Every self-respecting bathhouse attendant should know how to properly prepare steam in a bathhouse. It will not be possible to learn it the first time, since this matter requires a certain skill. Much depends on the type of steam room, the individual temperature tolerance and humidity of each steamer. In addition, the room itself must be prepared accordingly.
The benefits of aromatic steam in a bath
A person visits a bathhouse not only to wash away dirt from the body. He goes there for his health. Our ancestors brewed medicinal herbs and plants growing in their area in baths. Their infusions were splashed onto the hot stones and the fragrant aroma filled the steam room. This steam was used mainly to treat colds.
Modern bath attendants have a wider range of aromatherapy products. They can be selected to achieve a therapeutic effect, disease prevention or cosmetic purposes.
Using aromatherapy in a bath:
Fight dandruff and cellulite.
Strengthens hair roots.
Relieves skin irritation and muscle tension.
They put the nervous system in order.
Increases body tone, etc.
In order for aromatherapy to be beneficial, it is necessary to create the right steam in the bathhouse. This means that it is necessary to achieve a certain humidity and concentration of useful substances in it that can affect the human body. There are at least 4 reasons for aromatizing the air in a bathhouse.
She helps:
Relieve stress.
Unload the central nervous system.
Prepare the body for sleep.
Increase vitality.
Odors have individual effects on the human body. This feature must be taken into account when choosing a suitable aroma for steam. Finding it may take some time.
The benefits of a sauna
Visiting a sauna helps reduce the negative effects of stress, restore the body and remove toxins. Recommended for improving blood circulation. It is also worth paying attention to the promotion of weight loss - during one stay in it you can burn up to 300 calories. The tradition of creating this type of premises in homes is slowly beginning to develop in Russia. Depending on the temperature and humidity level, there are different types of saunas. The most popular are dry and wet sauna.
Making the right pair
The easiest way is to use the water remaining after steaming the broom to saturate the air in the bathhouse with useful substances.
The air saturated with it:
- clears the airways;
- will improve the functioning of the lungs and cardiovascular system.
You can spray the water remaining after steaming the brooms not only on hot stones, but also on the walls, ceiling, canopy and floor of the steam room. When spraying it on stones, you must ensure that the water does not flood them. Excessive air humidity in the bathhouse makes breathing very difficult.
Expert opinion
Lovkachev Boris Petrovich
Bath master who knows everything about steaming
The right steam should burn a person’s breath under the ceiling of the bathhouse and be gentle in the canopy area.
In Ancient Rus', it was practiced to sprinkle beer or kvass on hot stones. This tradition has survived to this day. If these drinks are not diluted before spraying in the steam room, the steam will be very heavy. They are poured on stones in small quantities.
It is strictly not recommended to pour dry powders onto the heater or pour highly concentrated essential oils. This provokes a headache.
The traditional smells of a bathhouse are bread and honey aromas. Air saturated with the smell of garlic copes well with colds and viral diseases. This park is not for everybody, but it is very useful.
Recipes for herbal steaming for baths
Specialized online stores and pharmacies offer customers a wide range of dry herbs and their mixtures that can be used to aromatize the air in a steam room. You can make them yourself. The preparation of medicinal herbs is carried out in dry weather as they ripen.
Dry the plants in the shade. Dried herbs are crushed, mixed and placed in canvas bags, in which they are then steamed in a bathhouse. The duration of steaming herbs is 15-20 minutes. A small amount of the prepared infusion is poured over hot stones.
The tea is calming, immunostimulating, and improves memory.
The mixture includes:
- 1 tbsp. spoon of wormwood;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of currant leaves;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of mint.
This amount of ingredients is calculated for 5 liters of boiling water. The air saturated with the vapors of this collection smooths out wrinkles, relaxes muscles and relieves fatigue.
Steaming improves skin condition, strengthens hair and joints
The dry mixture is prepared from sweet clover, meadowsweet and cinquefoil rhizomes. Take 2 tablespoons of them for steaming. Steam the mixture with 5 liters of boiling water.
The vapors of the mixture effectively cope with inflammatory processes of the upper respiratory tract, cartilage tissue and pain in the spine.
Tonic parka
The mixture is prepared from dried flowers of tansy, bison and poplar buds.
Take them in 2 tbsp. spoons and pour 5 liters of boiling water.
To enhance the tonic effect, you can add 2 tbsp to the composition. spoons of dried lavender and jasmine flowers.
Steaming to strengthen the immune system
Prepared from several dry or fresh horseradish leaves.
They are poured with hot water in a bucket and left to steep for 30 minutes.
Gradual increase in air temperature and humidity
It is important not to overheat the oven. For the firebox, 3 types of firewood are taken:
- pine;
- aspen;
- birch
Pine firewood is rich in resins. They allow the stove to heat up, but leave a lot of soot inside the chimneys. Aspen ones will provide little heat and will burn out quickly, but they will clean the chimney perfectly. Birch gives off a lot of heat to the stove and burns longer than pine and aspen.
A fresh or dry broom is soaked in hot water for 15-20 minutes before use. Source rys-les.ru
Herbal cocktails
These compositions differ from infusions and steamings in their increased concentration and complex composition. Approximately 100 grams of herbal cocktail are taken in a bowl of hot water. If infusions of this type come into contact with hot stones in excess, the air in the steam room may acquire a burning smell.
Cocktails are poured onto the stones alternately with clean water or a broom is dipped in them and sprinkled throughout the steam room.
Antiseptic cocktail
The composition includes equal quantities of eucalyptus, mint, sage and thyme. Herbal cocktail vapors are often used to disinfect steam rooms. In combination with heat, they kill all pathogenic microbes in the respiratory organs and on human skin. The antiseptic effect after the bath lasts for a long time.
Calming cocktail “Dreams”
It is prepared in equal parts from oregano, birch buds, thyme and fresh spruce. This cocktail is not recommended for heavy smokers and hypertensive patients. It can dramatically worsen their physical condition.
Toning cocktail “Three heroes”
Prepared from:
- 1 tbsp. spoons of poplar buds;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of tansy flowers;
- 1 tbsp. spoons of bison leaves.
The vapor from the cocktail quickly improves a person’s well-being.
Essential oils
In the bath, essential oils are not used in concentrated form.
They are diluted in water. Beginners are not recommended to stay in a steam room filled with air and saturated essential oils for more than 5 minutes. Gradually this time is increased. The solution with essential oils is sprayed with a broom over the steam room, but not on the hot stones. You can quickly saturate the air with their vapors by placing a container with the solution next to the stove. It is not recommended to visit a bathhouse with essential oils more than once a week.
Before diluting the essential oil in water, mix it with honey or sea salt.
Dilute concentrated aromatic products in 1 liter of clean water. Add 4 tbsp to this amount. spoons of honey or 5 tbsp. spoons of sea salt and 10 drops of essential oil.
Most popular scents:
Bergamot steam
Used to cleanse the skin of acne.
Lavender steam
Reduces anxiety and promotes sound sleep.
Steam with oregano
It is recommended to use it in the bath for people suffering from intestinal and stomach diseases.
Clove steam
Has a strong antiseptic effect.
Juniper steam
Relieves puffiness and swelling.
Mustard steam
It alleviates a person’s condition during colds, intensively removes toxins from the body, and stimulates blood flow.
How to steam properly together?
- The person being parried lies on his stomach with his arms extended along his body. The steamer strokes him several times with a broom from his feet to his head. In the opposite direction, the broom is led first along one side, then along the other.
- The steamer grabs hot air from the steam cake with a broom, lowers the broom onto the lower back of the person being steamed, and presses it with his hand for 2-3 seconds. This is a compress .
- The steamer whips the steamer with the lower part of the broom, first in different directions on the back, then the lower back, pelvis, calves and feet. Quilting takes 1-2 minutes and ends with intense stroking.
- Then the steamer proceeds to whipping : he grabs hot air and whips it with a broom all over the body. Every few whippings you can apply a compress;
- Then fanning - after a slight wave of the broom, the steamer lightly touches the body of the person being steamed with it and passes several times from feet to head from different sides.
- The steaming is completed by rubbing : one hand holds the broom by the handle, the second rubs the entire body through the leaves of the broom.
Steaming bath brooms
Brooms are prepared for the bath from various types of plants. Each of them has its own beneficial properties and has a specific effect on the human body.
Oak brooms contain a large amount of tannins. Once in the air, they actively affect human skin, relieving it of pustular wounds and relieving the feet from excessive sweating.
Coniferous brooms are steamed specifically to aromatize the air in the steam room. This helps get rid of various inflammatory processes, relieve difficulty breathing and get rid of wounds and ulcers on the body.
A couple of infusions of birch and rowan brooms rejuvenate the skin. Birch steam is especially useful for smokers. It cleanses the human lungs well.
Advice from experienced sauna lovers
Recipe from Olympic boxing champion V. Safronov
A teaspoon of pre-fried mustard is diluted in a bowl of water. It is splashed onto the hot stones. Mustard steam is used to fight the flu.
Recipe from hockey player Anatoly Firsov
Watermelon or melon juice is mixed with water and sprinkled over the heater. Fruit steam perfectly softens the skin, making it soft and elastic.
Question answer
How to get light steam in a sauna?
Before lighting the bathhouse, it is well ventilated. The stove is heated with dry birch or aspen wood. The stones are heated to a temperature of 350°C. Herbal infusions are sprinkled on the walls of the steam room.
Are there any restrictions on aromatizing steam in a sauna?
A steam room with scented air is not recommended for people suffering from epilepsy, bronchial asthma, ischemia, acute infectious diseases, angina pectoris and allergies.
Can tea tree essential oil be used in a bath?
Tea tree essential oil is used in saunas to aromatize steam to fight germs and viruses. It is considered the most powerful tool in the fight against them.
What plants can be used to create disinfecting steam in a steam room that is safe for humans?
Rowan has strong disinfecting properties. Its scent will help quickly restore vitality.
What kind of steam can best invigorate you in a bath?
Bergamot has good invigorating properties. You can enhance its effect by adding a little coffee to its infusion.
Recommendations for increasing heat in a steam room
If your goal is to have a good steam bath, then you need to prepare for this process in advance. It all starts with firewood. The heat will be uniform if you choose the right raw materials. There is no need to take firewood that is too small or large; it is recommended to choose medium-sized firewood. How to choose the right size for a specific oven? The calculation is always made based on the dimensions of the furnace.
It is important to keep the top flap open at all times. Air will enter the oven and help ignite the flame. When this happens, it is recommended to open the lower damper completely or only slightly open it. This will help ensure good air draft and the flame will flare up very quickly. When guests are receiving treatments, this damper can be closed to reduce heat consumption.
