Infrared Sauna vs Traditional Sauna: What's the Difference?
Same idea — a warm, enclosed space for sweating and relaxation — but two genuinely different ways of getting you there.
If you've started looking into saunas for your home, you've probably noticed the two broad categories: infrared saunas and traditional saunas (sometimes called Finnish saunas, or just "regular" saunas). They can look similar from the outside, but the way they actually heat you is quite different, and that difference flows through to temperature, humidity, heat-up time, power requirements and the overall experience.
Here's how they compare.
At a glance
How it heats you: Infrared heaters warm your body directly and the surrounding air stays cooler. A traditional sauna uses a stove (wood-fired or electric) to heat rocks, which heat the air, which then heats you.
Typical temperature: Infrared: 45–65°C recommended, 70°C maximum (Chakra Wellness models). Traditional: commonly 70–90°C or more.
Humidity: Infrared: dry heat throughout, with no steam produced. Traditional: usually dry, but often made humid by pouring water over the heated rocks.
Heat-up time: Infrared: around 20–30 minutes for full-spectrum models, and roughly 10–20% longer for far-infrared-only models. Traditional: generally longer, since a larger volume of air has to be heated to a higher temperature.
Power and electrical: Infrared: most 2-person models run on a standard domestic 10A plug. Traditional: often needs a dedicated circuit, particularly for a larger cabin or a higher-output heater.
Footprint: Infrared: compact. Chakra's 2-person cabins are 123 x 107cm and the 4-person CedarZen is 180 x 120cm. Traditional: varies, and is often larger where a steam element is part of the design.
Infrared figures are Chakra Wellness's own confirmed specs. General traditional-sauna figures are from Mayo Clinic and Wikipedia's overviews — see References.
How each type actually heats you
This is the real difference, and it explains almost everything else above.
A traditional sauna works the way you'd expect a room to get hot: a stove — wood-fired or electric — heats rocks, the rocks heat the surrounding air, and the hot air then warms your body mostly through convection and conduction, with some radiant heat from the hot surfaces around you. Because the whole room has to heat up first, traditional saunas typically run at higher ambient temperatures, commonly 70–90°C or more.
An infrared sauna skips that step. Infrared heaters emit radiant heat that warms your body directly, without needing to heat all the air around you first. That's why an infrared cabin can feel just as intense on your skin while the air temperature itself stays much lower — Chakra Wellness's own range recommends 45–65°C, with 70°C as the maximum.
What this means for you: if you find the very high heat of a traditional sauna hard to tolerate, an infrared sauna can produce a comparable sweat and warmth at a noticeably lower air temperature — which is part of why infrared saunas are often suggested as an option for people who find traditional saunas too intense.
Humidity and the sauna "feel"
Infrared saunas are dry heat, full stop — no water is added, and no steam is produced at any point in a session.
Traditional saunas are often dry too, but many people choose to pour water over the heated rocks to create a burst of steam (the Finnish tradition calls this löyly), which raises the humidity and changes the feel of the heat noticeably. Whether a session is dry or humid in a traditional sauna comes down to whether and how much water is added — it isn't fixed the way it is with infrared.
What this means for you: if you specifically want the steam-and-ritual side of sauna bathing, that's a traditional-sauna feature infrared doesn't replicate. If you just want a comfortable, consistent dry heat without having to manage water and steam yourself, that's exactly what an infrared cabin is built around.
Heat-up time and running costs
Because a traditional sauna has to bring a larger volume of air up to a higher temperature, it generally takes longer to get ready and typically asks more of your electrical circuit (or needs a wood fire going) to do it.
Chakra Wellness's infrared range heats up faster by comparison: RadiantZen (full-spectrum) models typically reach temperature in 20–30 minutes, while GlowZen and CedarZen (far-infrared only) take roughly 10–20% longer than that, since they rely solely on the longer far-infrared wavelength rather than combining it with the faster-heating near and mid wavelengths. Day-to-day power needs are modest too — RadiantZen Standard and Premium draw 2,300W, GlowZen draws 2,030W, and all three run on a standard domestic 10A plug with no electrician required. CedarZen, the 4-person model, draws 3,200W and needs a dedicated 15A circuit, which does typically mean arranging an electrician ahead of delivery.
What this means for you: if a quick, low-fuss session matters to you — plug it in, no dedicated wiring, warm in well under half an hour for most models — that's where infrared's lower target temperature pays off directly.
What about the health benefits?
Both types of sauna involve the same basic ingredient — heat exposure — and a lot of the commonly discussed benefits of sauna bathing (relaxation, increased circulation, muscle relief, a deep sweat) apply to heat exposure generally rather than being unique to one heating method.
Where it gets more specific is the research itself. Much of the longer-term research into sauna bathing and conditions like cardiovascular health has actually been conducted using traditional Finnish saunas, not infrared ones — so those findings can't automatically be assumed to transfer across to an infrared sauna, even where the experience feels similar. We've gone into this in more depth, including what the actual studies do and don't show, in our piece on what the science says about infrared sauna benefits.
What this means for you: don't choose between infrared and traditional based on which one claims the bigger health benefit — the honest answer is that the research doesn't cleanly separate the two in most areas. Choose based on the experience, the practicalities (heat-up time, power, space) and which kind of heat you personally find most comfortable.
Space, installation and upkeep
Chakra Wellness's infrared saunas are built to be straightforward to live with: compact cabins (123 x 107cm for the 2-person models, 180 x 120cm for the 4-person CedarZen), timber construction, and — aside from CedarZen's 15A requirement — a standard power outlet rather than dedicated wiring. There's no chimney, no water tank, and no steam to manage; between sessions, maintenance is just a wipe-down with a dry towel.
Traditional saunas vary more by design. A wood-fired unit needs a chimney and fuel supply; an electric traditional heater built for 80–90°C+ often asks for a more substantial circuit than a 10A plug; and if steam is part of the experience, there's water and drainage to think about too. None of that makes one type objectively more demanding than the other — it's a different set of trade-offs, and which one suits a particular home comes down to the space and setup available.
Safety basics apply to both
Whichever type of sauna you're using, the same core precautions apply: stay hydrated before, during and after a session — a long session at the upper end of the temperature range can produce well over a litre of sweat an hour, more than most people expect; never use a sauna under the influence of alcohol or drugs; and exit immediately if you feel dizzy, nauseous or unwell. Sauna use isn't recommended during pregnancy. If you have a cardiovascular condition, high or low blood pressure, or take medication that affects heat tolerance, check with your doctor before starting.
Which should you choose?
There's no universally "better" option here — it genuinely comes down to what you want from the experience:
Want the traditional ritual, steam, and the most intense heat? A traditional Finnish-style sauna is built around exactly that.
Want a lower, more tolerable temperature, a faster heat-up, and simple standard-power installation? That's where infrared saunas — including Chakra Wellness's full-spectrum RadiantZen range and far-infrared GlowZen/CedarZen range — are built to deliver.
Not sure which infrared model fits your space and preferences? Our guide to choosing the right sauna walks through full-spectrum vs far-infrared, capacity and heater technology in more depth, or see how our heaters actually work for the technical detail.
Frequently asked questions
Is an infrared sauna as effective as a traditional sauna?
They produce different experiences rather than one being strictly "more effective." Both involve heat exposure and sweating; infrared does it at a lower air temperature by heating your body directly, while a traditional sauna heats the whole room first. Much of the long-term health research covers traditional saunas specifically, so it can't be assumed to transfer one-for-one to infrared.
Why do infrared saunas run at a lower temperature than traditional saunas?
Because infrared heaters warm your body directly rather than heating the air around you first. A traditional sauna has to bring the whole room up to a high temperature (commonly 70–90°C+) for you to feel the heat, while an infrared sauna can produce a comparable warming effect at 45–65°C.
Do infrared saunas produce steam like traditional saunas?
No — infrared saunas are dry heat throughout, with no water or steam involved at any point. Steam in a traditional sauna comes from pouring water over the heated rocks, and is optional even there.
I find traditional saunas too intense. Would an infrared sauna suit me better?
Possibly — a lower air temperature is one of the more commonly cited reasons people who find traditional saunas hard to tolerate try infrared instead. Everyone's comfort with heat is different, so it's worth considering alongside any medical conditions (see the safety section above, or speak with your doctor).
Which gets hotter, infrared or traditional?
Traditional saunas run at a higher ambient air temperature (commonly 70–90°C+, compared with Chakra Wellness's 45–65°C recommended range and 70°C maximum). Infrared heat is delivered differently though — directly to your body rather than via the air — so a lower air temperature doesn't necessarily mean a less intense experience on your skin.
References and further reading
Mayo Clinic. Do infrared saunas have any health benefits? https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/expert-answers/infrared-sauna/faq-20057954
Wikipedia. Infrared sauna. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_sauna