It is enough to imagine a ruddy, healthy village girl for the last doubts about the benefits of bath procedures to disappear. Our ancestors did not have beauty salons, they did not know what a spa was, but they retained good spirits and a flourishing appearance until they were very old. One of the main recipes for their health and beauty was bathing procedures.
Today, not everyone has the opportunity to steam in their own bathhouse, and visiting a public one can be problematic. But many fitness clubs and swimming pools offer a worthy alternative - a sauna. Is it possible to carry out any procedures in a sauna to get the same effect as from visiting a Russian bath? Certainly! The main thing is to approach everything wisely.
Impact on the vessels of the head
Article on the topic We need to take a steam bath! Which “national” bathhouse is the healthiest?
In the steam room, the vessels of the body and head greatly expand. At this moment, jumping into a font or dousing with cold water is especially dangerous: the body suddenly finds itself in a different environment and in just a few seconds the vessels in it narrow, blood rushes to the head, where the vessels remain dilated. The blood literally hits the head. This can lead to disastrous results.
How to avoid . To avoid heat stroke, be sure to cover your head with a felt cap or towel. You need to plunge into the font or douse yourself after the steam room. If you are not accustomed to such procedures, it is better to start with a small contrast.
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If you want to recover after an illness, it is better not to cool down, but to take a hot shower, and then wrap yourself in a warm robe so that sweating continues in the dressing room. It is better to use contrast procedures after the third session, when the body has warmed up properly.
Skin test
A sauna, where the temperature reaches 80–110 degrees and humidity no more than 15%, has a particularly bad effect on the skin. The skin quickly loses moisture.
How to avoid . If you want to look young, go to a Russian steam room. There, the temperature is on average about 60 degrees, and the humidity is about 50. However, take precautions: as soon as red spots appear on the body, stop the procedures, this is a sign of overheating and impaired blood microcirculation. The skin color after the steam room should be even pink.
Visit on a full stomach
One of the most common mistakes is to eat before the steam room.
This habit will bring nothing but problems. High temperatures promote strong juice secretion, which in turn leads to dangerous fermentation processes. This causes heaviness in the gastrointestinal tract and can cause the resumption of inflammatory processes in the intestines and stomach, especially if there is a history of peptic ulcer disease.
High temperatures also trigger the processes of rotting protein foods, which leads to the rapid spread of toxins and waste throughout the body, and in this case the liver will suffer greatly.
Attention! If you plan to go to the bathhouse, on this day before visiting the steam room, it is recommended to completely exclude fish and meat in any form from the diet, especially fried or smoked.
Use of creams and aromatic oils
This mistake is especially common among representatives of the fairer sex. In order to better remove toxins and improve the condition of the skin, all kinds of creams and oils are used. But their use in a bathhouse leads to a completely different effect.
Due to clogged pores, toxins cannot come to the surface through sweat. The result of such vaping will be severe rashes on the skin, which are quite difficult to remove.
Additionally, the body overheats greatly, which can cause heat stroke.
To better remove toxins and improve skin health, scrubs or peelings should be used in the bath. The best option would be to use natural honey or oatmeal based formulations.
You can’t stay in the steam room for a long time
We have heard a lot about the healing properties of the bath. It has a positive effect on the entire body, the skin of the face and body, and also helps to cure even some diseases. But this does not mean at all that the more a person stays in the bathhouse, the more benefits he will receive.
For the first time, you need to go into the sauna for 1-2 minutes, until the first drops of sweat appear on your body. Then, you should go into the steam room and relax for about 10 minutes. Then, you can visit the steam room 2-3 more times, but the stay time each time should not exceed 20 minutes.
You can't come in from the cold
Sudden changes in body temperature are dangerous for the body. This is especially true for mature people. This causes enormous stress for the body, so a stay in the bathhouse can result in loss of consciousness, dizziness, convulsions or a heart attack.
Heating of the body should occur gradually. In winter, before visiting the steam room from the cold, you need to begin to gradually prepare your body by warming up in the dressing room or taking a warm shower for 5-10 minutes. If there is no shower in the bathhouse, then you can warm up the skin by performing an intense massage with a towel, first rolling it into a roller.
Don't raise the temperature
It seems that the bannik is still female, because he cannot tolerate alcohol. Of course, you can increase the temperature in a bathhouse, but only the temperature. It was believed that those who liked to “knock over” in the bathhouse, and more than one at a time, could rip off the skin and... pull it onto the ceiling. However, this superstition has quite understandable explanations. A drunk person can perform such “miracles” in a bathhouse: douse himself with boiling water, fall on hot coals, or even “pass out.” Then, of course, you can say that this is the work of the bannik, but such an explanation will not make the burns hurt any less.
Contrast cooling
The good old tradition of hardening and training blood vessels by diving into a snowdrift after a bath is a mythical recovery and training. In fact, with sudden cooling, the body receives extreme stress and a malfunction of the heart, metabolic processes, and too rapid constriction of blood vessels can occur. You need to train your blood vessels gradually - when doing fitness, no one suddenly switches from a weight of 30 kg to a weight of 150 kg, the same is the case with a bathhouse. After the steam room, you must first douse yourself with warm water, rest a little, then take a shower or slowly lower yourself into a pool with a temperature of at least 18 degrees, then you can go into the shower again and gradually lower the temperature to 5 degrees. A sharp temperature contrast is harmful to blood vessels and the heart.
Staying in the steam room for a long time
Prolonged stay in the bathhouse threatens heatstroke and heart problems. On your first visit, it is recommended to stay inside the steam room for no more than 5-7 minutes.
After this, you need to immediately go to the dressing room, where it is important to rest for the same amount of time as you spent at the high temperature.
The second entry should not last more than 10 minutes. The maximum recommended time spent in the steam room cannot exceed 15 minutes, even for experienced bathhouse attendants. However, you should not enter the steam room more than four times each visit.
Put on clothes immediately
After completing the bath procedures, you need to go to the dressing room and dry yourself well, but you cannot get dressed right away. Ideally, it is best to dry naturally if possible.
Only after this can you start putting on clothes. For the first 10-15 minutes after leaving the steam room, the natural process of sweating continues.
If you put on clothes at this moment, they will instantly become wet, which can cause a cold. In addition, wet clothes easily attract debris and dust, which easily penetrate the skin through open pores after swimming.
Attention! You cannot wear clothes made of synthetic materials after a bath. They accumulate more dirt than natural fabrics. As a result, having cleansed the skin in the steam room and put on synthetics, all the pores will be clogged again, and the skin will not be able to breathe normally. The result is acne and even the appearance of irritation and allergic reactions.
Each person gets a broom
Bath brooms are such a serious attribute that their choice should be approached with special trepidation and excitement. You can knit brooms only during the full moon, and you should consider whether you are plucking twigs from a burnt tree and whether two trunks are growing from the root of this tree. And when you mercilessly break the branches of an oak or birch, constantly pray to the tree for forgiveness. And under no circumstances should you use a broom in the bathhouse after someone else. It is believed that with someone else's broom you will transfer all the ailments, worries and troubles of its owner onto yourself. So everyone who takes a steam bath gets a personal broom!
Don't go to the bathhouse on Monday
Another important bathhouse custom that you should adhere to is to go to the bathhouse only on “bath” days. Previously, Saturday and Thursday were considered as such. God forbid you from visiting the bathhouse on Monday, when the bathhouse reigns supreme there. Going to the bathhouse on Monday will bring nothing but trouble.
If you can’t wait until Thursday or Saturday, you can wash on Tuesday. But not on Monday.
You are not allowed to wash before the session.
If you need to take a shower before visiting the bathhouse, you should do this solely to warm the body. It is not recommended to wash with soap or shower gel. Hygiene products will wash away the top fat layer from the skin, causing sweat to come out of the body worse. Accordingly, the positive effect of visiting the bathhouse will decrease by 2-3 times.
You cannot wash your hair before taking a bath. Through wet hair, the head will heat up more. Unspeakable damage will be caused to both the hair itself and the blood vessels of the head. To prevent this from happening, before visiting the steam room you need to wrap your head in a towel or put on a special cap for visiting the bathhouse.
Don't drink alcohol
It is known that the effects of alcohol on the body in high temperatures can be fatal. The pressure rises, the load on the heart and blood vessels increases, the functioning of the respiratory system worsens, and the passage of nerve impulses that control temperature and pressure in the body is disrupted. Therefore, the consequences can be the most dire. A person not only loses coordination, which can be extremely dangerous when handling a hot heater, steam and hot water, but also exposes himself to the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
In addition, it is believed that the bathhouse cannot stand the smell of alcohol and can become furious if someone, through their arrogance or ignorance, enters the bathhouse after drinking alcohol. In this case, expect trouble - the bannik is unlikely to forgive it. The drinker may be threatened not only by possible health problems, but also by retribution for his stupidity in the form of punishment from the bannik. At best, he will end up with severe burns. In the worst case, the bannik will lead to death, causing a frenzy.
Questions and answers
Can small children go straight to a hot bath?
No. Children should gradually get used to such temperatures. You should start with a cool bath and visit it for just a few minutes.
Why can’t you just open the steam room door to cool down, but you have to go out to the dressing room?
The moisture balance in the bathhouse is so disturbed that in fact it only creates the illusion of a comfortable stay.
Why is using one broom harmful?
Each type of steam broom performs its own function. It is important to open the pores, improve blood circulation, remove toxins, after which the pores are sure to close. This cannot be done with one broom.
Why can't you wash in the bathhouse with soap?
Soap is lye. At high temperatures, it greatly dries out the epidermis, which is especially harmful for sensitive and allergic skin.
Why can’t you drink alcohol after a bath?
A bathhouse is a serious strain on the heart and the entire vascular system. It increases blood flow by dilating blood vessels. Alcohol also promotes blood flow. This enhanced combination can cause a heart attack or stroke. You can drink alcohol only 3-4 hours after visiting the steam room.
Why can't you go to the bathhouse alone?
Even experienced bath attendants can feel ill at high temperatures, especially when drinking alcohol or after eating. Therefore, having company will help avoid possible problems and serious health consequences.
The bathhouse is the best option for relaxing the body, cleansing it and healing it. By avoiding the mistakes described above, you will be able to have a really good rest, as well as improve your psychological and physical condition.
Need to consult a doctor
The presence of any chronic diseases can also be considered a contraindication to visiting the steam room. It is strictly forbidden for people with cancer, vascular, heart diseases, or those with impaired liver and kidney function to stay there. Hypertensive patients should also refrain from such sessions.
Other chronic diseases directly depend on their type and the degree of damage to the body. Even if they seem insignificant, they cannot be ignored. It is imperative that you visit your doctor and consult with him on this issue.
Folk signs: what not to do in the bathhouse
In addition to all of the above, in a Russian bath you cannot use a broom after someone else. The fact is that the broom will carry over the ailments of the one who took the steam bath before you.
According to legend, you cannot go to the bathhouse on Monday. On this day of the week, the bathhouse is completely at the disposal of the bathhouse. Since ancient times, Thursday and Saturday have been considered the best days to visit the steam room. Nowadays, it is customary to come to the bathhouse on Tuesdays. On other days, it is better not to irritate the bannik or disturb him. After visiting the bathhouse, the bathhouse attendant should be left with a broom, a bowl of water and soap. This will appease the owner of the steam room. After all, the bannik could easily scald an unwanted guest with boiling water next time.
For hair beauty
Both dry and wet steam have a beneficial effect on the condition of the hair. This happens because steam increases blood circulation throughout the entire scalp, including in the area of the hair follicles. If you combine thermal procedures with masks or decoctions, you can easily make your hair shiny, strong and healthy.
The most effective addition would be:
- Olive or burdock oil.
- Chicken yolks.
- Gelatin solution.
- Decoctions of herbs (chamomile, nettle, birch and linden leaves, burdock root).
- Juice (or pulp) from aloe leaves.
- Honey.
- Brewer's yeast (this is the official remedy for hair loss).
- Cream, kefir, whey or buttermilk.
- Coffee grounds.
- Peach puree.
All these components combine well with each other, so they can be used in combination.
