Note: know the differences in who has carbon panels and who has the carbon paper baked ones. Thats the main thing to look out for when buying a carbon panel sauna, or carbon baked panels. The ones that hospitals use to put babies in to incubate them in the far infrared heat would never use the other types.
Some carbon panels are 10 inches and others up to 18 inches on average. Know the width of the panels too, not just how long they are. There are many saunas under 1000 dollars that have very little fluence. To get an idea of the feel of the carbon paper saunas versus the carbon panel saunas, many of the big department stores in almost every state have them. If they have plywood instead of 100% wood, its probably a cheaply made sauna. (see my wood page. Know about the hardness of woods. Cedar can come from the forrest or from a farm that fertilizes the trees and they are weaker woods that can crack in about 8 years.
Note: none of the saunas I will ever recommend have the glues, especially the petroleum based ones. I know that this smell goes away after its new but I still don't like them, even if the smell goes away within a few months.
Also with the carbon panels the temperature that is set can be customized unlike the rods type.You don't want the type that is on 50% of the time because of a crappy thermostat. Also, If I set it to 110 degrees, I expect it to stay at 110 degrees, not 114 or 108. Just like my oven. If I set it to 350 degrees, I don't want it to be at 360.
With the carbon type you can lay right next to the heater and don't have to be tolerant of the position I am in as the heaters don't get too hot and I have to adjust my positions. This is the kind of stuff that no one realizes until they get it and its a big hassle to return it after its all set up and very costly.
Note: the thickness of carbon heaters make one more expensive than another. Some are 1/8 inch thick. Others are thinner and some are even thicker.
Note: The larger the carbon heater is, the cooler the sauna can be. The surface temperature of larger carbon panels stays cooler and doesn't have to be turned on as high to deliver the far infrared. The more cooler it stays the more in the range of 9.4 microns (the body's far infrared) that the body absorbs the most. The larger the heaters the more expensive the sauna is. If you see one model that is 1500 and another that is 2500, it probably has larger heaters, more heaters, and if its a low emf sauna, it can have two of these large size carbon heaters doubled up back to back. Because of the expensive of these, they are usually priced out of most peoples range. I do promote quality heaters that do not have back to back heaters, these will cost much less than the newer 3rd generation type heaters. The new type just came out in 2013 and many people are calling me pissed off that they got the older type and just missed it by a few months. There is nothing I can do about this. I felt the same way when I bought my computer and a 3 months later the new Apple Retina display screen came out on their laptops. I felt like an idiot. I knew I should of waited.
See my heater type page for more information on comparing the types of heaters. Go to page here.
Sauna 5 hour -
Before using a sauna, if not familiar with how to release the waste FIRST, and then removing it second, most people will never use an infrared sauna correctly. The first thing I always do it rebound first and not to get a sweat going. Rarely will sauna therapy work for detox if not doing a 5 hour protocol (rebounding in between sauna sessions), about 90% sauna 10% rebounding. Most people use their sauna maybe 5 nights a week and go in for 30 to 45 minutes. I hate to say this but as much as I like ceramic saunas, this will not work with a ceramic sauna like a Healthmate or Therasauna.
Note: if doing the 5 hour cleanse I urge people to have at least a gallon of liquid, preferably celery juice as lots of salt will be eliminated in the sweat. The 5 hour session will also eliminate a lot of good minerals and vitamins so I also use a good mineral supplement. I like Intramax and Irdesa. They are expensive but the real stuff.
The reason a ceramic sauna will not work because this causes lots of sweating quickly I don’t know anyone that can do 5 hours in a ceramic sauna with 500 degree heaters behind them.
There are some tricks to doing this such as taking niacin. Those that really know sauna therapy usually have lots of experience with this. Niacin can make people itch like hundreds of mosquitos all over them. Histamine releasing into the skin is not fun but it’s something many people have to do to get the toxins out. It can also feel prickly like pins and needles. It is not fun using niacin but I know the benefits outweigh it. Whatever the niacin makes the body release also makes the body feel like crap. So, expecting some funny stuff going on should be expected.
Also, the 5 hour protocol is something I have done every day and skipping a session screws up the results. Yes, it is an everyday thing. For some people they may not be able to do the 5 hour protocol the first time and may have to work up to it. For those that are not going to take short breaks for water or to shower off and cool down, then 4 hours may be ok but 5 is optimal. Most people should find that after 3 to 4 weeks that this protocol did its job.
Many people drag out a sauna detox over years and still never fully detox. This is the only protocol that I have found the most success with. Note: carbon heater saunas are the only saunas that I recommend for this. High heat saunas that get up to 170 degrees should guarantee this protocol will not work in them.
Combo Carbon/Ceramic Heaters
Many people like these as the sauna gets to maximum temperature in 10 minutes to 15 minutes, with 10 minutes on the smaller ones.
NOTICE. WARNING. BEWARE::::
There are some saunas that have carbon heaters that don't get hot enough and some saunas put in rods to make the sauna hotter when actually if the carbon panels got hot enough it wouldn't need rods. The rod/carbon saunas that I approve of only use it to get the broadest range of 7 to 14 microns while most or more common ones have 8 to 10 microns. Most of the big name brand from sauna makers that have been in business for 10 years or more usually have the higher end heaters. Its the name brands that I have never heard of.
Depending on how deep someone wants their sauna's far infrared to penetrate in the body, some only penetrate 1 to 1.5 inches and some even 2 inches deep in to the body. These are things that many people can't just read and know what its like to have that one inch difference. Its kinda like when getting a massage you want them to use more pressure but its just not enough because they aren't strong enough. Having lower fluence carbon panels where the rods are there to make sure the sauna is hot enough is like having.
If you think you would prefer a combo sauna, please review the different types before you buy. Just make sure the rods aren't there to back up an inefficient carbon panel. Any brand that has doubled back to back carbon heaters usually heat up enough and give off a high enough fluence to have no need for rods. But, rods give off what carbon can't give. Each type has their pros and cons. They either go deep into the body or don't have the full spectrum or vice versa. The new trend to back up heaters with 2 heaters together have nearly double the fluence and do get the sauna hot enough. Having 2 high end heaters back to back I don't need to have a rod heater. But, having a rod heater with 2 high end heaters makes sure the full spectrum is always there.
Please take my quiz and I will help pick out a sauna based on the answers you choose.
