Beware of Marketing Hype

Carbon Heaters

When you see the term “carbon” you might reasonably expect it to mean that a heater is made primarily of the organic material. In reality, these heaters are composed of a thin layer of carbon ink printed or sprayed onto paper felt, then laminated with resin between an upper and lower layer of plastic fiberglass. So the primary component is plastic. Why do they call it a carbon heater and not a plastic heater? So you will buy it. Would you rather be surrounded by an inert organic material when you sauna, or hot plastic?

Also, since the human body is 18% carbon the marketing for these saunas either implicitly or explicitly claims that their heaters somehow “match” some magical frequency of the body, empowering their product with grand properties. The truth is that all of the legitimate studies done on the many benefits of infrared have been conducted using ceramic infrared heaters.

Constantly Emitting and Constant Heat

Every object above absolute zero degrees emits infrared, so some manufactures will use that fact to mislead you. You might reasonably expect a sauna claiming ‘constant heat’ to maintain some sort of current to the heaters during the entire sauna session. In reality there is only one brand that can do this, and the ability to regulate the voltage (other than on/off) is controlled by a United States patent owned by TheraSauna. No other sauna manufacturer is allowed to do this. When a TheraSauna approaches the operating temperature you have specified, it begins to reduce the voltage to some or all of the emitters, which then produce the cooler far-infrared. The unit never shuts off, and you benefit from a broader spectrum of infrared. Instead of finding a technical solution, some manufactures will resort to using wiggle words, such as:

Constantly Emitting: Translation, the sauna heats up to the temperature you have specified, and then the thermostat turns it off. The heaters begin to cool, but since they are not totally cold they are “emitting.” The sauna then turns back on when it gets too cold.

Heater Temperature, Heater Size

Heater surface temperature is a legitimate concern up to a point. For the purpose of a sauna, useful infrared is produced at temperatures between 100 to 600F. The best saunas will have emitter surface temperatures representing the entire range, and not just one extreme or the other.

The two scientific principals that allow us to quantify infrared wavelength are called Planck’s Law and Wien’s Law. While both of these laws have equations with several constants, the only variable is the surface temperature of the heater. Both laws show that the lower the surface temperature of the heater, the longer the infrared wave will be (and some believe, the more effective the infrared heat will be). HOWEVER, this needs to be balanced against the Stefan-Boltzmann Law, which states that as surface temperature increases, the radiant output (the amount of infrared) increases to the fourth power of its temperature. The only way to have the best of both worlds is to have multiple surface temperatures. The best saunas do this.

Heater size is a concern only if it is too hot to be comfortable or to produce effective FIR, or does not radiate the FIR it does produce in an effective pattern.

Meaningless Charts or Graphs

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics. Meaningless charts and graphs are everywhere. Best of Show is from a manufacturer using carbon heaters. Their graph shows their heaters with favorable far-infrared output. But they have omitted the temperature of the heater when it was tested. When you download the actual report the temperature, as tested, is about 136F. By their own specifications their heaters, under current, operate at 200F. So at some point during heat-up, the heater output briefly conforms to this graph. This was not an oversight, this is deception.

Micron Wavelength Claims

Most of the solid research and medical studies documenting the benefits of infrared therapy, including the initial Asian research, have used a broad spectrum infrared, from 2 to 25 microns.
In the last few years, a portion of that range has become Marketing Magic with terms like “Vital Range”. So now most  infrared sauna manufactures claim this “Vital Range” of 7 to 14 microns, ideally, with significant output at 9.4 microns. In reality, many infrared saunas produce very little FIR in this wavelength.

And when they can’t, they then specify micron output as a range, and there is nothing wrong with that except it can be used to deceive. Here is one example: “Long Wave Infrared Benefits (5.8 ~ 1,000 Microns)”. This statement is technically true because at some point during heat up or cool down, this unit does produce some FIR at 5.8 microns, which is in the specified range. (5.8 microns is relatively easy to achieve.) Will you get much output between 7 and 14 microns? No. These particular heaters simply run too hot.

Negative Ion Generator

At least one brand includes a cheesy negative ion generator and cites this study as the reason, claiming it will induce sweat. Maybe they are hoping you can’t read. The study was conducted in a wet sauna at 100 percent humidity. How does that translate to a far infrared dry sauna? Who knows. And if your sauna has the right heater who cares, you will sweat profusely without this snake oil.

Flow-Through Benches

The claim is that slats instead of a solid bench will allow infrared to reach what you are sitting on. The problem is that infrared radiates line-of-sight and cannot turn a corner. So when they put the leg heaters in the back wall all it does it reduce their effectiveness on the legs. Then it hits the bench slats at right angle and is absorbed by the wood. Do you really want a hot bench with no therapeutic advantage? Most people sit on thick towels in the sauna for comfort and sanitary reasons anyway.

Self Cleaning (Ozone Generator)

Saunas require very little cleaning, particularly when the bathers sit on towels. Poisoning the cabin air after you sauna will accomplish nothing.

Heater Efficiency

Most far-infrared saunas are economical to operate, somewhere between 12 and 15 cents an hour depending on the size of the sauna and type of heater. Manufacturers that tout their electrical efficiency as a primary advantage usually have little else to offer.

“We are an American Company”

Until five years or so ago the majority of far infrared saunas had been manufactured in the United States and, to a lesser degree, Canada. In the last 5 years, numerous sauna manufacturers have popped up in China who then sell their product either to, or through American companies that primarily market over the internet. These companies are quick to point out that they are “American” companies and will provide a picture of their headquarters somewhere with the hope that you will mistake it for a manufacturing facility. In reality they are just passing through Chinese goods, but they do everything they can to hide that fact. You have to ask yourself why.

Would You Like to be an American Sauna Company Too?
No problem, just put in an order for a container from China and then make your product innovative and unique by giving it a catchy name like SoloCarbon, InfraCarbon, CarbonFlex, GreenWave…blah blah blah.

We think there is a big difference between a sauna company and a marketing company. Any of these look familiar? They should.

http://www.mygoldenwave.com/English/GD-200.htm
http://www.josensauna.com/Product.asp?ClassID=1&SClassID=3
http://www.saunaworld.com.cn/finlandsauna.html
http://www.chinabestsauna.com/products.asp?gclid=CL7l8JCei48CFQwFYAodDx0_kQ

The Testimonial

Be wary of “testimonials” from seemingly impartial, smiling endorsers in medical smocks and lab coats. They are often paid outright or clearly have a stake in the success of the manufacturer.