Is the Infrared Sauna Trend Actually Safe
2021-12-17
We’re always looking for a new way to detox, especially around this time of year, but with the infrared sauna trend picking up speed (celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow are big fans), we had to find out whether or not it was actually effective, and more importantly, safe.
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The concept itself is not new—Europeans have been using it for years—but it’s really beginning to take off here in the States, with spas, fitness studios and even some doctors’ offices offering the service. Different from your typical sauna, these smaller treatment rooms—some are even high-tech pods that you sit or lay in—use infrared rays to penetrate your skin, causing you to work up a pretty serious sweat, which releases toxins from your body. “The heat pulls out toxins from deep under the skin and exfoliates them through the skin,” says Josie Feria, director of operations at Lapis, The Spa at Fontainebleau in Miami. “These toxins, like mercury, lead, car emissions, tobacco, mold and hundreds of other pollutants, bombard our bodies on a daily basis.”
Eric Martinez, exercise physiologist at Pritikin Longevity Center + Spa, says infrared technology is becoming a very popular treatment. “The idea is similar to applying heat to the body, yet it is controllable to a precise temperature. The infrared sauna and regular sauna have similar benefits—better blood flow, toxin release through sweating, stress relief, muscle relaxtion, quicker recovery from injury, etc—except that the infrared has better precision in controlling the environment.”
Is the Infrared Sauna Trend Actually Safe
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The concept itself is not new—Europeans have been using it for years—but it’s really beginning to take off here in the States, with spas, fitness studios and even some doctors’ offices offering the service. Different from your typical sauna, these smaller treatment rooms—some are even high-tech pods that you sit or lay in—use infrared rays to penetrate your skin, causing you to work up a pretty serious sweat, which releases toxins from your body. “The heat pulls out toxins from deep under the skin and exfoliates them through the skin,” says Josie Feria, director of operations at Lapis, The Spa at Fontainebleau in Miami. “These toxins, like mercury, lead, car emissions, tobacco, mold and hundreds of other pollutants, bombard our bodies on a daily basis.”
Eric Martinez, exercise physiologist at Pritikin Longevity Center + Spa, says infrared technology is becoming a very popular treatment. “The idea is similar to applying heat to the body, yet it is controllable to a precise temperature. The infrared sauna and regular sauna have similar benefits—better blood flow, toxin release through sweating, stress relief, muscle relaxtion, quicker recovery from injury, etc—except that the infrared has better precision in controlling the environment.”
Is the Infrared Sauna Trend Actually Safe
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