Western Red Cedar; or Giant Aborvitae
The tree's longevity, with some individuals living for a thousand years, and its evergreen nature led to it being called the "tree of life" and "long life maker" or "long life giver" by tribes like the Salish.
Partnering with Arbor Day Foundation, we pledge to plant three Giant Aborvitae tree for every sauna built with this species' wood.
Bald Cypress; or Taxodium Disichum
Rooted in the water, Bald Cypress trees can live for over a thousand years, with underwater cypress forests lasting tens of thousands of years, leaving some ancient forests still preserved to this day. It's resilience and growth in both water and air symbolizes a connection between the earthly and spiritual realms.
Bald Cypress is an increasingly endangered species.
Partnering with Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, we pledge to plant ten Bald Cypress trees for every sauna built with this species' wood.
Coast Redwood; or Sequoia Sempervirens
Indigenous peoples hold deep beliefs about redwoods, viewing them as sacred beings and a special gift from the Creator, using them for traditional items like homes and canoes, while also respecting their role as guardians of sacred places.
The coast redwood in particular is an endangered species.
Partnering with Save the Redwoods League, we pledge to plant two Coastal Redwood trees for every sauna built with this species' wood.
The sauna, as it should be
Heat, steam, and wood -- we offer as pure of a sauna experience as you can get
A sauna should feel pure—just heat, steam, and wood. At 150–200°F, though, coatings and glues that seem harmless at room temperature can off-gas more; higher heat means higher vapor pressure, which means more chemicals in the air you breathe.
It is a scientifically-elementary fact that there are certain chemicals which humans have not biologically evolved to come into contact with. These chemicals -- having direct and harmful physiological effect upon contact with our skin or introduction to our lungs, bloodstream, or other systems -- are known as toxins. They are isolated or synthesized in extremely high concentrations in adhesives and other synthetic coatings and treatments.
Here at Craft Saunas, we keep toxins out. No veneers or laminates, no wood-mimicking plastic, no interior plywood or MDF, and absolutely no chemically treated woods or other materials.
A step beyond, our saunas stand out in that they contain absolutely no adhesives or additives of any kind.
In the case that a customer requests a feature that typically requires adhesives (such as a wood door), we've come up with ways to do without. In the event that we do use an adhesive, it will be a zero-VOC adhesive selected for high-temp stability, we will use them sparingly, and we'll tell you first.
Our cabins aim for the experience you want: the quiet scent of wood, clear air, and pure heat—nothing extra.
Reset and rejuvenate your system
Health is a broad word; it encompasses and considers the state of every part of your body and its ability to function. Science has seen of saunas what users have long felt - an increase of that.
Longevity, Anti-Aging & Immunity
Consistent sauna behaves like gentle resilience training—supporting cellular housekeeping and steadier immune responses. Long-term users are associated with ~40% lower all-cause mortality (death) and report roughly 50% fewer colds across a season; it’s a small habit with outsized compounding.
Heart & Brain Health
Sauna widens vessels and smooths flow—controlled studies show ~90–100% gains in flow-mediated dilation with ~14% lower arterial stiffness and modest BP drops (~3%). In population data, frequent use is associated with ~50% lower fatal CVD and ~65% lower dementia risk—like sunrise for your inner wiring.
Mental Health, Stress & Well Being
Sauna cues the body to downshift: muscles loosen, breath slows, sleep deepens. Pilot trials of therapeutic whole-body heating show ~30–50% reductions in depressive symptoms, matching how most sessions actually feel—lighter on exit than on entry.
Pain, Inflammation & Weight
By boosting circulation and softening guarding, heat helps you move like you again; clinical heat protocols for chronic low-back pain show ~50% pain reduction over weeks, with post-workout sauna easing next-day soreness without costing performance.
Why our spas are better
In breaking away from tradition and selling whatever catches the consumer's eye, many modern saunas have lost their touch -- overlooking a number of seemingly small but intentional designs. Combining traditional wisdom with modern science, our goal is to create saunas geared towards optimal function. Here's some of what we do to acheive that.
Passive ventilation that actually works
We keep CO₂ from creeping up. Fresh air intake low by the heater and a high, opposite-side exhaust create a gentle convection loop. A traditional design backed by science. Air stays lively instead of heavy and stale. Old-timers say you should leave the room feeling lighter than you entered, a sign that heat + fresh air balanced well.
Feet above the stones
Heat stratifies. High benches put your whole body—feet included—into the sweet spot. Feet at or above heater rock level for balanced, enveloping warmth. Folk wisdom holds that cold feet keep the body tense, while fully warming the feet helps the entire body relax and “circulate” better—many bath cultures insist on toasty feet before bed for deeper sleep.
Only sauna-safe materials
A sauna should smell like cedar, not a new shoe. High heat amplifies off-gassing. As we constantly emphasize, we won't put anything in the sauna that's even remotely toxic except when strictly necessary for a *custom build. And we'll tell you, "hey, we'd need to use x adhesive to do that". Result: cleaner air, a calmer head, and deeper relaxation. Peace of mind knowing exactly what you're getting into.
'Zero' or Low EMF.
Let your nervous system downshift fully. Our builds minimize three field types that can distract sensitive users: low-frequency electric fields (EF), low-frequency magnetic fields (MF), and high-frequency radio (RF) from wireless gear. Fewer electronics and ultra low EMF technology so you can have a true sanctuary and uncover a calmer headspace.
A new generation of sauna
Layering onto traditional with infrared: a dual-mechanistic "Hybrid" approach
In our mission to create the ultimate sauna, we had made a few optimizations—some of them already pretty foundational. But there was still something missing; still room for improvement... big improvement.... Relatively less studied, documentation of infrared technology in the context of its implications on human health is limited compared to traditional, the latter having been around for far longer and being incomparably more widespread.
This introduction of a newer technology into a centuries-old health tradition has left some with an aversion or skepticism towards it, understandably and in some cases, rightfully so. Poorly designed infrared systems may do a little too much in the way of hindering the experience and introducing undesirable or harmful conditions to be worth adding to what is already an amazing, time-tested, (and pure) experience. Well-designed panels, however, are more intriguing...
Moving forward on the idea with our 'Zero' Panels in mind -- originally just ultra-low EMF panels of the far-infrared (FIR) wavelength -- we took to research and scientific principle to address, primarily, the fundamental questions of what the best infrared technology really was, and what adding this infrared to a traditionally-heated sauna really accomplished...
We knew it offered flexibility and range of experience, that it allowed, for instance, a person to use traditional for a few weeks or so, then dial back down to infrared for a few if and when it became overwhelming... that a person could use the traditional more in the winter and the infrared more in the summer. But what beyond?
What we found is that when infrared is done properly, especially in the near-infrared (NIR) range, it isn’t just “another way to get warm.” In fact, contrary to the common marketing and belief that initially influenced our own product, most far-infrared (FIR) systems behave much more like a traditional heater in disguise—their energy is absorbed very superficially in the water-rich outer layers of the skin and then passed inward primarily as plain heat, not as a deep, targeted light signal. Traditional sauna heat (and most FIR) works through a single, powerful pathway: loading the body with heat, driving up heart rate, circulation, sweating, and heat-shock responses. Infrared NIR, by contrast, belongs to a unique band of light that can actually travel millimeters—and in some tissues, even centimeters—beneath the surface and interact directly with the mitochondria and microcirculation. Rather than only making tissue hotter, NIR light can act as a biological signal: nudging cells to produce more energy, releasing nitric oxide to dilate tiny blood vessels, and modulating inflammatory and repair pathways. In other words, traditional heat stresses the system as a whole; NIR speaks directly to the cells in its own language of light.
This led us to see “hybrid” not as a convenience feature, but as a synergistic dual-mechanistic approach. When you sit in a hybrid cabin, the traditional heater is doing what it has always done brilliantly—elevating core temperature, challenging the cardiovascular system, wringing out sweat and fluid shifts—while the NIR panels are quietly adding a second layer: improving microcirculation, supporting lymphatic flow, and helping cells run their own detox and repair machinery more efficiently. The sweat you see is only the final act; upstream, you have light-driven changes in blood and lymph movement and mitochondrial signaling helping to move and process what eventually leaves through the skin. So adding infrared, for us, stopped being about “turning the temperature down” or “giving people options” and became about stacking mechanisms: heat and light, systemic and cellular, working together in a way that neither a traditional-only nor an infrared-only sauna can offer.
What became especially compelling was the detox story. Traditional heat already drives a powerful form of cleansing: you load the system with heat, blood vessels open, the heart works harder, and you sweat—along with that sweat come measurable amounts of heavy metals and other stored compounds. But near-infrared adds another layer. Because NIR can reach deeper into tissue than far-infrared and interacts directly with mitochondria and microcirculation, it doesn’t just encourage sweat at the surface; it helps mobilize what gets to the sweat. By improving local blood flow and lymphatic movement and supporting the cellular machinery that processes metabolic waste, NIR has the potential to assist in a deeper, more upstream kind of detox—helping move things out of tissues before they ever leave the body.
Seen through that lens, traditional and NIR stop being competitors and become natural partners. The traditional heater provides the systemic push: raising core temperature, ramping circulation, and opening the taps of sweat. The near-infrared panels provide the cellular and microvascular pull: helping to free and shuttle waste products from where they’re stored toward the channels of elimination. Together, they create a complementary cycle—heat driving things out, light helping to bring them forward—so that each session isn’t just hotter or more comfortable, but potentially more effective than either traditional or infrared alone.
Our Process
A process almost as relaxing as our saunas -- almost.
Explore options
Browse our site and weigh options or give us a call and let us help you figure out what's best for you and or your partner or family.
Make a decision
Consider factors such as where you want to put it, what size unit you want, whether you want to be able to lie down, etc.
Check out -- then relax
Check out online, we'll give you an ETA for delivery, and see you then! Once the unit or kit is delivered, you'll need to hire an electrician to install the heater.
