiolo tosses dough.”

Liz Baker Plosser

Last year’s inaugural Nationals were held in Bathhouse’s 700-square-foot Williamsburg sauna, the largest in the country, with a full sound and lighting rig. Every session sold out. “Eighty, 90 people in a sauna built for 60,” Genders said, “with 20 or 30 more pressed against the door. Some performances made people cry. It touches all emotions.” Talmadge has promised this year’s venue will be even bigger.

The Show Aufguss event unfolds May 19 and 20, with choreography, costumes, music, narration, and theatrical flair. May 21 marks the U.S. debut of the Modern Classic Cup at Bathhouse Flatiron, a stripped-back format introduced by Aufguss WM. In Genders’ words "Modern Classic is the perfect way to learn all the important skills of Aufguss before considering a path to Show Aufguss. There are many who prefer the purity of Modern Classic and choose to stay in that sphere. Modern Classic is arguably far more frequently performed than Show Aufguss." No costumes, no narrative. Just heat, oil, towel, air. The new event should lure more Americans to the starting line this year and beyond. Across the Atlantic, the response to American aufguss has been admiring…with an asterisk. Cosmin Cîrîc is wellness director at Therme Bucharest, where he programmes two of the world's largest annual sauna and aufguss festivals (Sauna Fest and Herbarium - more of which later), and a judge at last September’s World Masters, described what’s happening in the States as a real movement: different, active, fast. “It is developing with a specific American character.” he said. “It’s very artistic, deeply expressive, somehow new age.” But from his perspective, it can also be influenced by trends.

In Cîrîc’s part of the world, sauna culture is pre-modern, closer to a Sunday roast than a SoulCycle class. People sauna for life, not for content. American habits have their tells: phones in the changing room, the quick dash from heat to cold plunge, the occasional beer in hand inside the sauna itself. “That is something you do not see around Europe,” he said.

“Aufguss will be the new nightclub. You’ll get touring performers like they have in Europe. People will go because of who’s performing.”

Don Genders, Design for Leisure

But that difference could be a superpower, helping aufguss take hold here. “Aufguss involves performing arts, music, excitement,” said Genders, “America is a nation of extroverts.”

It is also, evidently, a nation of dancers. The cowboy/solo champion, Solórzano, Bathhouse’s Director of Aufguss, has a background in dance. The Austrian-American giant was Thorsten Moeller, who built his career in European event saunas. Fire and Ice was performed by Joli and Alexi Irvine, known as the Celestial Sisters. They’re professional performers in Las Vegas turned Aufgussmeisters at Fontaine Bleau’s Lapis Spa, and last year’s team champions.

They had never heard the word aufguss until their spa director cold-called them during the pandemic and asked if they could perform inside a 190-degree sauna for 30 minutes. “I had no idea what that meant,” Joli recalled, “but it sounded fun.”

They Googled aufguss and found images of three-time world champion Rob Keijzer, mid-wave on what looked like a mountainside. “We were like, I don’t know what this is, but it looks really cool.” Eventually, training under Keiser’s tutelage, they earned Aufgussmeister status. Last June they took the team title in Brooklyn, a result that quickly turned heads on the international circuit.

Three months later, they placed 13th out of 45 teams at Aquardens, Italy, a debut strong enough to turn heads and earn Team USA expanded qualification this year. Cîrîc, who scored them, said the synchronicity, show, and spectacle they brought to the table is something that “cannot be put into words, and that it will be very hard for Europeans to beat.”

The Irvines have a theory about what makes American aufguss American. “Each country has a specialty,” Joli said. “Japan is intricate. The Czech Republic is super powerful. The U.S. has a way of weaving the waving technique together with movement. A lot of us are performers at heart.” Bathhouse, she noted, has been hiring dancers to become aufguss masters.

What civilians don’t see is all the sweatwork it takes to get competition-ready. The Irvines arrive at the gym at 6 a.m. most mornings, then tape out the dimensions of their sauna on the floor. “You cannot fake spatial choreography,” Alexi said. They hire voiceover actors. They train two hours a day on top of a seven-day, eight-session shift schedule at work, sometimes returning at 9 p.m. to refine new combinations.

The towels they wave for 15 minutes weigh three pounds dry and considerably more once the room heats up. Low-impact resistance training at the gym with bands and light dumbbells, plus a healthy diet and plenty of water, are non-negotiable every day to get them in peak shape.

The Celestial Sisters’ May routine will span three time periods, three costume changes, and an overarching theme they politely declined to share. “Seven other teams are competing,” Joli said. “We have to keep this close to the chest.” Last year’s Fire and Ice was, beneath the unitards and crystal towels, a piece about unity, and will be a tough act to top.

Cîrîc, who has spent his career watching the ritual evolve across continents, is rooting for the Americans while gently reminding everyone what the form is all about. “Aufguss is for the soul, not only to entertain with claps, screams, and laughs,” he says. “Do not poison the soul of it.”

Genders, watching the same moment from the operator’s side, sees a cultural shift in motion. “Aufguss will be the new nightclub,” he says. “You’ll get touring performers like they have in Europe. People will go because of who’s performing.”

On May 19, the doors open at Bathhouse Downtown Brooklyn for the second U.S. Aufguss Nationals. Book tickets here and follow @aufgussusa for live updates. In September, the Aufguss World Championships happen in Berlin. Start hydrating.

, wellness expert and founder of , and former editor in chief at Women’s Health.

Correction: This article has been updated. An earlier version included a quotation from Don Genders that did not accurately reflect his remarks; it has been replaced with his own words.

Herbarium Festival - plant rituals at Therme Bucharest

Herbarium at Therme Bucharest until May 17 is the largest annual festival of plant rituals and sauna. With 800 experiences guided by 92 experts from 26 countries, sauna master Grace Edmunds of Kin Ritual who led 10 rituals at the festival, calls it a “Disney World for sauna – there’s nothing like it in the U.S.” We tapped Grace for her highlights:

• The Gold of Nature by three Latvian pirts masters Lienite, Laila, and Santa, who wove together the story of pirts and the cycle of life, from birth in the sauna to marriage, and the final cleansing after death.

• Amairani Guzman shared the rituals of her shamanic lineage through a spiritual Temazcal with song and ancestral medicine in a space for bathers to release and connect with themselves.

• And turning the tempo way up, Dan Bondarenko’s Minty Steam ritual transformed the banya into a late-night party, moonwalking around the stove to old school ‘90s techno and jolting bathers awake with icy splashes.

Herbarium runs until Sunday May 17 at Therme Bucharest. More here.

News, happenings and openings

• The NYT reports that the ripple effect of the Iran war is hitting the precarious finances of Japanese sentos - a vital social lifeline for often isolated elderly - as oil prices rise

• “Sauna Wars” are all the rage, according to in Vanity Fair, whose article sparked debate on ’s Substack

• Beauty Independent reports that Bathhouse has raised the stakes in the “sauna wars'“ by raising $35million in a recent funding round

• Last chance to attend Saunaverse Festival taking place in London on May 23 - with newly released sauna ritual tickets on sale now

• Missed Minnesota’s Sauna Days? Read Glenn Auerbach’s review on Sauna Times

One last thing

Naked bell-ringers, jet-skiers, and tanks of urine made the Austrian Pavilion by Florentina Holzinger the hit of the Venice Biennale, highlighting how Venice is defined by the intersection of water, turbo-tourism and ecological fragilty.

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With new research focusing on sauna’s uplift to mental health, we quizzed three experts: Psychotherapist and Saint Lucie founder Sierra Blake on therapy on the sauna bench. Best-selling science writer Bill Gifford on research for his latest book, Hotwired. And director of the British Sauna Society, Gabrielle Reason, on a new paper investigating sauna’s uplift to mental health.

Sauna trains us to be self-aware, says psychotherapist and Saint Lucie founder Sierra Blake

Sierra Blake grew up in Minnesota’s robust sauna culture in the 2000s, bathing with family and friends and enjoying rolling in the snow afterwards. While studying for her Masters degree in mental health, Sierra Blake returned to her Minnesotan roots as sauna became a reason meet up with fellow bathing friends. She noticed the benefit to herself and became curious about how regular visits can improve self-awareness and feelings of social and emotional wellbeing.

“After the body leaves the stress of the heat, the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in and you settle into rest-and-digest mode.”

Sierra Blake

As a psychotherapist, she’s often listening to the feelings of others. Time in the sauna lets her tune into her own emotional state. “For me, it’s about practising what’s called interoception,” she says. “It’s an awareness of what’s going on internally. Am I too hot? Am I too cold? Are my muscles sore? Am I clenching my jaw? The sauna is a very rich environment to train yourself to listen to your body.” That beautifully calm feeling you get after bathing? She puts it down to the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which kicks in after the body leaves the stress of the heat and gets in rest-and-digest mode.

Beyond the individual benefit, she observes how sauna culture builds social capital. “There are connections that can happen in a sauna that might not really happen anywhere else,” she says. One of her references is Bowling Alone, political scientist Robert Putnam’s book from 2000, about the decline in loose community ties that are made within a community, through league bowling, a book club, or the bathhouse. New academic research from the UK (see below) backs up the benefit of shared sauna rituals for our mental health.

With Saint Lucie, her sauna serum brand, Sierra creates therapeutically-informed rituals for people to gather and deepen mind-body connection. The serum is a remedy for the brittle hair and dry skin that comes with time spent in high temperatures. It is made of jojoba oil and rosehip, with rosemary extract, sunflower, clary sage, and grapefruit. “We’ve done the Ritual of Radiance at Culture of Bathe-ing in New York, also at Bathe in Austin,” she says. “The serum is handed out and some do a kind of self-massage with it. It’s really an invitation for people to pay attention to how they’re feeling.”

Sierra is giving a talk on the science of sauna rituals at Sauna Days, May 1-3
Substack:

Hotwired author Bill Gifford learned how heat helps the mind as a test subject in a groundbreaking study of heat treatment for depression

For his new book Hotwired - How the Hidden Power of Heat Makes Us Stronger, author Bill Gifford set out to investigate the effect of heat exposure on the body, mitigating his own anxiety about how we’ll adapt to a warming climate. The most surprising finding had to do with the link between frequent sauna use and better mental health. Encouraged by a study (Laukkanen, 2018) that showed Finnish men who frequently used saunas were 78% less likely to have a psychotic disorder, he road-tripped to a behavioral health clinic in Vail, Colorado where heat is being studied as a potential therapy for depression.

“The treatment protocol was to lie alone in an infrared tube warming up while having my temperature monitored. Very unpleasant compared to the real sauna experience.” The program applies whole body hyperthermia to patients suffering severe depression, followed by a dip in a cold plunge. Research shows this can stimulate the serotonin-producing part of the brain in a similar way to anti-depressants. After a session, other studies have found that the effects of elevated wellbeing can last as long as six weeks.

“When I first started writing about living longer, the main lifestyle interventions were exercise and diet. It’s early days but the data on traditional heat bathing is so strong it needs to be part of the conversation too.”

Bill Gifford

His interest was more than purely journalistic: “A standard diagnostic questionnaire showed me I was probably moderately depressed, myself,” says Bill. So did it work? “Immediately afterwards, I felt like crap,” he says. “But about a day later I started to feel euphoric. On the drive back home I had this sense of floating. And the clarity lasted for a couple of weeks after.” Another thing researchers have observed is that after the treatment, subjects become quite talkative. “These are people at the severe end of the depression scale. And it was like the heat unlocked something in them, taking away their inhibitions. It’s similar to what many of us have observed in social sauna situations — the heat somehow makes it easier to talk to people.”

For Bill, who 10 years ago thought sitting in a 80°C room was only for crazy people, the experience is “an example of science catching up to ancient wisdom”. He says: “When I first started writing about living longer, the main lifestyle interventions were exercise and diet. It’s early days but the data on traditional heat bathing is so strong it needs to be part of the conversation too.”

Hotwired is published by Harper Wave, $32, available here|
Substack:

Can sauna ritual become a form of healthcare ? Gabrielle Reason, Director of the British Sauna Society, on new research into sauna and mental health

For the first time, social bathing’s uplift to our mental health has been studied in an academic paper by the British Sauna Society and Dr Martha Newson (University of Greenwich) and the London Interdisciplinary School. It puts the shared sauna ritual in a wider conversation on mental health and tests its potential use as a form of healthcare.

“Up until now, research on the health benefits of sauna has been about extreme temperatures, with the communal element less studied,” says Gabrielle Reason, British Sauna Society director. “What’s really interesting about the paper is that it suggests shared experience is actually core to the wellbeing impact of sauna.”

The paper finds that sauna boosts feelings of social belonging, with weekly use having more impact than monthly use. Gabrielle says its aim is to “bring sauna culture further into the medical conversation. There’s a limit to what pharmaceuticals can do for mind-body problems. We’re beginning to see wellness practices bring about fundamental physiological change in people as well.”

More info and full paper via British Sauna Society

News, happenings and openings

• Herbarium, the world’s largest festival of plants, bathing and wellness rituals is coming up at Therme Bucharest, May 4-17, with a packed programme of 800 aufguss and wellbeing sessions

• Kohler debuted a copper bathhouse installation at Milan Design Week for the launch of a re-invention of the 153yr old brand’s classic enamelled tub in collaboration with Flamingo Estate

• The Saunaverse team swapped sleep for sauna building as they constructed a sauna in just 24hrs for Sauna Aid. Support here

• Read a report from Swimmable Cities who have changed their approach from advocacy to implementation in the run up to the World Urban Forum, Baku, May 17-22

• Korea pledges to support public bathhouses which are a vital health resource for aging local communities

• June is going to be a bumper month for sauna industry events - from the British Sauna Society Summit June 1, to the Sauna Region Week June 6-14 and the World Sauna Forum June 9-11 in Finland

• If you think a long weekend of off-grid bathing in the lush forests of the Pacific North West sounds good, book tickets to Cascade Sauna Camp, June 26-29. @cascade.sauna.camp

One last thing

Best sauna view ever? Take us to Lofoten!

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Alexander Lembke got addicted to sauna when he came to teach in Tampere, Finland, 15 years ago. When he’s not firing up Tampere’s historic sauna, Rajaportti, he’s working on his photographic Sauna Project or building saunas of his own. This insane amount of nerdery makes Alex the perfect guy to quiz on where to sweat in the lakeside city.

Interview with and photos by Alexander Lembke

CULTURE OF BATHE-ING: Tampere, in southern Finland is a city that almost no one outside of Finland has heard of until they catch the sauna bug. In 2018 it was designated Sauna Capital of the World by the Finnish Sauna Society and the International Sauna Association. It has more public saunas than anywhere else – 70 at the last count with new ones opening yearly. Alex, you’ve made Tampere your home and you have many sauna-related jobs but one is as the main heater at Rajaportti Sauna. What does it involve and why is the place so special?

ALEXANDER LEMBKE: Rajaportti is the oldest public sauna in Finland and has more or less been continuously heated for the public since 1906. It’s a neighborhood sauna and it’s made of brick, so not your usual idea of a cabin next to a lake. It’s pre-heated the same way as a smoke sauna, and it’s basically my job to keep the fire fed. Depending on the season and weather, that’s a task which can take six or seven hours.

I start my day very early (6am or before), heating up the massive masonry stove which has 1.5 tons of sauna stones. I do this until they glow. Then the fire is put out, the doors are shut, and the smoke is removed through a tall chimney. This keeps the sauna and the structure hot for the rest of the day. It cools little by little until late at night.

COB: Have saunas always been central to life in Tampere?

ALEX: Yes, but we’re actually witnessing something of a revival. In the 1900s there were more than 100 public saunas in Tampere (and also in Helsinki). The city has industrial roots, and the saunas were built for everyone, including factory workers. Often, the sauna was the only place people could bathe. When electric home saunas were invented, it greatly impacted public sauna culture. Suddenly, people could sauna at home, which led to a decline.

Now people are back because the quality just can’t be replicated at home. There’s a difference between sitting alone in your “toaster” and coming to a place that’s good for your mental health and social wellbeing. A good sauna is all about making good connections.

COB: We couldn’t agree more. Anything we need to know about bathing Tampere-style before you take us through your favorites?

ALEX: You might think you have to be quiet in the saunas here, but that’s absolutely not the case. In a public sauna, everyone talks to everyone. The atmosphere is very open and friendly. People also ask me each sauna’s temperature, but it’s impossible to say. They can be anything between 70°C and 120°C but it depends on the regulars and how they like it, also the time of day and year. In winter it can be as cold as -20°C here, in which case you definitely want it as hot as it can get.

Rajaportti

Now everyone will say their sauna has the best löyly (pronounced LOI-loo, the Finnish word refers to the steam created by pouring water on hot sauna stones and also the spirit or soul of the sauna), but Rajaportti's is truly one of the greatest. It’s down to the construction and seating position. You sit up high where you get the best and healthiest heat stratification. The löyly here can be very powerful but it’s always smooth and it’s long-lasting. Like a warm blanket or a hug.

This is an extremely important place for local people. Some have been coming here for 50 years. Some bring their kids, who sit in little bathtubs. These days they are joined by tourists from the UK, Japan, the States. It’s a total mix.

Afterwards, people cool down together, sit and chat. To keep a good conversation going, the sauna café is next door for coffee and freshly made pastries. For a small place, there’s a surprisingly good selection of craft beer.

Tohloppi Barrel Sauna

A real local place. You won’t find many tourists at this characterful wood-fired sauna, a little out from the center, on Tohloppi Lake. Fifteen people can fit in the sauna at a time, making the atmosphere quite special and friendly. Like most saunas in Tampere, it’s home to an ice swimming club who use it as a base, and give it a community feel.

Kaupinoja

A modern sauna but a very good one, Kaupinoja has been on its scenic lakeside site in some form since 1977. It’s connected to Tampere’s other big sauna, Rauhaniemi, by an ice road in winter. You can only travel on it by walking, ski-ing, skating, or riding a bike with studded tires. Kaupinoja can get very crowded here on a winter evening, with up to 500 people. A stair takes you direct from the sauna into Lake Näsijärvi so you feel the rush of going between hot and cold.

Rauhaniemi Folk Spa

As you may have guessed by now, I’m a traditionalist so I like the older public baths. Rauhaniemi Folk Spa was built in 1957. The two wood-fired saunas here are open all year round, are popular with tourists, and can see up to 800 people a day. Then there are the views. Rauhaniemi is in a stunning location on Lake Näsijärvi. People gather to dip in big ice holes then warm up in the sauna. The folk spa is going under renovations in April, so check before you visit.

Rantaportti and sauna on the ice

Rantaportti is an idea of mine to build a little copy of Rajaportti. I was thinking about how to design the seating, the löyly flow, and the ventilation for some of the same effects. It is a much smaller, wood building within the 19th-century villa Tahmelan Huvila on Tampere’s other lake, Pyhäjärvi.

Last March, Janne Käpylehto and I tested out another fun idea – to build a rotating sauna on the ice. In Tampere, we can get ice that’s 30cm thick in the right conditions. We cut a huge disc in the ice and made it spin with a boat motor. Slowly of course, so people didn’t get seasick. Then we put tent saunas on top to have revolving views of the frozen shore. It was only temporary but we plan to do it again this year.

Also worth a visit…

Niemi Kappee

Some 40 minutes from Tampere, this smoke sauna is unique and authentic, often hosting special events. It’s also huge (4m-high with 4500 kg of stones) built in a traditional style from trees that fell in a 2001 storm.

Suomensaaren

An electric sauna that enjoys a very beautiful spot among the dense trees and right at the lake. It’s small but friendly, with maybe 20-30 people here at the same time. It’s very scenic, and an excellent place for winter swimming too.

Pyynikki observation tower, Näkötorni

This 26-meter stone lookout tower is high up on a ridge; climb it and you’ll be rewarded with the best views of the city and lakes. There’s no sauna here, but you have to try the munkki or munkit; these prizewinning Finnish donuts and have been made the same way for 80 years.

Alexander Lembke is a sauna heater at Rajaportti, President of the Bauhaus Sauna Society, and a Tampere guide with 15 years of expertise in Finnish sauna culture.

All images copyright Alexander Lembke unless otherwise credited.

Alex’s tips for ice hole swimming

Tampere has a strong culture of avanto (ice hole swimming); it’s the reason we have so many public saunas. Here are my tips if you want to take the plunge:

1. As a beginner, never do it alone. Always have someone nearby.

2. Take it slowly and calmly. There is no need to rush.

3. Do not drink alcohol before going into the water.

4. If you do it regularly, you will gradually get used to the cold water and be able to stay in for longer.

5. It is not necessary to submerge your head.

6. The more you hesitate, the more difficult it will be to get into the water. Go in slowly, carefully and never jump in. You’ll feel rewarded after, especially when you’re back in the sauna.

7. Breathe calmly and enjoy the winter panorama from the ice hole.

Tampere on film

Want to see more of Tampere? The Sauna Channel’s next film, Tampere - Sauna Capital of the World produced by Samuel Aarnio, features some of our favourite sweat destinations. The full film is out in May but for now, here’s a teaser.

News, happenings and openings

• Becci Barnicoat’s hilarious cartoon “I’m a sauna person now” in the Guardian. A bit too close to the truth for comfort?

• London’s beloved Community Sauna Baths have landed in Paris as the Sauna et Bain Collectif at Ground Control, close to Gare du Lyon. Book here

• The Guardian’s Science Weekly podcast dives into the evidence of the benefits of sauna and cold plunge

• Over at Sauna Times, Kamu Sauna’s Becky Pelkonen explores bathing semantics and if words like community, ritual, and third space are being thrown around a little too freely

• The UK Aufguss Championships take place at luxurious Galgorm Manor on 20 April. Book here to experience the UK’s best sauna masters

• The legendary Sauna Days festival is taking place at Larsmont Cottages, Minnesota, May 1-3. Limited tickets remaining

• The BBC explores if saunas could become the ‘new pub’ as a new report claims that UK could become Europe's largest sauna market by 2033

One last thing

We’ve heard of mobile saunas but…..

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Bathing can be an act of resistance, a way to reclaim the body, restore dignity, and stay human when everything around you is breaking down. That’s the work of Sauna Aid, bringing mobile saunas to communities facing war, displacement, and loss and offering a place to sit, breathe, and reset. Co-founded by Mikkel Aaland, it is a modest intervention with real impact. Below, we speak with Mikkel about why Sauna Aid’s work is so impactful, and with Azar Eskandarpour, a humanitarian aid worker and resilience scholar, on what she’s observed about bathing in crisis zones.

Support this work by upgrading to a paid subscription—plus, Firefly Sauna is backing the effort with a tent kit promotion.

Upgrade here to support Sauna Aid

Sauna Aid provides heat as a healing power

When Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago, the shocking moment motivated Mikkel Aaland to act. The Sweat author remembered how sauna helped sufferers of Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster decontaminate from radiation, and later find relief. He rallied the bathing community to do the same for Ukraine by setting up Sauna Aid. With International Sauna Association, the nonprofit’s first mission was to send a mobile sauna convoy to refugee camps in the border city of Kharkiv, in 2022.

Access to heat is helping people find relief from ongoing conflict, restore from fatigue, and find ways to rebuild community. At Nebo Beach in south Ukraine, Sauna Aid plans to build a permanent public sauna. The global initiative also provides sauna services and funding to Repower’s recovery programs for frontline medics.

Sauna Aid has since been expanding its reach. Mikkel says: “For the firefighters of LA’s devastating wildfires last year, we provided two tent saunas to help them detox and recover from physical and emotional stress.” He finds the initiative has most impact where there is already a history of bathing. Most recently, that’s with the Utah-based MMIR movement (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives), with a focus on women and girls.

“The long-term goal is for sauna to be part of the tool box used by much larger international NGOs,” says Mikkel. Along with developing its trauma-informed training program for bath attendants, it has plans for a fleet of mobile sauna units to be deployed rapidly in disaster areas. As Sauna Aid grows, the mission remains fundamental. “More than anything, it’s an idea,” he says. “About how sauna and bathing traditions can be employed to bring comfort, healing, and hope during times of crisis.”

Donate to Sauna Aid

Buy a Firefly Sauna tent kit and support Sauna Aid

News from the good folk at Firefly Sauna. In a special promotion on the Firefly Spark Sauna Kit, they’re donating 100% of the first sale to Sauna Aid, and 15% of each kit sold after (until the end of April). The kit includes all you’ll need to get your sweat on in the great outdoors:

• All-weather portable Spark Tent for 2-5 people

• Firefly wood-burning stove that heats to 200°F in 20 minutes

• Foldable bench

• Sauna bucket & ladle

• Rock basket

• Sauna rocks

• Heat resistant gloves

• Firefly travel bag

• Instruction manual

“A tent sauna is about simplicity, portability, and affordability,” says Mikkel. “In my experience, their size and design create a sense of intimacy among bathers that feels especially immediate and deeply satisfying.”

Buy the kit as a bundle now to get a discount on the usual price. You’ll also get free shipping, a free sauna hat, and a free Saint Lucie sauna serum.

Purchase here and support Sauna Aid

How bathing builds resilience

Text by Azar Eskandarpour

In her 20 years as a humanitarian aid worker, resilience scholar and thermal bather, Azar has experienced the powerful role global bathing traditions play in strengthening communities. She shares her research on how bathing builds resilience.

Bathing cultures have survived millennia because they carry deep value and utility for people across the world, especially in difficult times. As an aid worker, I have spent most of my adult life working on the front lines of war zones, situations of violence and man-made crises. From my first assignment in Afghanistan, to El Salvador, Nigeria, South Sudan and Mexico, I have chased deep heat to stay well.

In this time I’ve bathed in hundreds of onsens, hammams, saunas, temazcals, and thermal waters. Bathing cultures and their rituals have helped me heal and process what I’ve witnessed in my career, transforming pain into strength, and sorrow into resilience.

My research shows that resilient communities all over the world share internal and external characteristics that help them adapt in times of crisis. Incredibly, bathing culture also fosters some of these same requirements for resilience.

The first is that putting one’s body through the stress of heat and cold exposure fosters a sense of agency. The belief that you can do hard things. The physical effects of this stress exposure also promote cognitive skills. Production of serotonin and dopamine support feelings of optimism and hope which are essential when adaptation and problem solving are required in difficult times.

Shared bathing spaces often come with norms, etiquette and high levels of social engagement. These build social capital and stronger social and community cohesion as strangers learn to be in relation respectfully. Bathhouses are also place based. They draw those with common residency, who often share culture and community identity. Repeat visitors and a sense of belonging to place and culture help in building trust, networks and sources of relevant information. These are all resources required for problem solving, adaptation and resilience. All fostered and promoted while bathing!

What I have found is that it’s the social aspect of bathing culture that has the most impact on fostering resilience. We see this in North America’s Indigenous communities where bathing practices connect people to their culture, ancestry and healing practices. Sweat lodges were banned in Canada under the Indian Act (1925-1951) and by government officials in the US, forcing them to go underground during a regime of colonisation.

Similarly in Mexico, while there was no single decree to ban the temazcal, colonial authorities, particularly the Church and the Inquisition, actively sought to eradicate the practice. Luckily these traditions have survived due to the stewardship of Indigenous elders and healers.

I’ve participated in Indigenous sweat bathing practices in Canada and Mexico. We sit in ceremony for 3-4 hours, speaking to ancestors, praying, singing, drumming and sharing what weighs heavy on the heart. Shoulder to shoulder, sitting on the ground, in complete darkness, we hold space for each other in what is called the earth’s womb. There is no script. What emerges in the heat is voluntary, organic and honest.

As elder Howard from the ShÍshálh Nation shared with me: “The sweat lodge is our medicine, it’s for healing, from trauma(s), grief and sorrow, from losing a loved one, sadness, loneliness, a feeling of not belonging, addiction, experiences of violence and being abused.”

Bathing cultures in their physical, social and spiritual elements offer communal spaces that bring people together to process, recover and build tools and resources needed to adapt to difficult times. By being stewards of these cultures and their rituals, we can better care for our collective resilience and together resist some of the heavy burdens we face today.

Azar Eskandarpour is a humanitarian aid worker, resilience scholar, and founder of Humans Who Bathe.

News, happenings and openings

• New York Times’ Sketch Pad caught the mood at Culture of Bathe-ing, including some brilliant quotes from those who braved the cold

• Bill Gifford is on tour with his new book Hotwired. He’ll be at Othership Williamsburg on Wednesday, April 8th at 5:30 pm. You can purchase your ticket HERE.

• A heart-shaped tub is on show at Art Basel Hong Kong in Chan Wai Lap’s quirky installation Jeremy’s Bathhouse. Monocle was there

• GQ goes deep into the science of sauna blankets, sorting the truth from the marketing speak

• Four bathing authors share the bench in the latest Sauna Talk episode, recorded at Culture of Bathe-ing

• Christopher Selman gathers 36 Ridiculously Good-looking Saunas in a new book for Gestalten

• The first research into the power of collective sauna rituals has been published in the UK. Read British Sauna Society’s summary

• CN Traveler recommends nine hot spring hotels where mineral waters are the main attraction

• Just out, Sauna Channel’s film The Big Bang: The 2014 Perfect Sweat Summit recalls the gathering that sparked the US bathing boom

One last thing

A Late Night moment for sauna comedy

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Floating sound baths. All-night ambient music sessions. Adult sleepovers. Ever unique, Secular Sabbath’s gatherings are a curated mix of sound, water and healing ritual, masterminded by founder and bathing native Genevieve Medow-Jenkins. They’ve been dubbed a kind of “anti-festival” by Rolling Stone, drawing actors, musicians, and DJs including Diplo and Flume into the water to decompress. Jane Withers asked Genevieve about her bathing tastes, the influence of her Esalen upbringing, and getting intimate for the Tub Talks podcast. The Secular Sabbath founder also reveals plans for a property one day. Think of it as Esalen 2.0…

CULTURE OF BATHE-ING: How did water become such an important part of your life?

GENEVIEVE MEDOW-JENKINS: Growing up at Esalen, you’d go to the hot springs at least three times a day. Water was essential to the lifestyle there, which then became a ritual for life. You’d take a bath in the morning, after lunch, and then at night when the stars are out. I still take three baths a day. That’s my version of eating three meals.

It’s located in Big Sur and the place feels like you’re on the edge of the world. The cliff is right underneath you. The water is pounding against the rocks, creating its own rhythm. And then you look out at this vast ocean. That itself puts you in a state of awe. Then the hot spring water has its own soothing and down-regulating impact.

Editor’s note: Esalen was a hive of alternative thinking in the 1960s and 70s, a cultural nexus around which Allen Ginsberg, Susan Sontag, Aldous Huxley and more revolved. Genevieve’s mother, Deborah Medow, ran its healing arts department, living and working there for almost 50 years.

Lots of open-minded conversations would happen while naked in those hot springs. In the water, there’s nothing to hide behind. No suit, no job, no relationship. Just you as a person. For me, nudity is de-sexualized. Because I grew up in it, I’ve always understood bodies are just bodies.

COB: Is this where the idea of Tub Talks comes from?

GENEVIEVE: Yes it’s about making a space to talk where people are undressed and vulnerable. Country musician and friend Orville Peck said it felt like therapy. I don’t go in with specific questions. I just want to get to know the person. The conversation can meander anywhere between psychology, music, art and relationships. There’s a great one from a road trip to Big Sur with electronic music artist Jon Hopkins.

Editor’s note: Looking for somewhere to dip in to Tub Talks? We suggest episode 3, where pro surfer Kassia Meador compares the “flow” feeling of being in the waves to being immersed by sound.

COB: Has anyone shied away from getting in the tub?

GENEVIEVE: Al Pacino, but he’s 85. He’s happy to do the interview, just not sure about the bath part.

COB: I’m interested in the interview set-up. What’s the temperature?

GENEVIEVE: I like my baths all hot water. I find that men can’t usually take the heat as much as women can. They prefer it a little bit less intense. There can be a bit of initial discomfort, plus the porcelain tub is tight quarters, so it’s intimate. Guests can be naked or in a bathing suit!

COB: Showers are the norm for Americans, do they see baths as exotic?

GENEVIEVE: I really do not like showers. I feel like I’m being hit by water. It feels aggressive. But yes I’ve noticed that in places like New York, having a bath is such a luxury. Where I see it as an essential element of a home.

CULTURE OF BATHE-ING: How did Secular Sabbath come into being?

GENEVIEVE: Growing up, Mom had a program where people would do didgeridoo meditations on people’s bodies. From then, I felt the link between sound, vibration and healing. For me, it’s through water as well.

Much later, I had to create an ambient music experience for a job and realized this is actually my bird song. My way of meeting people I wanted to become friends with or eventually date. Secular Sabbath was born from desire for community, an extension of my childhood. Now it’s my whole life.

COB: You’ve curated all kinds of Secular Sabbath events since 2016. How does bathing feature in them?

GENEVIEVE: Any time I get to make bathing the centerpoint of Secular Sabbath, I do. We love to take over a bathhouse environment, and incorporate deep listening within it: whether it's at Joshua Tree Acres, or Voda Spa.

I think the best examples are the floating sound baths we’ve done at Two Bunch Palms resort. It’s been incredible to explore what the sonic experience feels like in the water. There’s this great book, Living Water by Olof Alexandersson, which has the science on it. Some of it can be quite dense, but I think it’s important to have the background when something can be perceived as so woo-woo.

COB: Your “sauna and sound” experience at Culture of Bathe-ing was a pretty special way to start the day at our NYC sauna fest. How did it come together?

GENEVIEVE: We could not have planned a more magical day. The blizzard was just beginning, snow was falling as the artists were performing. We had a massage therapist and a tea ceremony. Happier Grocery donated amazing fresh fruits and juices. It felt really good to be in this kind of sanctuary before the storm.

COB: How do you pick your music collaborators?

GENEVIEVE: It’s really a patchwork of my personal relationships, history and what I’m interested in. For Culture of Bathe-ing, Tom C. Bumpz’s manager reached out to me with his music and I loved it. The offer to do something in NYC came in and it felt pretty kismet to have him involved. Then a friend told me about a guy who works with bird sounds, Alexey Seliverstov. His performances are so moving, I thought he’d be perfect for this experience. I make my own ambient music too, with my first EP out soon.

COB: What’s next?

GENEVIEVE: Ultimately I want to have a property that is our own. Somewhere, like Esalen, where people can stay and experience things on a deeper level. At least like what Esalen used to be. I see my mom’s generation getting older and passing away, and that history is being lost.

News, happenings and openings

• Sant Roch just made bathing the talk of Paris. France’s newest and largest sauna takes its design cues from the Roman baths of Lutetia

• Vancouver is the latest Sauna Circuits destination. Valterri Rantala has the best local tips

• Hotwired, Bill Gifford’s much-anticipated book on tapping into the power of heat, came out this week

• Lemonade budget? The New York Times has a guide on how to create your own affordable wellness vacation

• Cul de Sac has a pop-up sauna and sound event in NYC’s East Village this weekend with DJ Gilly and Extra Meesh. Tickets here

• CN Traveller gets a blast of Arctic air on its foray into Finnish spa culture

• Mark those spring calendars with two upcoming sauna fests. Michigan’s is April 10, and Vermont just after. See you there?

One last thing

Activate that brown fat!

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The word “community” gets thrown around a lot in bathing circles, and not always to describe a scene that is genuinely open to all and built from the ground up. With social bathing enjoying renewed popularity, and commercial bathhouses on the rise, it’s critical the moment isn’t just about making a profit, but seeding an inclusive bathing culture that’s truly accessible. We look at the history of community bathing, how it is being embraced again through successful models in Oslo, London and the US, and why it’s so important that bathing’s communal roots don’t get left behind.

Before we get into it, here’s an exclusive for our own community of subscribers. Use the code COB15 at Dryrobe.com for 15% off until May 9!

Europe has a long history of bathing as part of everyday life. The first saunas and bathhouses were set up by communities, much before commercial operators came along. Ancient sweat houses dating back 10,000 years were built for people to gather and warm themselves in the face of harsh winters. In ancient Rome, the bathhouse was considered a place for all sections of society to enjoy. And in the development of spa towns like Baden the spring water is still seen as a precious resource to be shared, with a portion reserved the community.

The Swiss town (not to be confused with the more famous Baden-Baden in Germany), has thermal water bubbling up from 18 sources, and is a living link to a water history that goes back 2,000 years when its high-mineral content water was discovered to be good for our health. Bagno Popolare, its independent non-profit bathing association, runs free warm spring water baths for the public on the sidewalks facing the river.

Today, Oslo Badstuforening (sauna association), and its network of 29 floating saunas, is one of the best-known examples of bathing revived as an accessible part of everyday life. When a single sauna made from driftwood appeared on the Oslo fjord in 2016, the anarchic act kicked off a huge community bathing movement that became impossible for city officials to ignore. The association now has 20,000 members and the saunas see 340,000 annual visitors enjoying dips in the city-center fjord and epic Midsummer bonfire parties.

“When it’s obvious something makes city life better, it becomes hard for the municipalities to remove,” says Ragna Marie Fjeld, general secretary and sauna association spearhead. Run by employees and a huge number of volunteers, the saunas are a point of proud public ownership. And the model is self-sustaining. “As a non-profit organization, we get along with the income from visitors and occasionally some grants from private foundations connected to building new saunas. We have no funding from the city authorities.”

Reaching back to bathing’s origins as a health pursuit was discussed at our recent talk: What Can American Cities Learn from the European Nonprofit Sauna Movement? It was held in NYC last month as part of Culture of Bathe-ing. Ragna was on the panel, with Sweat author Mikkel Aaland, and Emily Weidenhof, assistant commissioner of public realm projects at NYC Department of Transport. The panelists, steered by Therme Group’s Adam Bamba Tanaka, discussed positioning contemporary bathing culture as a public good: important for mental health and wellbeing alongside fun and leisure. The re-framing was suggested as a way to get more cities behind the idea, in turn shaping a more inclusive future for bathing.

At London’s Community Sauna Baths, connecting bathing with social purpose is a core part of the not-for-profit model’s mission. Income from full price tickets goes to funding concessions and its social prescription work with the National Health Service. “We’ve set up referral pathways in the areas we work in, and now over 600 people suffering with depression, loneliness and other conditions are prescribed sauna with us,” says director Charlie Duckworth. “We’re still evaluating what works, but can already see it’s an amazing thing to bring to more people.”

The community interest company started out in an east London parking lot in 2021; now it has five sites in community gardens and other city pockets, with Paris and more destinations on the horizon. All aim to make saunas and cold plunge affordable to more people, rather than gatekept behind the membership fees of elite spas or bathhouses, which are out of reach for many.

One of the original guerilla bathing projects is Helsinki’s Sompasauna, a free public sauna in a harborside shack built from found materials in 2011. It was dismantled three times by the City of Helsinki in its early days, and is now run legally by an association that entrusts visitors to take care of it rather than staff or volunteers.

While there are a few US community models (notably Minnesota’s 612 Sauna Co-operative, and Big Towel Spa in Hudson Valley, NY which has accessibility and scale-pricing built in) the recent growth in stateside bathhouses is mostly geared towards the market that can afford a regular gym or wellness class. It’s not about pitting one against the other (as our expert panel discussed), but ensuring a spectrum of bathing opportunities and price points.

When it comes to cost, one size doesn’t fit all. Oslo Badstuforening has an annual membership fee of $40 and $15 a visit. Community Sauna Baths has flexible pricing that starts from $13 a session. Bergen’s Laugaren, built and run by volunteers, has a fee (from $8 up) that depends on whether you’re a local or visitor, and the time of day. Some are free, as are many open-air city baths like those at Copenhagen Harbor. Warm Hearts Sauna in Amsterdam grants access for a good deed, whether that’s picking up litter or sharing plant seedlings. Also on our radar is Urban Rivers, a floating park in Chicago with a non-profit model, that has plans to include a sauna next winter.

Ragna says she’s often asked for advice from people inspired to kickstart a grassroots scene in their own city. “Just do it. And ask for permission as you go,” is her reply. Where there’s clean water, community spirit and the die-hard will to bathe, who knows where such a movement could happen next?

Where to get your community spirit

Sompasauna, Helsinki

Always open and always free, Sompasauna first popped up in 2011 and is one of the best-known community saunas still going. All that it asks is for everyone to do their bit: chopping wood, carrying water and keeping things clean and peaceful.

612 Sauna Co-operative, Minnesota

The co-op owned and operated mobile sauna has been home to “thousands of sessions, spontaneous combustions, and warm connections,” says Glenn Auerbach, who helped launch it back in 2015. Catch him on Twin Cities PBS explaining the roots of community bathing in the northern State.

Copenhagen Harbor Baths

Rain or shine. Winter or summer. You’ll find locals and tourists soaking in the clean waters of these free city baths along Copenhagen Harbor. Fun to jump off is the stepped platform at Islands Brygge, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group in 2002. Some, like La Banchina, have a sauna to combine with your cold dip.

News

Putting on the Shvitz
The NYT Style section gets initiated into Aufguss at Culture of Bathe-ing!
New York Times, February 26, 2026

Want to Sell Affordable Wellness? It’ll Cost You.
Business of Fashion, February 26, 2026

A Floating Sauna With Mountain Views
The New York Times Style Magazine, February 19, 2026

Why are there suddenly so many bathing clubs in New York?
Wallpaper*, February 28, 2026

One Last Thing

That’s a wrap! Thousands of you came together for Culture of Bathe-ing, our sauna festival at NYC’s Domino Park, to enjoy an incredible 18 days of enlightening rituals, late-night performances, and collective release in the steam. It’s been a joy to welcome you; watch this space for what we’re planning next.

We’d love to hear from you - please send a DM, or email hello@cultureofbathe-ing.com

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