To not want to be naked in sauna

[lollypoppy123]

I’m going to a fancy hotel in Germany with an amazing spa but I’ve just found out the spa is textile free which means no clothes whatsoever allowed. I’m really uncomfortable with this as I’ve had a mastectomy and my reconstruction is pretty ugly. Even without that, I’d feel weird being naked with strangers.

Agreed. It's almost like people were allowed their personal choices. So why the borderline hostility towards people whose choices are different from yours?

but vagina can be broadly used to refer to 'woman's bits'.

No, it can't be.

Broadly, is vulva..

It's a bit like saying you can see a man's anus when they have no pants on and are standing upright.

This always gets trotted out. 🙄It's not about active looking. I don't want them potentially visible to me at all.

It's quite standard on the continent for good reasons.

You might be shocked at how little anyone else cares. They will all have their own body issues to be preoccupied about and are there just to enjoy the sauna. not judge other people's bodies. It's quite liberating to be naked and realise no-one is bothered by it.

I do remember a staff member in one spa looking through the sauna windows and telling people off if they weren’t completely on their towels 😁

"Whatever she meant, she's exaggerating a tad imho.
I'm aware of the anatomically correct names too, but vagina can be broadly used to refer to 'woman's bits'."

Its wrong though, most of the time. And I was surprised to learn that lots of people dont actually understand what the difference between vulva and vagina is.

Thank you - it’s not a naturist spa so just the textile free thing. I can’t change the booking as didn’t pay for cancellation.

There's two reasons- one is that swimsuits are much more likely to harbour bacteria and mould. Anyone who has left a wet costume in a bag for a few hours after swimming knows how horrendous the smell is. The second is that swimming costumes go into a pool full of chlorine and chemicals, and if you then go into a hot sauna, all that chlorine evaporates and becomes airborne and everyone else has to breathe it in. Not the healthful experience one hopes for at a spa.

Ah, this is very reassuring - thank you.

This is lovely to hear - thanks for sharing.

Hi OP, I think its especially hard for you after having had mastectomy, which kind of got lost in this thread.
I would email or phone the actually spa you are booked in and ask what exactly the protocol is regarding towels and nudity. And whether there is exceptions for people like you. Then you will have the idea of how it works and can decide whether its something you want to do this time or not.

YANBU. It’s important to feel comfortable. Is there another spa in the city you could visit where you can be clothed?

Having said that, I loved being at a naked spa in Hungary. There were women of all ages and body types, scars and all. Everyone proudly and freely naked. As a young woman, it was wonderfully powerful. Gave me a realistic view of the beautiful diversity and strength of women’s bodies.

I'd email and ask stating your specific situation. As sauna and spa is such a part of the culture I really feel though that they are used to seeing people with all sorts of scars.

I personally love a nakie sauna but can understand it's not for everyone.

YANBU. Who on earth wants to be naked in front of a bunch of strangers!?

I can reassure you - nobody will even notice. Nobody. The cultural taboo is absolute - you absolutely do not look at people’s bodies in a sauna. It is so ingrained, the body below the neck literally doesn’t get seen (apart from someone not sitting fully in their towel ;) - that gets noticed)

You are actually much much safer from looks naked in a german (or finish) sauna than in a swimsuit in a british pool.

Hi! I’ve been to many textile free saunas (mostly in Germany and Switzerland).

You usually get a sheet and a bathrobe (and often an additional towel). The bathrobe is worn (by many, but not everyone) to change between sauna rooms, outdoor areas etc.

The sheet can be worn as a wrap (or not at all). I’ve seen people completely wrapped up, not unlike a burrito 🤷‍♀️ (which doesn’t seem comfortable, but if that’s what they like…)

textile free is therefore somewhat misleading imo. Whenever I go I also realise that there’s suuuuch a variety of bodies that there is truly no reason to be self-conscious (last time I went there were groups of naked grannies lying on their towels on the lawn to sunbathe, do some stretching etc…).
And soon I end up being too relaxed to even notice anyone else‘ presence anyway (let alone their bodies) which probably happens to other people as well.

edit: and if you go a steam room (which I personally love), you may realise that visibility is pretty bad anyway. So that might be a good starter room 🤔

I'm from a 'naked' country.

You can still wrap a towel around you, you just can't wear swimwear as that's considered unhygienic. I would be very, very surprised if someone tells you you must take your towel off. Going into the steam room though, you don't want to do that as it gets soaked throughout. Steam tends to be so thick that you can't see anything though.

I know it's hard to get into this mindset if you have surgery scars etc... However... If you gave it a chance, and it may take longer than a holiday to come round to it, you may find it liberating. It may actually make you relate to your body differently.

These naked saunas aren't full of perfect people. Far from it. Mostly you're there with grandpas and grandmas, people whose bodies have really 'seen stuff and lived to tell the tale'.

Seeing that everyone else is 'just average' and has a body just like you, scars, imperfections, weird body hair, fat rolls, whatever... Makes you realise that bodies are just bodies and nobody cares.

I have a pretty different outlook to bodies compared to my UK friends, thanks to being naked every week with normal women of varied ages since a young age, and never really having come across anyone 'perfect' naked.

Hope it makes some sense...

I felt similarly about visting one in China with friends. I was dreading the nudity but as odd as it sounds it did feel normal and even comfortable surprisingly quickly. The place was full of naked Chinese women, being naked was what made us invisible in the end. People don't look anywhere but each others eyes- I have scarring from operations in private areas- they really weren't looking there. I would try and push myself out of my comfort zone if you can!

I went to a spa hotel in Czechia near the german border, where I established the sauna area was nude after I arrived I think. I don't mind nudity but my only nude bathing experience was in Sweden which was sex segregated and this was mixed sex.

They gave you what was termed a "sauna sheet" that was basically a big flat bed sheet you could wrap round you when going between saunas etc.

It was okay overall. Most people were covering up their lower half with the sheet or sitting in a fairly "modest" way.

Just don’t look at any dangly bits. No-one is going to be looking at yours. Alternatively, just don’t go 🤷‍♀️ I accidentally booked a massage in Albania which required me to be topless but actually I was fine with it surprisingly.

You can still wrap a towel around you, you just can't wear swimwear as that's considered unhygienic.

this. Textile free is a bit misleading in the sense that it’s simply swimwear free. I’ve often received a sheet to use as a wrap (if desired. Not everyone uses it/some people are completely naked) and a towel to sit or lie on.

Well, most Germans, Scandinavians, Austrians and lots of people on this thread. And naturists and exhibitionists, of course. There will also be people on earth I haven't mentioned. Fact.

Wanting privacy is not the same as being offended or shocked.

I find the shaming of women on this thread, for not comfortable with getting naked in front of strangers, really rather creepy.

Everybody will be naked and everybody will have their own body hang ups, they won’t be looking at yours. I have significant self harm scars and always worry about showing them when I can’t be fully covered up but honestly most people don’t care about other people’s scars or bodies.

My post was in response to this. Don't know why the quote disappeared.