What to take to a sauna
A short list. Most of what gets sold as sauna equipment is not on it.
A sauna needs very little from you. Two towels, water, something for your feet, and — if the room runs hot — a felt hat. Everything else on this list is comfort for the cooling and rest phases, which is where most first-timers are underprepared.
The essentials
- Two towels. One to sit on inside, one to dry with. Cotton or linen. Never sit directly on the bench.
- Water. You will lose half a litre or more across a session. Drink before and between rounds, not just after.
- Flip-flops or slides. For wet floors between rooms. Off before you step onto the benches.
- A wool felt sauna hat. For dry rooms above about 80°C, this is the one addition that lengthens a comfortable session.
- Swimwear, if the venue requires it — most UK public facilities do.
For the cooling and rest phase
The part people forget. Rest is not the interval between rounds; it is where the session lands.
- A robe or a large dry towel. Being cold and damp afterwards cuts the whole thing short.
- Warm socks and a jumper for UK outdoor saunas in winter. Unglamorous and transformative.
- Something warm to drink if there is a plunge or a cold shower involved.
- A hair tie, if it applies. Wet hair against the neck in the heat is its own small misery.
What you can leave at home
Your phone. Screens do not survive humidity well and neither does the point of being there. Most venues ask you to leave them in the locker anyway.
Jewellery and watches. Metal against skin gets genuinely hot, and heat is hard on watch seals.
Skincare and makeup. Apply nothing before; the pores are open, the heat is high, and most products simply run. Afterwards is different — skin is receptive and moisturiser lands well.
Gym kit. Plastic-based fabric behaves worst in exactly this environment.
Anything sold as a sauna accessory beyond a hat, a whisk and a ladle. The traditional kit list is short because it was arrived at over centuries.
If it is a public sauna in the UK
Bring a pound coin or a card for the locker, and check the venue's rules before you go — textile requirements, whether it is booked in sessions, and whether there is a cold plunge or just showers. Community and mobile saunas often have limited changing space, so arrive ready to change quickly.
First session: sit on a lower bench, plan on eight to twelve minutes, and leave when you want to rather than when the timer says. It is not a test.
Common questions
- What do you need to take to a sauna?
- Two towels (one to sit on, one to dry with), water, flip-flops, swimwear if the venue requires it, and a wool felt hat if the room runs hot. A robe or large towel for the rest phase makes a bigger difference than most people expect.
- Should you drink water in a sauna?
- Drink before and between rounds. A session commonly costs half a litre or more in sweat, and rehydrating steadily is more comfortable than catching up afterwards.
- Can I wear makeup or skincare in a sauna?
- Better to go in with a clean face — most products run in the heat. Afterwards is the useful moment for moisturiser.
- Do I need a sauna hat as a beginner?
- In a dry room above about 80°C it helps immediately, because the air at head height is the hottest in the room and the head is usually what ends a session. In a gentle 60°C cabin the benefit is smaller.
Continue reading
- What to wear in a sauna — venue rules, fabric behaviour and etiquette.
- What actually happens to the body in a sauna — what the heat is doing while you sit there.
- The sauna hat: a UK buying guide — how to choose one, and what to pay.
The shortest useful kit list has one object we thought was worth remaking properly.