I’ve been a big fan of infrared saunas for a while now. I just love the way I feel after each session – I’m relaxed, yet more energized and my skin has this beautiful glow. It’s not always easy to find time and resources to regularly go to the spa that offers infrared sauna sessions though. That’s why I started looking at other options – portable saunas that you can use at your own home. Since we live in an apartment, buying the conventional home sauna was not an option for me. Then I stumbled across the coolest device ever – Far Infrared Sauna Blanket. It’s a fantastic space saver and it gives me the wonderful benefits of the regular infrared sauna while chilling on my own couch.
This is not a sponsored review which means I am not being paid or compensated for writing this post in any way.
How does it work?
Infrared sauna blankets use far infrared technology (FIR) by emitting electromagnetic wave of non-visible light to penetrate the body on a deep level. As the infrared rays generated by the device copy the rays that are naturally radiating from the sun the heat created this way is easily absorbed by the tissues without any dangerous side effects. This radiant heat penetrates the skin at depths of 1 ½” to 4″. It speeds up your metabolism and therefor it helps breaking up fat cells and gently releases toxic waste from your system refreshing the whole body. Another nice thing about it is that since the heat is created by the light it is very cheap to use – meaning no crazy power bills for using it frequently.
Health & Beauty Benefits
- Increases metabolism and helps with a weight loss
As most of FIR sauna blanket manufacturers claim, using the device for 10 min corresponds to 30 min of a typical cardio exercise like jogging. That means you can burn 500-700 calories in one 45-60min session. Obviously it is not meant to be used as a total replacement for regular exercises as your body simply needs the movement but it is definitely a great addition to a healthy lifestyle. I get the fastest results in toning my body with my sauna blanket when I incorporate some sort of wrap to my session (seaweed, charcoal, clay, coffee grains etc.) and jump start my sauna blanket session with some exercising (even 10 min will do) – that’s because my body is already in a “burning mode”. - Relaxes muscles
I love the relaxing effect that each session gives me. But it’s not only about feeling emotionally or mentally relaxed. FIR sauna blanket actually relaxes muscles so they recover much faster after an intense physical activity. Do you know this feeling when you’re all sore from doing something physically active? Or being stiffed from sitting for too long or feeling all tense from the stress? Using the blanket in this kind of moments is like taking your body to a different dimension, a Relax-Land. Also, it eases the menstrual cramps beautifully. - Speeds up healing process (Cold, Flu-like symptoms etc.)
It significantly cuts the recovery time from a cold, flu etc. This is something I found out on my own by accident when I was sick. I was shaking from the fever, coughing and had a really bad and painful sinus infection. I instinctively wrapped myself in my infrared blanket instinctively seeking for a relieve from the chills and it felt unbelievably amazing. After a 45 min long session I sweat out all my sickness, went straight to bed and the next day I woke up feeling like a million dollars. After that first discovery I tested it again and again on a several different people and it worked every time. It may not always be an exactly one day recovery but it definitely speeds up the healing process a lot. - Increases Blood Circulation
Good blood flow is super important for keeping your body healthy. Infrared sauna blanket increases blood circulation which reduces inflammation and swelling, improves the brain function, energizes the whole body, restores the proper heart function etc. It also has a fantastic effect on the appearance of the skin. There was a noticeable difference after a few sessions – my skin looked younger and had a nice glow – I’m assuming it’s a result of many factors – mostly increased blood flow and a detox. - Eliminates Toxins
The heat created by far infrared light rays penetrates your body up to 4 inches which eliminates the toxins from your body on many different levels. It stimulates kidneys and liver to eliminate toxins stored in the organs, due to increased metabolism it helps releasing toxins from fat cells and it helps you get rid of the toxins simply through sweating – similarly to the regular saunas. As a result the immune system improves and the body becomes much stronger.
- Reduces Cellulite and promotes healthy skin
This may be my favorite benefit of infrared sauna blanket. Ever since I got mine last year I’ve been using it frequently (once every 2-3 of days) and I love how smooth and firm my skin has become. My tip – if you want to get rid of cellulite really fast with FIR blanket get yourself some plastic sheets or a plastic wrap and take your mini home spa treatment to the next level with a detoxing wrap. What works the best for me is a solid mixture of coffee grains and a green tea. Or you can make it super fancy and follow my recipe for a detoxing anti-cellulite wrap. You’ll be surprised by the amazing results!
Do your research, not all FIR blankets are the same!
I got my infrared sauna blanket as a present from my husband. He did a lot of research before getting me one and I’m incredibly grateful for that. I loved it so much that I decided to buy one for my grandparents to help with their health conditions (high blood pressure and arthritis). Unfortunately it turned out that they don’t make the European version of my blanket (anybody who travels to Europe frequently knows the pain of burned adapters, overheating electronics etc.) so I ordered one that was around the same price range as mine and seemed like a decent product. My whole family loved it but it wasn’t until a couple of months later that I went to Poland to visit my family and had a chance to personally test it. Oh boy, what a disappointment! The blanket I bought for them was much thiner and therefor the heating couldn’t be evenly distributed like it is in my blanket. On the highest setting it was either way too hot to stand it or not hot enough and it kept changing every minute or so trying to maintain the temperature. It worked for my grandparents because as they use it for health benefits they don’t turn the temperature up too high. I mainly use it for the benefits of a sauna – relax, detox, smooth skin etc. so that was not exactly what I expected. I still wanted to fully test it so I used it for a month the same way I use mine and I can’t say it didn’t work – my skin kept the “sauna glow” and it was kind of nice to use it in cold winter evenings. But it certainly was not as relaxing as using my own blanket because of the constant temperature changes and I definitely couldn’t turn up the temperature too high while doing the body wrap. Bottom line – the thicker the better, do your research.
Final thoughts
Is infrared sauna blanket a substitute of a conventional infrared sauna? I wouldn’t say that. I still like exposing my body to a visible healing light emitted by most of the regular infrared saunas. But there is definitely still a lot of the benefits you can get from it including a wonderful detoxing and body toning effect. I still go to a salon once in a while to enjoy the conventional infrared sauna but there is something I really love about using my infrared sauna blanket at home. It’s like nourishing myself with a little bit of a quality Me-Time. It’s like the instant reset button on an everyday stressful lifestyle.
