How does an ozone steam sauna compare with a far infrared sauna on its own?

Far infrared is not the weaker option by default. The studies we rely on are collected on our far infrared studies page, which links on to the sources themselves.

What a standalone far infrared sauna does not give you is steam or ozone. Two things follow from that:

• Steam and dry heat are not interchangeable. Wet heat adds condensation on the skin, which transfers heat far faster than hot air; a dry sauna does the opposite. Our steam studies page sets out that moist heat hydrates and softens skin lipids and conducts heat faster, where dry heat dries the surface and penetrates more slowly.
• In our design, ozone meets the skin in steam rather than dry air. Transdermal ozone uptake has not been quantified.

A note on the physics: far infrared is radiant heating, energy crossing the gap and being absorbed at the skin, rather than convective heating through hot air touching you. ’12 micron’ is the far infrared rating we quote; it names a band, not the emitter’s peak wavelength.

Practically, an infrared sauna has no water bottle, no oxygen concentrator and no ozone to ventilate, and often seats more than one person. If dry heat is your goal, it is the straightforward choice. If you want ozone, our saunas deliver it in steam, and every model in our range carries our 12 micron far infrared rating as well, so you have both.