At Sarah Rizzo Skin Spa & Boutique, saunas offer clients the greatest return on their investment because of the disease-preventing, long-term benefits and immediate results.
Long-term, sauna use is shown to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, which reduces cardiovascular disease, cancer and even degenerative diseases such as dementia, states Dr. Melissa Young, at the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine.
Oxidative stress, from environmental toxins, poor diet, excessive alcohol consumption, occurs when there are too many free radicals in the body and too few antioxidants to neutralize them. Over time, the imbalance leads to cell damage, inflammation and disease.
Within minutes of sitting in an infrared sauna though, blood vessels widen and blood flow increases. The body’s heart rate increases. “What’s happening mimics exercise when you think of the physiology,” Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Young explains. “There’s a benefit to that.” The physical response to an infrared sauna session is the equivalent of walking at a moderate pace, which the Cleveland Clinic describes as increasing heart rate by 50% to 60% than its rate when you’re at rest.
Infrared saunas use infrared light, which heats the body's tissues without significantly heating the surrounding air. Traditional Finnish saunas, by contrast, heat the air in the sauna room using a stove or electric heater and are considerably hotter than modern infrared saunas that operate between 120°F to 140°F. Without the stifling humidity of traditional saunas, users can tolerate infrared saunas longer while heat penetrate the skin more deeply than traditional steam saunas, explains Spa Owner Sarah Rizzo.
At Sarah Rizzo Skin Spa & Boutique, she says, clients in their seventies and eighties use the sauna for sore joints; some clients use the sauna post-work out for muscle recovery. Clients use it to treat seasonal affective disorder and improve sleep. Others are there for skin issues, such as acne, psoriasis, eczema.
There is a powerful effect on the immune system, Sarah points out. Because infrared heat raises the body's core temperature, it induces an artificial fever, which is the body's immune response to neutralize bacterial or viral infections. With regular use, infrared heat activates and strengthens the immune system as it increases core body temperature and activates heat shock proteins, explains Dr. Will Cole, a Pennsylvania-based functional medicine expert. These benefits can help fight off infections like COVID-19, he states.
But people also feel an improvement in mental health, mental clarity and their immune system, she says. “You’re getting your blood flowing; you’re getting your heart rate up,” Sarah says.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel, but I think in today’s society, where people are so quick to grab a pill. Let’s allow our body to heal itself from within with these modern saunas,” Sarah says. “If we focus on maintaining good health, instead of waiting for a problem to happen, we use these preventative ways to keep our bodies going strong and long.”
By investing in sauna service, she says, clients are maximizing the effectiveness of other services. In addition to infrared sauna therapy, Sarah Rizzo Skin Spa & Boutique offers facials, massage therapy, body treatments, scrubs and wraps. Massage, she says, is more effective after the sauna when muscles are loosened. Scrubs, wraps and facials too penetrate better after the sauna.
"Let's maintain good health instead of waiting for a problem..."