Which is better: a Russian bath, a Finnish sauna or a Turkish hammam?

Russian bath

Russian bath culture has long traditions, many of which are still preserved. A traditional Russian bathhouse consists of three rooms:

Dressing room - here they change clothes, leave their clothes, and also relax between visits to the steam room.
Washroom - a room intended for washing.
A steam room is usually a small room in which a high temperature is maintained. Also in the steam room there are always hot stones on which water is poured to produce steam.

In the old days, the bathhouse was heated “black-way”. This means that the stove was not equipped with a chimney, and the smoke was released through doors or a special hole in the wall. Such baths were heated with birch firewood. Over time, the walls and ceiling became black from the tar contained in the birch. Birch tar effectively fights bacteria and is still used to treat skin diseases today. It is believed that it was thanks to such baths that the Russian lands avoided the plague epidemics that arose in Europe in the Middle Ages.

Despite its name, the black bathhouse is a very sterile place. In the old days they gave birth and treated people.

The “white-way” sauna is a more modern option. In it, smoke is removed from the room using a chimney. In such a bathhouse, as a rule, a brick or stone stove is used, on which stones are placed to produce steam. It is also equipped with a tank for warming water, which is used for washing. This bathhouse is much simpler and more pleasant to use.

Which is better: a Russian bath, a Finnish sauna or a Turkish hammam?

Each nation has its own healing procedures, thanks to which a person feels a surge of strength and energy. For the Finns it is a sauna, for the Turks it is a hammam, and for the Russians it is a bathhouse. Despite the fact that there are many similarities in their design and operating principle, there are also differences.

Bath structure: similarities and differences

Finnish sauna. A wooden structure with a steam room and a place for water treatments. The main feature of the sauna is dry steam. The temperature here is very high: from 100 to 120 ºС, and the humidity is low - up to 15%.
The Turkish hammam is a stone structure with many rooms and utility rooms. There is a changing room, a shower room and a central hall with separate rooms. There is a boiler with water under the floor or in the wall. Steam flows through pipes from the boiler, heating the entire structure to a temperature of 45 ºС, humidity about 80-90%.
Russian bathhouse is a wooden room with a steam room, a swimming pool and a place to relax. The temperature in the bath is 50-70 ºС, humidity is 50-70%.

Features of the effect on the body

From a physiological point of view, the sensations in each of the baths differ in many ways.

The high temperatures of a Finnish sauna are more easily tolerated due to the dry air. Any healthy person can steam for a long time without feeling any discomfort. The sweat immediately evaporates, and the body remains completely dry.
In the hammam the temperatures are much lower, but the humidity is very high. Moisture condenses on all surfaces, including the human body.
A Russian bath is a cross between a sauna and a hammam. Temperatures and humidity here are average, sweat is intense and flows through the body.

Technical details

To achieve the required temperature and humidity range, each case has its own design features.

To achieve high temperatures, a powerful stove is built in the sauna, around which a metal casing is installed, leaving a distance between it and the body of the stove itself. Cold air is sucked into the gap from below, rising upward, heating up, and then spreading from above throughout the steam room. This type of heating is called convection.
The principle of the hammam is fundamentally different from the sauna and Russian bath. A steam generator is used here (a vat of boiling water heated to 100 °C). Steam is supplied through pipes, warming the room. The floor, walls and even stone beds heat up, and from them the air.
A Russian bath requires steam. Here you cannot do without active combustion and hot stones. The air is heated by the stove. However, the steam room should not be allowed to overheat. Permissible temperature is about 40-60 °C. A brick oven is perfect for this purpose. The stones laid in the firebox heat up quickly, but the stove itself heats up much more slowly due to the high heat capacity of the brick.
In order to save money, they also install metal stoves, which are more suitable for a sauna, but for a Russian bath they need minor alterations. It should be remembered that only stoves in which the heater is closed and located inside the stove can be remodeled. There are two ways to reduce the heat transfer from the walls: the firebox inside the furnace is lined with refractory bricks;
the oven is closed from the outside with a brick screen.

Types of massage treatments in the bathhouse and hammam

In addition to water procedures that cleanse the body and have a beneficial effect on the entire body, massage brings great benefits.

The Turkish hammam has special sun beds and full-time massage therapists.
In a Russian bath, the main massage tool is a birch or oak broom. In addition to the mechanical effect, the broom releases a lot of microelements and phytoncides from the bark and leaves.

It's hard to say which bath is better. It all depends on individual preferences. The main thing is the benefits that bath procedures bring, health and the pleasure received. You can choose a bathhouse that is suitable for you by contacting specialists who will advise on the construction and operation of each type. All that remains is to choose and arrange the most suitable type of steam room.

How to go to the bathhouse

For any Russian, going to the bathhouse is a special ritual that begins with collecting the necessary things and ends with drinking tea.

What to remember when visiting a bathhouse

The temperature in the steam room is very high - approximately +70 - +80°C, so you need to remove all metal jewelry and do not wear clothes with metal elements.
If you have any illnesses, even a slight fever, you should stop vaping; doctors do not recommend it. For chronic diseases, you should consult a specialist.
If you feel unwell or dizzy, leave the steam room and rest. Don't overestimate your capabilities.
Since the bathhouse is a place for washing, do not forget to take everything you need with you: a towel (preferably two), cleaning products, a washcloth, etc. All other bath attributes - brooms, ladles and caps to protect the head, etc., as a rule, are provided by the owner of the bathhouse.
It is customary to visit a private bath without clothes. In this case, men and women take turns going to the bathhouse. In public baths, they wrap themselves in a towel or use swimming trunks or a swimsuit.

Bath procedures

Entering the steam room for the first time should not be stressful for the body. First, warm up in a warm dressing room or take a hot shower if you are in a public bath (after this you need to dry yourself with a towel).

Upon entering the steam room, you should adapt to the temperature. Relax, lie down for a while on a wooden shelf.

When the body warms up and relaxes, you can start steaming with a broom. A broom is a mandatory bath attribute. The owner of the bathhouse prepares the brooms. To do this, he cuts off young and easily bendable tree branches, ties them tightly and leaves them to dry. The classic Russian broom is made from birch, but other tree species are also used, such as oak and linden.

The broom should be soaked in very hot water for 10-15 minutes in advance. After this you can start vaping. Since steaming yourself is not very convenient, you can ask another person to do it. According to the rules of bath etiquette, you can make such a request even to a stranger, and he will not refuse you.

Steaming with a broom does not mean simply hitting each other with it. Like a massage, this process should not cause pain, but relax the body and relieve muscle tension.

You can use the standard scheme - you need to start with light pats, moving from the back to the legs. Next, increasing the force of the blows, you should repeat the procedure several times.

You should not stay in the steam room for more than 10-15 minutes. After leaving, you need to cool your body with cold water. You can pour it from a basin, swim in a pool or pond. In winter you can wipe yourself off with snow and swim in an ice hole. The main thing is not to be afraid; it is almost impossible to become hypothermic in this situation. Immersion in cold water brings unforgettable pleasure and relaxation. If you wish, you can simply sit in a cooler waiting room and talk with friends.

Visiting the steam room and water procedures can be repeated 3-4 times. The last visit should be calm and relaxing. After this, you can move on to the last stage – washing.

After visiting the bathhouse, it is customary to have tea and a light dinner.

What is better - hammam or sauna?

A modern person, spoiled by the benefits of civilization, can hardly imagine a time when Thursday in our country was called “ washing day

"in the afternoon, and the whole family went together to swim in a public bathhouse. In the city today you can hear about this only from people of the older generation, but village residents still enjoy washing collectively, the old fashioned way - with steam, a birch broom and the inevitable diving into an ice hole.

And this happens not at all due to the lack of running water or economy, but rather out of love for the ritual itself, the roots of which go back to ancient times. This tradition is widespread in different countries. In Turkey, for example, people also don’t mind taking a steam bath and go to the hammam for this. Residents of Scandinavian countries visit saunas, which, by the way, are also popular here. True, this fashionable word is most often associated with the so-called “dry” steam, which is not always true.

Fundamental differences or distant similarities?

The main feature of the Turkish bath is the unique microclimate created in it, achieved by heating water (not stones!) in a huge cauldron. At a moderate temperature, which in the modern version does not exceed 55 degrees, the humidity in the hammam reaches 100%, but at the same time it is soft and easily perceived by humans.

Since such temperature conditions make it impossible for steam to form, it is supplied using special pressure systems, and its maintenance is facilitated by heating the marble loungers, floors and walls. The design of a classic hammam resembles an open palm, where steam rooms with different temperatures are fanned out like fingers. A prerequisite for a hammam is a luxurious interior, and an indispensable procedure is massage.

As for the sauna, the situation here often looks quite confusing. It is generally accepted that a real Finnish sauna is low humidity, not exceeding 10%, and a temperature reaching 120 degrees. In contrast, the Russian steam room provides for air heating to 65 degrees, and humidity at 20-30%. In fact, the modern method of heating in these two options is not much different: in both cases, steam formation occurs due to the contact of water with hot stones. And how dry or, conversely, wet it will be depends on the design of the stove and the frequency of wetting.

Problem of choice? Listen to yourself!

When deciding for yourself the question of what is better - a damp, soft hammam or a hot sauna, you should proceed from purely subjective factors. Many people, often women and the elderly, do not tolerate too hot air , so they prefer a hammam that is gentle in its microclimatic characteristics. Men, on the contrary, shout with delight something like “turn up the heat!”, frantically whip themselves with birch brooms, and prefer an ice hole to a cool pool.

In any case, despite the great benefits of a bath, sauna or hammam, you should not abuse high temperatures for those who :

heart problems,
tendency to hypertension or its presence,
various infectious skin lesions,
bronchial asthma and other chronic or acute processes in the body.

But for preventive purposes, visiting steam rooms is very useful, because they have the most beneficial effect on the muscular, bronchopulmonary and cardiovascular systems, stimulate metabolism and help cleanse the body of toxins.

Finnish bath (sauna)

The original Finnish sauna is practically an analogue of the Russian bath, but its modern version is quite different. Today, the Finnish sauna has become an attribute of swimming pools and various sports complexes. As an independent structure in which you can not only warm up, but also wash, it is not so widespread (except in Finland itself, where the sauna is a national symbol; there are 2 million saunas for 5 million inhabitants).

The main difference between a sauna and a Russian bath is the much drier air in the steam room. In such a sauna you can sweat thoroughly and then plunge into cool water. Also from Finland came the tradition of using bathhouse caps. They are made from natural materials that do not react to heat and protect the head from high temperatures.

Turkish bath (hammam)

Turkey has also developed a special bath culture, which, however, is very different from Russian or Finnish. For residents of the East, the bathhouse or hammam became a place for communication and discussion of important matters. Hammams are not as hot as Russian or Finnish baths (+30°C - +55°C), but extremely humid. The temperature in them is maintained not by a stove, but by steam from boiling water. The interior decoration of classic Turkish baths is very luxurious.

Today, hammams are often installed in spa centers, swimming pools and sports complexes.

The bathhouse is perhaps one of the most wonderful Russian traditions. If all procedures are followed correctly, after visiting the bathhouse you will feel stronger, younger and more energetic! If you have the opportunity to go to the bathhouse, be sure to take advantage of it! And don’t forget to write in the comments about your experience of visiting the bathhouse, if you had one.