Smiling woman with a towel around her shoulders inside a wooden sauna, skin dewy

Does infrared sauna help your skin?

Is an infrared sauna good for your skin?

Possibly, but the best skin evidence is for traditional saunas, not infrared ones. In a 2008 study of 41 adults, regular Finnish sauna users had a more stable skin barrier and better-hydrated outer skin than non-users. No study cited here measured skin in infrared sauna users, and research on infrared heat and skin aging adds a caution.

Part of the Glow Protocol guide. Start here: The Glow Protocol

Five things worth knowing

The one controlled skin study used a traditional Finnish sauna, not an infrared one.
Saunas do not appear to dry out skin. A medical review says so directly.
Sweating may make atopic dermatitis itch more.
Infrared and heat are linked with skin aging in research on sunlight. How that applies to saunas is not known.
Sweat is not a detox route. The kidneys and gut do that work.

What the skin study found

In 2008, researchers published what they described as the first systematic study of sauna and skin physiology. They assessed 41 healthy volunteers aged 20 to 49: a group who used a Finnish sauna regularly and a control group who did not. They measured the skin with instruments, not by eye.

The regular sauna users showed:

A more stable skin barrier.
Higher hydration in the stratum corneum, the outer layer of skin.
Faster recovery of raised water loss and of skin pH after a test exposure of two 15-minute rounds at 80°C (176°F).
Less surface sebum on the forehead.

The authors concluded that the data suggest a protective effect of regular sauna on skin physiology, especially surface pH and the outer layer's ability to hold water.

The limits. The study had 41 people. It was controlled but not randomized: it compared people who already used saunas with people who did not, so other differences between the groups could play a part. The authors called it exploratory. And it was a traditional sauna.

Close-up illustration of the skin's outer layer as flat brick-like cells in mortar, warmed from above, with sweat droplets on the surface — *The skin's outer layer: flat cells held together by lipids, with sweat reaching the surface. Illustration, not to scale.*

Does a sauna dry out your skin?

The evidence says no. A medical review of sauna benefits and risks states that sauna bathing does not cause drying of the skin, and may even benefit people with psoriasis. A study of regular sauna users found higher hydration in the outer skin layer. The exception is atopic dermatitis, where sweating may increase itching.

If you have eczema, psoriasis or any diagnosed skin condition, see a dermatologist before making sauna a habit.

One open question: a major review of sweat physiology says more research is needed on what role sweating itself plays in skin hydration.

Does infrared heat age your skin?

It may contribute, according to research on sunlight. A 2009 review reports that infrared radiation and heat each trigger changes in human skin that add to premature aging, including enzymes that break down the skin's support structure. The review was about sun exposure, not saunas, and it notes that knowledge in this area is limited.

Here is what that review says in more detail. Sunlight contains ultraviolet, visible and infrared light. In direct sun, absorbed infrared turns into heat and skin temperature rises to about 40°C (104°F). The review reports that infrared and heat exposure each:

prompt new blood vessel growth and inflammatory cells in the skin,
induce matrix metalloproteinases, enzymes that disrupt the dermal matrix that keeps skin firm,
alter the skin's structural proteins.

This is the honest counterweight to "infrared sauna for anti-aging" claims. It does not prove that infrared saunas age skin. It does mean the opposite claim, that infrared heat rejuvenates skin, is not supported by the sources cited here.

Infrared sauna is not red light therapy

The two get confused. Infrared saunas use far-infrared radiation, which a review defines as wavelengths of 3 to 100 micrometers, to heat the body. Red light therapy uses red and near-infrared light, and trials describe it as non-thermal. Skin trials of red light do not apply to saunas.

More: Red light vs near-infrared

What about skin tightening, cellulite and "detox"?

Skin tightening and cellulite. None of the studies cited here tested a sauna, infrared or traditional, for skin tightening or cellulite. We cannot point to evidence for either.

Detox. Sweating is often sold as a way to clear toxins through the skin. A review of sweat gland physiology found that sweat plays a minor role in eliminating waste and toxicants compared with the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract. Sweat glands do not adapt to excrete more. The review adds that studies suggesting a bigger role may reflect problems with their methods.

A skin-sensible way to use a sauna

Replace what you sweat out. Full recovery takes more fluid than you lost, plus sodium. See What to drink before and after a sauna.
Skip alcohol. Drinking during sauna use raises the risk of low blood pressure, irregular heart rhythm and sudden death.
Watch how your skin reacts. If itching or redness gets worse, stop and see a dermatologist.
Keep your usual skincare. A sauna does not replace moisturizer or sunscreen.
Check with your doctor first if you have a heart condition, are pregnant or take medication.

Choosing a type: Infrared sauna vs traditional sauna. Using one at home: Sauna blankets.

What a sauna does not do for skin

It has not been shown to treat acne, eczema or rosacea. See a dermatologist for those.
It has not been shown to tighten skin or reduce cellulite.
It does not detox the skin.
Infrared saunas have not been shown to give the skin results seen in traditional sauna users. That study has not been done.

Make it a Glow Protocol

Before. Drink normally through the day so you arrive hydrated.
During. Follow the time and temperature guidance for your sauna, and get out if you feel dizzy or unwell.
After. Replace what you sweated out: more fluid than you lost, with sodium, through food or an electrolyte drink.
Daily. Skin hydration is built every day, not only on session days. That daily layer is Step 0.

H2Glow is Step 0: the hydration layer underneath the routine. It does not make any device work better. See the full Glow Protocol.

Where H2Glow fits

Our brand line is "hydrated skin performs better." We mean the skin's own measurable condition: its water content, barrier and elasticity. Call it Step 0, what is inside the skin before anything goes on it.

H2Glow has 17 actives. Two are aimed at that: 250 mg of sodium hyaluronate and 40 mg of rice phytoceramides. In a separate 12-week trial of 40 adults, 120 mg a day of oral hyaluronic acid improved outer-layer water content, water loss and elasticity against placebo. That trial did not test H2Glow.

The other role is simpler. A sauna makes you sweat, and H2Glow's electrolyte base (300 mg sodium, 200 mg potassium, 150 mg magnesium, 515 mg chloride) helps replace what you lose. H2Glow does not change what a sauna does to your skin.

Frequently asked questions

Are saunas good for your skin?

One controlled study of 41 adults found regular traditional sauna users had a more stable skin barrier and better outer-layer hydration than non-users. It was small and not randomized, so treat it as promising, not settled.

Is infrared sauna good for skin?

It has not been tested for skin the way traditional sauna has. Research on infrared and heat from sunlight links both to changes associated with skin aging, so the claims run ahead of the evidence.

Is a sauna good for dry skin?

A medical review states that sauna bathing does not dry the skin, and regular users had higher outer-layer hydration in one study. It is not a treatment for dry skin.

Is sauna bad for your skin?

For most people the evidence does not suggest so. Sweating may increase itching in atopic dermatitis, and research on sunlight links infrared and heat with skin aging.

Does infrared sauna tighten skin?

None of the studies cited here tested that. We found no evidence in our sources to support the claim.

Does infrared sauna help with cellulite?

None of the studies cited here tested a sauna for cellulite.

Can infrared saunas damage skin?

A 2009 review found infrared radiation and heat each contribute to premature skin aging in research on sun exposure. Whether sauna use does the same has not been established.

Does sweating in a sauna detox your skin?

No. Sweat plays a minor role in removing waste compared with the kidneys and gut.