Why I Needed My Own Sauna
When I first started FasciaBlasting, I didn’t use a heat source. I just did it in the shower, with the water turned off during blasting. I also didn’t get results. (Not a coincidence.) I started FasciaBlasting at the dry sauna at my gym and BOOM… results!
But also. BOOM… complaints! Despite the fact that many other users of the women-only sauna were mostly just curious about what I was doing and why, some people didn’t like it. They felt like it disturbed the peace of the sauna. Although no gym members ever said anything to me, gym staff came in the sauna and asked me to stop. I did. That day, anyway.😉
I started going really early in the morning to avoid sharing the sauna with anyone. I started avoiding high traffic times, like Saturdays. And hiding my FasciaBlasters under a towel while entering the sauna to not attract attention. I had a strategy.
I think I managed to go undetected for another month or so. Until one Saturday, I slept in a little and ran into an evil woman who asked me if the gym staff had asked me to stop in the past. I knew it immediately- it was her! The complainer! Shoot. Busted.
This time the LA Fitness manager came into the sauna and told me I would never be allowed to return to the gym if I was caught even one more time. Now, I’m kind of a gym rat. That location is only a 3 minute bike ride from my house. So, I really, really didn’t want to get banned from what is basically my second home.
I needed to figure out another way.
Sauna Studio Options
I looked into “sauna studios” in LA, which are studios that offer access to private saunas (usually Far Infrared saunas) like this one and this one. But these were very expensive. They cost about $70-90 per session. One had a monthly unlimited plan for close to $300 per month. I didn’t want a recurring expense and preferred something in my home for ease of use.
Far Infrared Sauna?
I did a lot of research on far infrared saunas like this one. A lot of people who FasciaBlast use them. I was trying to figure out a way to fit one on my covered back porch.
The advantages to this would be that it would be my own enclosed heat source for FasciaBlasting. They’re not supposed to feel as hot as electric sauna’s, because Far Infrared does less to heat the air.
I was a little concerned there wouldn’t be enough space to FasciaBlast my 6-foot tall body inside a little “2-person” far infrared sauna (read: really 1 person capacity). Especially because some FasciaBlasters I use are kind of long, like the Big Daddy, which is 27″.
It seemed kind of permanent if I didn’t like it. Not to mention expensive (a little over $1K). I also wasn’t clear on what the energy consumption would be. So, I was already getting turned off about it.
By the way, if you want to hear what other FasciaBlasting enthusiasts say about their own saunas, be sure to search the FasciaBlaster Facebook Group for Women for “infrared sauna.” There are a lot of posts of people answering questions about their experience with them.
It’s actually one of these posts that sent me down the path that worked for me. A woman posted that after purchasing a Far Infrared Sauna, she realized the health benefits of Near Infrared and replaced all the bulbs in her sauna with Near Infrared. All you need to nab me is a good health benefit, so I started researching the advantages of Near-Infrared vs Far Infrared.
Near Infrared Sauna Benefits
Near infrared penetrates up to 5mm beneath the skin. The 810-830nm range has been studied extensively for its effects on ATP production, the molecule necessary for our cells to function. Most of its unique health benefits come from this ability.
These benefits include stimulating collagen production and circulation, (which is good for joints and cartilage), speeds up wound healing, reduces pain and inflammation, enhances muscle recovery,
By contrast, Far Infrared mentioned aboves mainly absorbed by the water within our bodies and for that reason penetrates only 0.1mm beneath the skin [R]. There were less studies about its health benefits and the ones I did find were for issues I didn’t have, like reducing arrythmias and arthritis.
The best part? Near Infrared is a fancy name for a heat lamp. The kind they sell at Home Depot for $10 each! It seemed too good to be true. But over two years later, I’m still happy.
Stay tuned next week for my detailed account of how I made my DIY Home Near Infrared Sauna.
Some of my Favorite FasciaBlaster Tools:
