1. Heat the sauna to 80–110 °C.
2. Shower first – you should be clean before entering the sauna.
3. Go to sauna naked if it is an option. For hygiene use a small towel to sit on. In a public mixed sex sauna it is polite to wear a swim suit or a towel.
4. Pour water over the stove (kiuas in Finnish) to produce steam (löyly) and further raise the temperature. This applies also to electric saunas and smoke saunas. Sauna is not a sauna without the steam.
5. Whip yourself with a bunch of silver birch leaves (vihta) – dip them in the water bucket and use them to lightly whip yourself over the shoulders and on your legs, it improves blood circulation and stimulates the skin. The aroma of the wet birch leaves is part of the experience. If birch is not available, you can use oak.
6. The classic sauna experience includes a dip in the lake or the sea, returning to the sauna, and then repeating the process. In the winter this can mean ice-swimming, where you plunge into a hole cut into the ice (avanto). Rolling in the snow is an option, if there is no lake at hand.
7. Washing with soap or shampoo is generally part of the sauna routine, usually towards the end of the whole procedure.
8. Enjoy a drink or a meal after sauna. The Finns usually enjoy beer – nice and cold.
