Sauna, naked or wearing a swimsuit?

[Itisnoteasybeingdifferent]

Inspired by the conversation about the NDN sunbating topless Nd underlying attitude to nKedness.

To start. We prefer to go naked as they do in Austria, which means we don't go to saunas in the UK. It is interesting the notoces say "for health reasons, no swimsuits". Though to be fair, Austrian saunas are much much hotter than UK ones which also say the same notice.

My gym had a sauna in the changing rooms. Perfectly acceptable to use naked.
But hotel Spa saunas with mixed genders I absolutely don't want to see a strangers sweaty balls thanks.

Is everyone riding a big motorbike a Hell's Angel?

That sounds fairly standard for a modern swim/sauna complex in Germany, Austria etc. A good place will have a selection of wet and dry saunas at different temperatures. Really good places have trained sauna staff (clothed!) who come in to do the Aufguss ceremony once an hour or whenever. That involves them ladling water on the coal mechanism then swinging a towel dramatically through the air, it brings the heat up to just about unbearable. A good Aufguss will have the saunagoers clapping in appreciation.
There‘s a whole ritual to the thing which is utterly ignored in the UK.
Wearing a swimsuit is the most egregious sin, but completely failing to do all the steps in the right order is pretty ignorant too. You really HAVE to go and lie down after the sauna and plunge pool experience, and shower between every step. The best sites are next to a lake, Swedish style, so you can do the plunge in wild water - but the small sauna in my women‘s gym has a bucket shower of ice-cold water which you can empty over your head. That does the job too.

At one at my gym they have nude sauna Sunday morning. Different times for males and females. Rest of the time costumes.

I used to live in Austria so now I will be naked in saunas here BUT only single sex ones and I still feel awkward so always confirm the policy beforehand (can’t think of anything worse than being naked in a sauna and someone asking me to cover up 😃)

I live in the UK but regularly visit Germany. I
have been completely converted to their ‘textile
frei’ sauna policy. I never spa in my home country anymore; I find the wet clothes hanging round my breasts and bum pretty gross.

This is a zombie thread from 2017!!

Yes, but this topic is not going to be outdated or irrelevant any time soon - will probably be as much of interest for many years to come.

Zombie or not, I'm glad to note that if naked the etiquette is to sit on a towel- when I use a steam room (in a cossie) I kind of sliiide horizontally onto the bench to avoid that farty noise that flabby wet thighs make.

If I did that nekkid, I'd probably end up suctioned firmly to the seat! 😂

It still makes me giggle that my German friend got banned from her local council pool in the UK for walking into the sauna naked!

The issue with wearing a swimming costume in the sauna is if you've just come from the pool you'll be bringing chlorine on the suit into the sauna, which combined with the heat makes the air very bad for asthmatics and just generally unpleasant. Basically its a health issue so if you don't want to be naked you really ought to wrap a towel around yourself instead.

But also its just really weird to be in the sauna and not be naked, you're not getting the full benefit. You get used to it and it stops being awkward or embarrassing. Very normal to invite friends round on an evening to go to sauna together, just relax and chat, you don't even notice the nudity.

Actually you can, but it's not the best idea. Same as sex on a rocky beach, even on the hottest of summer.

As for killing bacteria, the temperature required for that would also kill you in seconds. Sauna is good for sweating out all sorts of toxins, but don't count on it to protect you from any bacteria.

German sauna complexes are amazing. Various saunas, steam, cold and hot pools, foot baths…all naked and so so relaxing. The one we used to go to in Bad Homburg near Frankfurt had a bar…a few hours in the saunas then a naked wheat beer and pretzel. Perfect!

I find the sauna in the gym (uk) now so depressing…

I wouldn’t mind bring naked in a sauna on my own/with other women but I definitely don’t want naked men in there with me.

Are the ones in Austria bookable or go you just turn up and squash in with other random sweaty naked people? That sounds bad enough to me, and then adding the fact there might be men in there. 😣

All the ones we have been to in Germany, Austria have been mixed. No squashing in. Plenty of room. No unwanted attention, quite the opposite, very relaxed.

Ah ok, I still couldn’t do a mixed sauna though, squashed or not. I walked into a steam room once in the U.K. and there were a group of men in there with just towels over their bits (sure that wasn’t allowed) and I just turned around and walked out 🤣 so definitely couldn’t do a closed room of naked men.

Gosh. I've lived places with domestic or community saunas and those are naked only, with cold plunge available, in Scotland. Similar arrangements in Cornwall. Otherwise Norway, Switzerland, Japanese bath-house in San Francisco, hammams in Egypt. All naked.

I had no idea people mostly wore swimwear in the UK - you've saved me from causing consternation by entering one starkers! Though honestly, with clothes on, what's the point ... ?

Yuk no thanks. I don't want to see other people's bits and I don't want mine on display either!!

I have been to the Netherlands and used a sauna with just a towel. Much more comfortable, and noticeable that women were the majority when I went.

Cannot imagine that happening here though in general.

Sitting in a red hot sweaty shed, with big fat hairy strangers. Bollock naked?

Sweaty fanjos on the bench next to me? Sweaty scrotes?

No thanks