It’s time to dispel some of the myths and misconceptions about saunas and skin health. While you might think initially that putting the body under heat-induced stress may produce negative results, the reality for your skin is quite the opposite.
Is A Sauna Good For Your Skin?
Saunas have been proven extremely beneficial to the health of the skin, particularly infrared saunas due to the way in which the body transforms infrared light into an enzyme beneath the skin.
This reaction provides the body with chemicals and energy to both regenerate and invigorate skin cells.
Steam rooms or traditional saunas are not able to create this reaction, which is why infrared saunas are more beneficial when it comes to skin health.
Dr. Raleigh Duncan explains that “like red or near-infrared light comes into the mitochondrion of the cell and converts that into ATP, or energy… this the currency of the cell.”
Duncan continues to explain that “it’s kind of like a fountain of youth turning light into energy. As we age, the problem that we come up with is that our cells are not as vibrant, and they don’t have the energy. By giving them the injection of more ATP, it’s like a fountain of youth.”
In simplistic terms, infrared saunas are extremely good for your skin due to the fact that infrared light penetrates underneath the skin, and the subsequent reaction in your body produces all types of goodness for your skin cells and their ability to regenerate.