The skin is the largest and most important organ of our body and keeping it healthy should be an important part of everyone’s healthcare routine. The skin is exposed to the environment and is most susceptible to external conditions such as weather, injuries and products we use and all these factors play a key role in how quickly our skin reflects signs of aging.
However, there are several things that you can do as part of your regular skincare routine to reduce the signs of aging. Today, skincare has gone completely high tech, LED masks, micro-needling tools and cryotherapy treatments have flooded the market. And, the latest addition to keeping your skin young and radiant looking is infrared sauna therapy.
Celebrities like Selena Gomez, Gwyneth Paltrow swear by the health and beauty benefits of infrared sauna therapy, claiming that just a 30-minute infrared sauna session can leave you with a glowing and youthful complexion.
While we all are aware of the health benefits of infrared sauna therapy like muscle recovery, detoxification and reduced inflammation; however, you would be quite surprised to know that sauna therapy is great for your skin too. In fact, the inflammation reduction, detoxification and recovery impact your skin health too.
According to a study by the National Center for Biotechnology, it was revealed that infrared sauna therapy is associated with overall health, improved skin hydration and enhanced complexion. Infrared sauna therapy is different from traditional sauna because they make use of lamps that emit infrared rays to heat up your body directly.
In an infrared sauna setup, infrared heating panels are used to produce heat that penetrates the body tissue. And, infrared saunas are very effective because they work on two important aspects of skin health i.e. circulation and detoxification.
Role of Circulation and Detoxification on Skin Health
Circulation
Our skin cells begin to age quickly when there is no proper blood circulation in the body. This results in your skin becoming very dull, dry and fatigued. Infrared sauna therapy enhances blood circulation and can help to improve your overall skin quality.
The infrared sauna produces heat that penetrates the body and deeply enhances the blood flow. This ensures that every cell of your body gets oxygen and essential nutrients. As a result of the skin getting a boost of blood, the skin gets a more vibrant, healthier and glowing look, while you feel completely rejuvenated and refreshed.
Detoxification
In an infrared sauna, the heat that is emitted by the infrared lamps has the capability of penetrating the innermost layers of your skin. The deep penetrating heat helps to heat up the body core and makes you sweat from inside. This helps to release all the toxins trapped in the skin and also flushes out the toxins from inside the body.
Other Infrared Sauna Skin Benefits
Improvement in Skin Appearance
According to a study in The Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy, after 12 weeks of sauna therapy making use of far infrared technology, participants experienced significant improvement in their skin appearance. The participants saw a reduction in crow’s feet and wrinkles and also an improvement in their overall skin tone, which was softer, smoother, clearer, elastic and firmer.
Reduce Acne
Not only can infrared sauna therapy help to improve the appearance of the skin in case of acne scarring, but it can also help to reduce the occurrence of acne. Typically, acne is caused when the oil builds up on the skin and if you have oily skin, then it can result in constant acne breakouts.
The infrared heat from the infrared sauna penetrates the skin and helps to clean out the clogged pores. And, after your sauna therapy session, washing your face thoroughly ensures that the pores do not get clogged up again, thus ensuring a clearer and healthier skin.
Skin Tone and Texture
Elastin and collagen that are present in the skin are extremely important for healthy skin. A study to understand the impact of infrared therapy on elastin and collagen revealed that both these increased when exposed to infrared. All the participants in the study reported improved skin color, skin texture and reduced roughness of the skin.
In conclusion, we have now understood how infrared sauna therapy can benefit your skin by detoxification and rejuvenation. The infrared heat accelerates cellular activity and also increases circulation by penetrating into the skin deeply, helping to rejuvenate the skin.
The infrared heat causes you to sweat, which helps to purge the toxins, dirt and oil from your skin and unclogs the pores, resulting in lesser breakouts and a smoother, younger and glowing complexion.
When you’re using infrared sauna therapy for skincare, you must also remember the aftercare. The heat from the infrared sauna opens the pores on your skin, which is excellent for detoxification; however, if you don’t wash away the sweat, the pores can get clogged up again. So, make sure that you wash your face after the sauna session with cold water and apply moisturizer to your skin. Ensure that you drink plenty of water to stay hydrated after sweating out in the sauna.
Infrared sauna sessions are great for youthful, glowing skin without any harmful side effects. And, in turn, it can help to increase your overall quality of living, well-being and confidence.
