Sauna Accessories: 7 Must-Haves, 11 Hits & 3 Dumb Items
If you’re a (soon-to-be) sauna owner, you may have wondered which sauna accessories to get.
Maybe you agree that a sauna bucket, ladle, and thermometer are must-haves, but what about cutesy sauna stones, headrests, ice crystals, and sausage pipes? (Don’t worry, I’ll introduce all these later).
Some people love gadgets and being sold to, whereas others hate being pushed junk they don’t actually need.
Because of this, I categorized all sauna accessories accordingly: the bare minimum every sauna needs, important additions essential to many, fun accessories that enhance the sauna experience but that you can also live without, and finally, things you simply don’t need.
Also, sauna accessories are perfect gifts that sauna owners usually always appreciate. While many don’t buy (beautifully packaged) sauna accessory kits for themselves, they use and enjoy the contents whenever gifted such items.
What Should a Sauna Have: The 3–7 Essential Sauna Accessories
1. Sauna bucket
This is, without a doubt, the most needed item: water is a must for löyly (steam), which sauna is all about.
Whenever you see an American or Canadian on YouTube enjoying their “dry sauna” with no water bucket in sight, you have countless Finns in the comments asking: “Where’s the water?” Yes, a legitimate question indeed!
A traditional sauna bucket (kiulu in Finnish) typically has only one “handle” and is made of wood or metal.
The wooden ones often have a plastic bowl built in: this way you get both the looks and functionality as the wood could rot in the long run without the plastic barrier, or alternatively dry, which causes cracks and makes water leak out.
Pro tip: Even if you prefer lighter colors but plan to use any sauna scents/essential oils, go for a black sauna bucket: sauna scents stain the bucket (and no, even harsh scrubbing won’t get it out), so a black bucket will look the nicest for longest.
2. Ladle
This goes hand in hand with the bucket, which is why these sauna accessories are often sold together. The ladle is made either of metal and wood or entirely out of wood.
With the ladle, only two things matter: that the grip is made of wood so that it won’t burn your hand when you grab it and that the handle is long enough so that you never have your hand on top of the sauna heater when pouring löyly.
3. Thermometer
Even if you happened to belong to the minority that hates gadgets and tech, a thermometer is essential. It offers important information so affordably and often lasting for decades that there’s simply no reason to skimp on getting one.
I’ve been to dozens of saunas but have never been to one without a thermometer. Even old saunas in the countryside all have a thermometer, so it’s always considered a must.
If you’re a minimalist, you can get by with these three things (sauna bucket, ladle, and thermometer) as they are the bare minimum for any real sauna.
Pro tip: Ideally, you should be able to tell the temperature with one glance (without having to stand up let alone walk) even when your thermometer is on the opposite wall from the sauna benches. This will never be the case if the digits are too small and/or too light on a darker background.
In the US, you can find thermometers with only Fahrenheit or Celsius degrees or both. Pick one you understand instantly without having to convert the numbers in your head.
4. Sauna bench towel
This is where we enter the slightly fuzzy area regarding essentiality: items 4–7 are real must-haves for many saunaing people, but I know from experience that many also sauna without them.
Individual seat covers (pefletti in Finnish) or a sauna bench towel (laudeliina), typically made of linen, are what many people swear by. I wrote about this in detail when discussing how to clean a sauna.
I myself came to the conclusion that if I had completely new sauna benches, I would protect them with seat covers and do all the extra laundry. But with my current sauna benches that are over 20 years old, I prefer scrubbing them directly.
(In a public sauna, many consider some kind of seat cover a must. I’m sure you won’t miss one if you’re saunaing in a dry sauna fully clothed in the US, but when sauna bathing for real either naked or in your swimwear, you’ll want to sit on a towel.)
5. Sauna whisk
While a sauna whisk is traditionally and historically a definite must (and many love whisking whenever they have a chance to experience it), the reality is that most people don’t have access to sauna whisks all year round.
When used fresh, a whisk is very seasonal and summery, and has to be self-made. Luckily whisks are also dried (or sometimes even frozen!), which allows them to be sold and used during all the seasons.
A whisk is a wonderful gift too. Especially for a city person who lives far away from birch forests!
6. Bucket for sauna whisk
If you use a whisk, then a separate bucket or bowl filled with water is compulsory: a whisk is always used wet after pouring löyly. That’s how you get the amazing effect: you’re whisking and “hitting” hot and moist air directly to skin.
A dry whisk is brittle and makes a mess.
Löyly water (= sauna bucket) can’t be used for your whisk as it has to be clear and can’t have any leaf debris in it.
7. Footrest
This is something many people don’t think of as one of the essential sauna accessories because it’s automatically included in traditionally designed and built saunas: the guard rail also functions as a footrest that usually at least one person uses when sauna bathing.
This is a deliberate, architectural choice that benefits many people’s sauna experience. It allows you to sit more comfortably.
I personally use the footrest all the time, so we built one in our outdoor sauna as well.
This isn’t necessarily an item you can buy pre-made from the store, but it’s an upgrade you can build yourself.
What to Get Someone with a Sauna? The 11 Popular Sauna Accessories Many Enjoy
1. Special sauna stones
The keyword here is special: regular sauna rocks are never accessories! They’re as important as the sauna heater itself.
The steam stones I’ve introduced previously are perfect examples of special sauna stones. They’re more functional than cute, but there are also purely decorative sauna stones that are for fun and for the looks (examples shown later).
You can see the steam stones in action below:
2. Löyly enhancers
Löyly (steam) is the soul of the sauna, and there are many ways to produce the perfect löyly just for you.
Below we have two examples: the funnel-looking item directs water to rocks in the middle of the sauna heater, below the surface. When the water evaporates, the steam that’s produced is softer and more humid.
What this means is that if you’re one of those people who needs a sauna hat because löyly is too feisty and burns your head/ears, this funnel called Löylynsielu (the soul of löyly) is just what you need. It still allows you to pour löyly regularly as well, so it takes nothing away but lets you customize löyly.
Another way of creating a more humid environment in the sauna is by hanging a nice-looking löyly enhancer from the ceiling and on top of the sauna heater. When you put water and sauna scent into your chosen enhancer (such as a boat or a cup), it gradually drips onto the sauna rocks through a small hole in the bottom.
This way you also get a nice scent and a more cozy atmosphere. Sometimes these löyly enhancers have a spot for a tea candle too, which means they bring light as well.
3. Sauna scents / essential oils
Sauna scents are very popular as they just smell so darn good and make the sauna experience even more enjoyable. The scents are also so natural (100% essential oils) that even people who normally don’t like perfumes like them.
It’s usually only allergic and asthmatic people who want to stay away from sauna scents since they can be irritating to the eyes even when they open the airways.
I’ve been using sauna scents for years. It’s very hard to go back to plain saunaing once you’ve gotten used to incredible scents.
In addition to sauna essential oils there are sauna scents called sauna frost, sauna menthol, and sauna ice. They all mean the same: menthol crystals (made of mint oil) that bring fresh scent, open airways and cool the skin. They’re really potent too, meaning you only need a little.
Such crystals don’t necessarily melt in löyly water, so it’s wisest to place them directly on the sauna rocks (but not on the heating elements as that can make the crystals burn!).
4. Sauna elf
In Finnish folklore, it’s thought a good spirit called the sauna elf lives in the sauna and blesses each and every person who goes to sauna.
Even if you strongly believed in the sauna elf or felt their presence, you don’t need a physical manifestation of it (= to buy anything elf-related), but elves are still loved and considered cute by many. It’s a very popular theme in sauna accessories across the board, and a great gift idea.
If you want a sauna elf, it can be either a sauna stone that’s placed on top of other sauna rocks, sauna sign, sauna scent holder, or part of your thermometer, for instance.
5. Sauna hygrometer
While a thermometer is a must, the same can’t be said for a hygrometer. I only got mine so that I could show the data to my readers.
I’d say an experienced sauna-goer doesn’t need one (you just don’t do anything with the info), but if you’re someone learning to pour löyly, and/or you have previously saunaed (too) dry, a hygrometer can be an interesting tool.
It can show you just how much you can and should pour löyly to reach a certain humidity level.
It’s also a good gift idea because while virtually all sauna-goers have a thermometer, significantly fewer have a hygrometer.
Many people debate about the accuracy of hygrometers, some finding wildly varying readings taken during the same sauna session with different gadgets. In reality, this is not something you should worry about since there’s no “correct” number you should strive for.
6. Headrest / pillows
These sauna accessories are self-explanatory and essential for some: once you’ve gotten used to lying down and having something comfortable under your head/neck, for instance, you no longer want to sauna any other way.
Some headrests can be used as backrests too, and pillows can of course be placed wherever you need them.
What separates sauna pillows from regular ones is the material (a combination of linen and cotton and/or non-combustible fluff) and other properties (lightness, fully machine-washable & dries quickly).
7. Backrest
Like said, some headrests double as backrests, but there are also ergonomic and specifically shaped backrests available.
When going all out, a backrest can cover all the bench walls instead of being for just one person. Even a curved backrest is possible for all sauna-goers and is priced per foot.
8. Sauna cookware
Few sauna accessories emphasize the indulging nature of sauna bathing like sauna cookware does.
Unfortunately, these are also one of the few items where the selection is great in Finland but far less great in North America. As I navigate through both worlds with ease, I could feel my excitement turn into underwhelm when I tried to find these specific items in US stores.
(But I’m sure the selection gets better with time; I’m also open to the idea of selling the best sauna accessories myself, so it’s important to test what people are interested in and what there’s a market for.)
Below we have a sauna (sausage) barrel and a pan, both meant to be hung on top of the sauna heater (so that you can still throw löyly without getting the food wet). The sausage pipe, on the other hand, is placed directly on the sauna rocks.
These sauna accessories really do work and have amazing reviews in Finland, and I’ve also had the pleasure of tasting sauna pan food myself, but there’s one thing I have to make very clear:
You can’t really cook anything (= transform raw foods to cooked meals) on top of the sauna heater; the temperature simply isn’t nearly hot enough, but you absolutely can heat fridge-cold, previously cooked foods and make them delicious, even crispy if you like.
9. Beer holder
These drink coolers featured below are made of soapstone and also include the glasses, so if you’re someone who wants to drink cold beverages already during saunaing, these certainly help.
The cooling effect is achieved by placing the holders in the freezer for a couple hours before saunaing.
10. Sauna honey
While so many items are great sauna accessories for men, sauna honey is definitely more popular among women.
Many don’t get sauna honey for themselves but use and enjoy it when gotten as a gift. Sauna honey isn’t edible but is meant for your skin instead. It’s antibacterial, and makes skin soft and bright.
11. Sauna salt
Sauna salt (featured above) most often means Himalayan salt that cleans the air and relieves allergy symptoms when combined with löyly steam.
It doesn’t irritate the eyes like some essential oils can, so it’s a good alternative that can help you get rid of mucus.
3 Dumb Sauna Accessories
Finally moving on to sauna accessories that I’m sure it’s controversial to call dumb!
But please don’t get offended just yet; even though these items aren’t necessary, and haven’t traditionally and historically been used but instead, are very recent and commercial additions, you can still get and enjoy them. I won’t bash you for it.
1. Sauna hat
I already have a separate article on what a scam sauna hats are, so I’m going to keep this short: even if you do need to cover your head for any reason, a towel wrapped around your head does the job much more effectively and also protects your hair.
I’ve noticed, though, that men specifically prefer hats because a towel can look too feminine for their taste (just think of Chandler in Friends).
Since I know sauna hats aren’t a thing in many saunaing countries like Finland, but some people still buy them and review them highly (even in Finland!), I had to find out what they were saying.
Here’s what I found:
- sauna hat is often a gag gift
- most people wear sauna hats outdoors while they’re in a hot tub during cold weather, not inside the sauna
- some people wear a sauna hat after they’ve washed their hair and have to go outside where it’s cold (= leave their outdoor sauna and walk into the main house)
- sauna hat is the perfect gift for someone who already has everything
Yes, all that confirms my previous thoughts. As sauna hats can look cool or cute or whatever you want, they of course can be appreciated sauna accessories.
It’s only the necessity of them that I challenge.
2. Sauna hourglass timer / sauna clock
When discussing measuring time in any way while saunaing, there is no debate to be had: clocks have no place in a sauna.
Whether it’s an hourglass sand timer or a regular clock, just know that there is nothing authentic about it and that it’s created purely for foreigners that don’t know anything about saunas.
I checked the selection of one of the biggest (online) stores in Finland (Kärkkäinen) and calculated that out of their 554 sauna products zero are sauna clocks.
(They do have 1 China-made hourglass timer, though, with zero reviews, which doesn’t surprise me one bit.)
If you’re still skeptical, just think about it: you’ve only saunaed for four minutes and start to feel nauseous; should you leave the sauna like your body tells you to, or should you stay because your favorite influencer (who isn’t qualified to give any kind of sauna advice in the first place!) said so?
3. Sauna magazine rack
While a clock is totally redundant and ruins the atmosphere in a sauna, a magazine rack is an impossible idea.
Saunas aren’t reading nooks as they’re too dim and more importantly, way too steamy environments for books and magazines to survive intact.
If you wish, consider this one of the few infrared sauna accessories out there; a magazine rack can thrive in a dry and warm booth that’s not a real sauna.
Final Thoughts
I hope this article fully answered your question: “How can I make my sauna more enjoyable?” If the best sauna accessories, such as perfectly customized löyly, wonderful scents, tasty food, and comfort-adding ergonomics don’t make your sauna sessions more enjoyable, I don’t know what will!
The last thing I want to point out is that I noticed some sources listing sauna paints, sauna lights, and even ventilation systems as sauna accessories.
We could of course debate about the connotations of words (that’s actually fun for me as I majored in English), but for now I settle for stating that a cute sauna elf or hat shouldn’t be discussed in the same context as sauna lights.
Ideally, sauna lights, ventilation, and all other structural elements should be planned and thought out when buying or building your sauna, way before comparing buckets and ladles!
