Jessica E.
Yelp
I just did the infrared sauna.
Short review: not having a shower completely ruins the experience. Would not recommend based on that alone. (BTW, I had been told they had showers).
Long review: I think the health benefits may be legit, but the Clean Market doesn't execute this well.
I was led to the room and was given a super speedy intro even though I told them it was my first time. They told me it was preprogrammed, so I didn't need to use the touchscreen control panel in the sauna; that there was a hookup for my phone to play music; to take my clothes off and sit on the provided towel and not directly on the wood; to towel down using other towels afterwards; and to step out and drink some water if I needed to. With one final instruction to hit the call button on the wall if I needed help, she darted out.
First, I made the mistake of not rushing to get into the sauna; by the time I got in, I saw that time had already started. If it started immediately, that's messed up because I'm paying for that time. If it gave me a setup time that was limited, I should have been told.
Instead, I took the time to use a provided face wipe to wipe off the little makeup I had on (makeup+sweat=bad) and try to figure out the colored lighting system. There was a one-pager explaining the colors and how to change them, which can only be done outside the sauna. Through trial and error I discovered that I felt better with some colors than with others, and that the auto setting changes them too quickly to impact my mood or anything. I then read through the other one-pager to make sure there wasn't anything I shouldn't do that had been left out of the brief explanation I received.
So I finally got into the sauna. The audio hookup didn't work; my phone registered the connection and charged, but it wouldn't go through the sauna's speakers. I let it just play through its own speakers after closing the box to keep it safe from the heat, which was fine until I took it out to change playlists and realized it was super hot. I tossed it out of the sauna immediately, then felt tortured by the silence and resorted to playing it just loudly enough to hear in the sauna but hopefully not loudly enough for others to hear it.
The heat was immediately relaxing. It was a similar sensation to tanning. I felt relaxed, energized, and like I wanted to just lay back and find my zen.
Except I couldn't. Because the sauna was the smallest one the manufacturer makes. I'm 5'5", and I couldn't find a single way to orient myself that felt comfortable. I also wasn't sure what I could and couldn't lean up against; they had said to sit on the towel and not to just be on the wood, so I wasn't sure what was safe or acceptable. If I had my feet on the ground, I had no back support. If I had my feet on the seat (on top of the towel), I felt cramped. I'm not someone who gets claustrophobic, but this made me feel trapped. What's more terrifying is that they stick two people in the same size of sauna!
I had booked a 60 minute session. I don't think 30 minutes would have been enough, but 60 minutes felt way too long since I couldn't sprawl out. With about 20 minutes left, I started to really sweat. I took 3-4 very short breaks to grab water/deal with my phone that lasted maybe 10-15 seconds. The heat wasn't really that bad; it was the cramped space that made it unenjoyable. For reference, the sauna was about half the size of the ones in promo videos for competitor HigherDOSE.
Finally, time ended. I refused to get out before the end of my slot because I'm competitive and didn't want to waste the money. I hopped out, wrapped a towel around myself, and pressed the call button. The employee responded quickly and knocked. I opened the door and asked where the showers were. There were none. I closed the door and just stood there. Your body doesn't stop sweating when you hop out; it's still trying to cool down, so you still sweat. I resorted to pouring some remaining water on the washcloth and using that to wipe down before using the dry towel to towel off, but it was not enough. Putting my clothes on felt like Ross in the episode where he wears leather pants on a date and can't pull them back up: I was so sweaty that everything stuck to me, and I didn't want to put anything on. I also realized there wasn't anywhere to put the towels, so I awkwardly left them on the fake mini tree trunk stool, where they promptly tumbled to the ground. That made me realize that since there was no hamper, everyone must throw them on the ground, which is just gross.
So do I think infrared saunas work? I definitely felt better after, so maybe. Do I think I will go back? No. The execution of the concept was terrible, and made what should have been a relaxing experience stressful for much of the 60 minutes.
