Can the sauna be improved?

A sauna is a pleasure — and there are a few things which can intensify the experience. One, apparently, is the use of a birch switch.

Ouch. A switch made of twigs brings punishment to mind. But this whisk-er is not bare whippy twigs — it’s made of soft leaves.

In English, it’s also called a whisk or whisker (which sounds less harsh to me!). Finns in western Finland say vihta while in eastern Finland, it’s a vasta.

 

Those who use a vihta/vasta say it stimulates the blood circulating near the skin. Some find it speeds up perspiration, others say it helps the dirt come out of the open pores, cleaning the skin like nothing else. It is said to feel akin to scrubbing or massaging. Another plus — its birchy aroma.

When I first researched for my book, the Finnish Sauna Society said that a sauna bath without a birch whisk is like food without salt. Since then, they’ve eased up — now they say:

Some people like it very much to increase the pleasure of sauna session by beating themselves with birch whisks and some don’t. Just to respect others privacy and opinion, in some of the saunas birch whisks are not allowed. Generally speaking the whisk is an essential part of the Finnish sauna tradition. The birch whisks’ smell and effect on one’s skin and body are well accepted in saunas all over the country.

Once a person’s skin is thoroughly softened from a round of löyly (which, you may have forgotten, is the Finnish word for “sauna steam”), true sauna fans — or is that fanatics? — use a whisk to swat themselves, either gently or briskly, from head to foot.

Sigh. Did I say for sure I would do this?

Of course more research will be needed. Stay tuned...

Nikki