October 25, 2022
November 25, 2022
Johannes
10
min read
An Extensive Guide
*Disclaimer: The written article is based on a summary of existing literature on the topic of infrared saunas. The article is for educational purposes and the information provided below cannot be taken as a promise to help with acute health problems or diseases.
20 scientific references back the claims in the article. All references are numbered. You can access the text of the reference by clicking on the number.
In this blog post I will talk about infrared sauna wood choices. These choices include cedar, hemlock, basswood, and other frequently used types. I’ll also consider the benefits and downsides of each wood type and tell you why building materials are used the way they are.
But first up, let’s start with a definition:
But let’s start with a definition:
In British English, there’s a difference between the words “timber”, “lumber”, and “wood”. The Cambridge dictionary - a quintessential British development - defines the words as such:
So, in Britain, wood that’s intentionally grown for building purposes (like saunas) is called timber. In the US, that same wood is called “lumber”. I will use the former term in this blog post. And, now that this definitional issue has gotten out of the way, let’s explore the different wood types in the next section:
I get it. You’re reading people saying online that “cedar wood is the best sauna wood type” or that “there’s no need to overpay for sauna wood, just use inexpensive materials”. Both statements are oversimplifying and misleading, unfortunately.
So, in the next section, I’m giving you a crash course about the sauna wood type market. First, I’ll have to explain to you why sauna wood types matter. So, in a way, I’m creating a sauna wood type customer guide first. That way, you can later understand why some wood choices are better than others, depending on your unique situation.
So let’s explore different factors that help you determine why you would want one wood type rather than another:
So, hopefully I’ve convinced you now that the sauna wood type matters a lot, not only in the short term but especially in the long term as well. Many woods are simply not great choices for making saunas, because they don’t retain their aesthetic appeal or cannot deal with temperature fluctuations over time. For that reason, I’ll explore different wood types in the next section and tell you why they might be a good or not so good choice:
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In this section, I will look at twelve different types of wood for infrared sauna options. I’ll also identify the best wood for infrared sauna choices that you may want to consider, and their benefits and downsides.
Let’s start exploring:
Aspen is a subspecies of popular (8). The species is mostly found in northern Eurasia. Aspen is now often intentionally cultivated for timber for many different purposes, including as a basis for building saunas.
Aspen is a much more expensive timber type that gives your sauna a very luxurious feeling. The wood type also has a high hardness, at 240 kilograms on the Janka hardness scale, which is about 50% higher than other common wood types like Canadian cedar.
And, the best part about aspen is that it’s hypoallergenic. Aspen saunas generally don’t emit much if any smell and don’t contain inherent toxins, making it the perfect choice for people with chronic health conditions or allergies.
Also, because aspen is naturally knot-free - unlike some other wood types - it’s structurally very sound. The prohibitive costs are a frequent issue for many people though.
This timber type is called “American basswood” or “American Linden” (9). And, true to its namesake, it’s found mainly in the USA - the northeath of the USA specifically. The wood is cultivated in the USA for different purposes, not just for infrared saunas but also for furniture and other goals.
Generally, basswood has a light color. For that reason, basswood is often sold under the name of “white wood” as well. The hardness of basswood is lower than that of popular but slightly higher than that of cedar. And, generally, basswood is odorless, meaning that it’s hypoallergenic.
The structural integrity of basswood is great, splitting, warping and bending, ensuring that your infrared sauna stays beautiful over time. Also, fortunately, basswood is more affordable than popular, making it an excellent infrared sauna wood type.
Due to this combination of factors and its presence in the USA, our USA Clearlight Infrared Sauna counterpart uses basswood as their main hypoallergenic option.
“European spruce” or “Nordic Spruce” was originally found in different parts of Europe (10). Contrary to its name though, it’s only found in part of Norway but almost in the entirety of Sweden, Finland, Western Russia, and in small parts of Central Europe. Nowadays, however, spruce has been introduced into most of Northern Europe.
This proximal availability makes spruce one of the choices of our British Clearlight Infrared Saunas. Specifically, our Essential Collection of far infrared saunas use spruce.
Just like basswood, spruce has a lighter colour. Spruce is also strong and has structural integrity, making it a perfect choice for a long-lasting sauna. For that very easy, we offer lifetime warranty on infrared saunas for residential purposes, including the ones built with Nordic spruce. Spruce is also easy to clean, making it an excellent all-round infrared sauna wood type choice.
Lastly, just like the cedarwood that I’ll cover soon, spruce has an extremely pleasant and beautiful aroma (11; 12). These compounds are biologically active and somewhat akin to using essential oils in your sauna.
Not all cedarwood is created equal. In this blog post, I’m mainly considering the “Western red cedar (13). That cedarwood is mainly found in the Canadian west - hence its name. And, Western red cedar can be considered the “queen” of infrared sauna timber and in a way the best infrared sauna wood type.
Why? Here’s an analogy:
In the same way a luxurious sports car impresses your senses, the same is true for a Western red cedar wood infrared sauna. The aesthetic appeal and distinctive smell are truly unparalleled. And, additionally, cedarwood is structurally sound and lasting so that you can enjoy the experience for a lifetime. According to many experts, cedarwood is the longest-lasting sauna timber type.
For that reason, Western red cedar is our main choice for many of our sauna types, including our full-spectrum saunas, Premier far infrared saunas, and our outdoor saunas. You will immediately distinguish the colour of this Western red cedar by its reddish nut-like appearance that’s very different from its lighter whitish counterparts.
And, just like most people love the smell of a new car, cedarwood gives you a similar experience. Because it releases essential oils into the air, you’ll always be met with the very meditative and calming cedarwood sensation. People frequently use cedarwood essential oils for the very same reason, sometimes even inside a sauna.
And, your sauna will remain beautiful with cedar, due to its natural antibacterial and anti mould properties. Cedar wood is also insect repellent, which is yet another factor improving its durability. Next up, let’s consider another popular sauna wood type:
Different types of hemlock exist (14). And, not all types of hemlock are ideal timbers for an infrared sauna. The hemlock we’re talking about today, called “Eastern hemlock” or “Canadian hemlock”, originates from the eastern USA - contrary to its name.
Opinions differ on whether hemlock is really hypoallergenic. If you really want to be safe, then options like aspen or basswood are generally better options. Hemlock has even built its classical potential for toxicity due to it being the poison of choice of the Athenian people to kill the philosopher Socrates in antiquity.
Overall, the structural integrity of this wood type is great though. The colour is white-ish and is easy to maintain. And, best, hemlock isn’t expensive, making it a frequently used choice as an infrared sauna wood type.
Different types of alder exist, such as black alder or common alder (15). Black alder is found in most of Europe, except for the most northern and southern extremities. And, contrary to many of the sauna wood types, it has a darker, more nutty appearance. Overall, the structural integrity of this wood is quite decent as well. The hardness of this wood type, moreover, is one of the highest that I consider in this blog post, at ~270 kilograms.
One downside of this wood type is that it’s more prone to be affected by insects and pests. Therefore, if you wish ultimate durability, alder might not be your prime option. Some sources disagree about this property, though.
Another downside is that for people who have pollen allergy, alder might be a suboptimal choice. The typical smell of alder is similar to that of hay, in fact, which many people love but people with pollen allergies will naturally dislike. Alder is cheap though, making it a frequent choice for non-premium sauna companies.
Next up:
Tulip tree - also called “magnolia” - is another wood that’s sourced from North America (16). However, it’s easy to remember due to its tulip name because of the flowers it creates. The wood type has a dark golden colour that gives this wood type a luxurious appearance.
Tulip tree doesn’t have great durability as it’s not resistant to decay and doesn’t fare well when exposed to humidity. Opinions differ about this quality though, but overall, we wouldn’t recommend using Tulip Tree as your primary sauna wood type as other more reliable options are available. You can still use magnolia for some parts of a sauna though, such as the exterior paneling that doesn’t heat up so much, and bring the cost of a sauna down.
Next up:
Scots or Balic Pine is spread through the middle of Europe all the way to almost the Eastern end of Asia (17). As the name already suggests, this is the classical pine tree. While it was found in the UK and Western Europe as well, it went extinct but has later been re-introduced to this area. Different types of Pinus sylvestris exist, all of which have different properties for building saunas.
And, just like you remember the smell of your Christmas tree, building a sauna with Pinus sylvestris will expose you to a similar experience. And, as the Scots pine has a natural smell, it means you’re being exposed to the essential oils and other compounds that are subsumed in the air during a sauna session.
For some people, those biologically active compounds are a benefit, while for others, it’s a downside. Obviously, if you’re allergic to pine or have an intolerance, you’ll have a problem here, but in other cases, it’s a wonderful experience. In the natural health and wellness space, pine is not only used as an essential oil but also as a supplement for countering skin problems, lowering inflammation, and impeding breathing problems. You’ll receive some of these benefits through aromatherapy in a Scots Pine sauna.
The look of this infrared sauna wood type is also wonderful but it’s structurally less sound. The problem with the pine is the heavy knotting of this wood. The durability of the wood is good overall though, so there’s a tradeoff here. But, due to the structural integrity because of knotting, I wouldn’t recommend this wood type.
Next up:
Just like the previous pine sauna wood type, eucalyptus also has aromatherapy properties that many are aware of. I’ve written an extensive blog post about the meditative properties of eucalyptus oil for aromatherapy inside a sauna in the past.
By selecting an eucalyptus wood type, you’re naturally exposing yourself to these properties, although the experience will be a lot more intense with essential oils because the wood itself doesn’t have a very strong smell (18;19). For that reason, eucalyptus can be a decent choice if you’re allergic or intolerant, although more neutral options like popular are even better.
Overall, eucalyptus also has great durability, not great risk for pests, mold, and rot. Eucalyptus also has great structural integrity and lasts well when exposed to the elements such as heat and water, although it fares less well with cold temperatures. Most eucalyptus is found around the Australian continent though, limiting its natural adaptation greatly within the sauna industry. Eucalyptus is also relatively expensive, limiting its adaptability even further.
“Douglas fir” is yet another pine, but unlike the previous Scots Pine, Douglas fir originates from the eastern USA, not Eurasia (20). Different types of Douglas fir exist. And, centuries ago, this wood was used for its aromatherapy qualities.
Nonetheless, when used in a sauna, Douglas fir has no natural scent - like popular. The durability of this wood type is also wonderful. The downside, however, is that from an aesthetical standpoint, you can easily damage the wood, so you’ll have to be careful not to dent the wood with any blunt or sharp objects. Many people do love the way Douglas fir looks though, so overall this infrared sauna wood type is wonderful if it’s available to you.
Lastly, you might have one more question about saunas - “why not use other materials?”
The answer to this question is simple: wood has low thermal conductivity, meaning you can sit against it without burning your buttocks or back. And, wood is also very pleasing, making it an excellent material for saunas for that matter.
Just imagine if you were sitting against metal that’s hot - you’d not like the experience. From an aesthetic standpoint, the same is true. And, other materials like plastics will off-gas toxic chemicals into the air if they’re heated up, countering the reason you have an infrared sauna in the first place.
Lastly, if you source a wood locally, it’s often possible to get a reasonably high-quality sauna wood type for a great price. So overall, wood is an excellent choice for looking and performing good during your sauna visits while not costing too much.
And, with that being said, let’s conclude:
No matter what option you choose, whether it’s an infrared sauna cedar option or from basswood, each wood type has its benefits and downsides. There’s thus no universally best wood for sauna - all depends on your requirements, budget, and so forth.
And, the question “why are saunas made of wood” is very simple to answer: wood is affordable, often durable, and structurally integer, making it ideal for constructing a sauna in your house. Of course, what kind of wood is used in a sauna all depends on you. For the infrared saunas we sell in the UK, Nordic Spruce and Canadian Red Cedar are the options we offer because of their extremely good benefit to downside profile.
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