How to pick a heater type based on the health goals and/or current state of health
Carbon
A person's current state of health: They are more hydrophobic. They don’t sweat very easily. They don’t like sweating and mostly just get damp if it’s hot out. They are overburdened with toxins and feel tired often because of it. After being out in the sun or in hot temperatures or in a bath they feel wiped out afterwards and probably go lay down for a while. They wake up in the morning very tired and have a hard time “waking up”.
Health goal:
Relax and de-stress after a long day. They may do some light stretching in the sauna or read a favorite book recommended by Oprah’s book club. They hate living in a cold climate and love warming up their body temperature a bit then being able to relax into a more restful sleep. They want to take their time recovering their immune system by detoxing over several years.
Ceramic:
Current state of health: They can easily sweat and have no challenges with staying well hydrated ie. Hydrophilic. Their elimination organs (lymphatic system, liver, kidneys, colon) are working well and can handle the huge amount of toxins that are being released from the cells during the infrared radiation process. They are making sure to stay active by doing some sort of movement or light exercise everyday if using the sauna several times a week.
Goal: Detox toxins out of cells especially fat cells. Weight loss through shrinking fat cells. Stimulate lymphocytes/immune system. Lower blood pressure. Reduce major pain and inflammation in the body.
Also, I don't just go by overall wattage output of the sauna. Many saunas are built with higher wattage heaters, but with only a few of them. This cuts back on the cost of parts and influences overall performance. Low wattage, more heaters is the main goal, followed by quality of heaters. (wider panels are the ones that usually have the lowest wattage (200 watt heaters).
Ceramic Heater Notice: (Healthmate sauna, Hi Tech, Therasauna, Saunacore, Heavenly Heat sauna)
The saunas with more heaters and less wattage per heater may have less fluence per heater but with more surface area of heating elements can produce more far infrared isolate emissions. Some saunas have rods that have high wattage concentrated into a thin rod. Some ceramic heaters (Therasauna, Heavenly Heat) have ceramic plates. The saunacore has nearly double the heaters of the average 1-2 person ceramic sauna but has the least wattage per heater I have used. For those wanting a sauna for Detox, I prefer more heaters and less wattage if trying to go for the lower temperatures. The higher wattage heaters produce more heat and gives it a more traditional feel. The Healthmate Sauna goes up to around 170 degrees. When detoxing, I never go above 120 degrees.
Note: Jacuzzi sauna is the only sauna that has carbon with ceramic infused. This is the only exception to carbon heaters that I typically do not promote for anyone unless they are not using it for detox. Those that study lipolysis will understand why certain saunas have isolate rays that reach to subcutaneous fat and not just penetrate the dermis and epidermis layers of the skin.
