How often would you recommend using the sauna and steam rooms at my health club? Also, what are your thoughts about using both the steam and sauna on the same day at the club?
Amenities in health clubs are highly sought after extras. Who doesn’t like to dip in the whirlpool or jump into the steam room after a hard workout at the gym? There are two things to keep in mind when enjoying steam rooms and/or saunas:
- First, you will sweat—a lot—so you’ll need to drink a lot of water while you are in the steam room or sauna. That means you’ll want to bring water in with you, otherwise you’ll run the risk of internal dehydration, and that is never a good thing.
- Second: You don’t want your bare face to be exposed to the extreme heat of these amenities. Why not? The capillaries of the face are too fragile to hold up to the heat. They can and will expand (dilate), which causes the potential for breakage. So what do you do? Use a clay mask! I often talk about using clay masks and the need to keep them moist while they are on your face. (You don’t want clay to dry on your face; it dries your skin out.) So, going into a steam room or sauna is actually a great application for using a clay mask. Apply the clay mask, grab your water bottle, and enjoy this relaxing luxury.
It is recommended that you switch from hot to cold when utilizing steam and saunas. Some health clubs supply a cold plunge, which is a small pool of very cold water that you literally plunge into. It’s so cold you really have to force your body in there! If no cold plunge is available, it is advisable after 10 minutes or so of either steam or sauna to then go under a very cold shower to cool off your body. Then you can once again go into the heat, and repeat with cold. You do not, however, want either hot or cold water on your face. If you have applied a clay mask, then you don’t have to worry about it.
I don’t know how often you want to use these amenities. But any more than 3 or 4 times a week seems excessive to me. And don’t do them at all if you are not willing to drink a lot of water during and after steaming/sauna.
A final note: as mentioned above, it would be much better for the skin on your face to be protected from the heat vs. going into a steam room or sauna like the ladies in these two photos—barefaced.
For more information, see:
- Is steam good for my skin?
- Ideas on when & where to do a clay mask
- Water—It’s Important!: all links so far
