For a Nordic or Baltic sauna you need little: a linen cover to sit on, a large towel, a robe or wrap for cooling breaks, and water to drink. A Finnish-style sauna usually runs at about 70 to 100 °C, steam comes from water thrown on hot stones, and hot rounds alternate with cooling off.
How does a traditional sauna session work?
A traditional session is a rhythm of heat and cooling repeated two to four times: sit in the heat until you have had enough, cool down in cold water or fresh air, rest, then go back in. There is no fixed timer; most rounds last somewhere between five and fifteen minutes, and the body sets the pace.
The room itself is dry until someone ladles water onto the stones. The rising wave of steam is called löyly in Finnish and leil in Estonian, and it is the heart of the experience: the air feels hotter and the skin starts to sweat properly. Higher benches are hotter, so newcomers often start on the lower one.
Drink water between rounds, and skip alcohol before and during the sauna. Anyone who is pregnant or has a heart condition should ask a doctor before using a hot sauna.
How do sauna traditions differ in Finland, Estonia and Sweden?
The core is shared across the region, but each country has its own emphasis: Finland treats the sauna as everyday life, Estonia keeps a strong smoke sauna tradition, and Sweden's bastu is often part of swimming, lakes and the sea.
Finland. There are an estimated three million saunas in a country of around 5.6 million people, in homes, apartment blocks, summer cottages and public bathhouses. Finnish sauna culture was added to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020.
Estonia. The smoke sauna tradition of Võromaa, in the southeast, was inscribed on the same UNESCO list in 2014. A smoke sauna has no chimney: the stove is heated for hours, the smoke is let out, and the soft, even heat that remains is used for bathing.
Sweden. The bastu is found at public baths, sports halls, lakes and seaside cold bath houses, where a hot round is followed by a dip in the sea, even in winter.
Latvia and Lithuania. The pirts and the pirtis follow a similar rhythm of heat, whisk and cold water, often with herbs and long, unhurried sessions.
What is the sauna whisk, and how is it used?
The sauna whisk is a bundle of leafy birch branches used to lightly tap and brush the skin in the heat, which warms it further and releases a fresh birch scent. It is called vihta or vasta in Finnish, viht in Estonian, bastukvast in Swedish and vanta in Lithuanian.
Fresh whisks are traditionally tied from Midsummer into July, once the birch leaves are fully grown, and many are dried or frozen for winter. A dried whisk is soaked in warm water before use so the leaves soften. Some people use oak or juniper instead of birch.
What is the etiquette in a shared sauna?
In a shared sauna, shower before entering, sit on a towel or seat cover, keep your voice low, and ask before adding steam. Beyond that, follow house rules on clothing and mixed bathing.
Nudity. In Finland and Estonia, single-sex and family saunas are usually used without clothes. Mixed public saunas tend to ask for a towel, a wrap or swimwear.
The bench. Sit on something of your own. It is hygienic, and the wood can be very hot.
The steam. Löyly is shared. Ask the room before ladling water, and add it a little at a time.
The mood. Many treat the sauna as a quiet place. Talk softly, and leave phones outside.
What should you bring to the sauna?
Bring something to sit on, something to dry with, something to wrap up in between rounds, and water. Here is why each matters, and which material handles heat and moisture best.
A seat cover or small towel. It keeps the bench hygienic and protects you from hot wood. Linen works well because it dries fast between rounds.
A large towel, 70 × 140 cm or more. This is for drying off after the final rinse, in linen or a linen and cotton waffle.
A robe, wrap or sauna skirt. It covers you during cooling breaks outdoors. Linen or waffle weave stays light even when wet.
A water bottle. The body loses fluid through sweat every round, so any reusable bottle will do.
Clean, loose clothes. Change into them once the body has cooled; breathable linen or cotton is most comfortable.
The linen sauna seat cover from KOOSdisain is 38 × 38 cm, double sided and made in Estonia. For drying off, the textured grey linen towel is 80 × 148 cm, a bath sheet size. The full range of linen and waffle towels, wraps and covers is in the sauna and bath collection, and linen vs cotton towels compares how each absorbs and dries.
What should you wear before and after the sauna?
Between rounds and after the last one, wear a robe that breathes and does not hold moisture against the skin, then change into light, loose clothes once your body has cooled. Linen and linen-cotton waffle suit this well because they stay light when damp and dry quickly on a hook.
The unisex linen bathrobe in black herringbone is 100% linen with a 130 cm back length, prewashed and made in Estonia. All robes are in the bathrobes collection, and linen vs cotton bathrobe explains which suits the sauna and which suits a slow morning. For the hour after, a linen set from loungewear and sleepwear lets the body finish cooling without clinging.
In Finland especially, Midsummer and the sauna belong together; the traditions of that night are in Midsummer traditions and gifts, and why linen suits the warm months is in linen in summer.
