15/09/2026
We don't do infrared. Period.
We build saunas. Finnish saunas.
There are plenty of companies selling infrared. And that's perfectly fine. We, Hetki, just aren't one of them.
Here's why:
𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵.
Sauna has always been part of our lives. It's something ordinary and familiar, yet a central part of our culture and way of life. We believe deeply in what Finnish sauna has to offer, and we want to share that with you. If we made infrared instead, it simply wouldn't be the sauna we know and love.
𝗟𝗼̈𝘆𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗮.
Finnish sauna isn't a dry sauna. Water and löyly are an essential part of the experience. Infrared doesn't have löyly. And if something needs to be called dry, we'd suggest leaving that term to infrared. With löyly, sauna becomes sauna.
𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.
Traditional Finnish sauna has a considerably broader research base than infrared. Both have research of their own, but they're different thermal modalities, so findings from one shouldn't simply be transferred to the other just because both are marketed using the word sauna. Recent research¹ suggests that humidity itself influences physiological responses during sauna bathing, giving us another reason not to overlook the role of löyly.
𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲.
Hetki is here to bring joy and wellbeing to people through Finnish sauna. That purpose should actually mean something when we make choices. If that's what we exist to do, making infrared simply because there's a market for it wouldn't feel right for us. The product should follow the purpose, not the other way around.
𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.
Yes, we're a commercial company. We want to craft saunas, and we need to sell them to fulfill our purpose. We could make our potential market larger by saying yes to infrared. But commercial opportunity alone isn't enough reason for us to make something. We'd rather focus on what we know and do it exceptionally well.
None of this means infrared is bad or that anyone else should make the same choice. An infrared cabin may be exactly what you're looking for. This isn't a judgement on anyone else's choice. It's simply a statement about ours.
This choice goes back to when Hetki was founded. If you'd like to know more about why we made it, read the full story by our founder Janne Oksanen on our website.
P.S. We don't actually like having to use the prefix Finnish. To us, it's simply sauna. But when the word sauna is also widely used for things like infrared, you deserve to know the distinction.
¹ Laatikainen-Raussi I, Mikkola T, Ihalainen JK, Ahokas E. Temperature and humidity independently influence thermoregulatory responses during Finnish sauna bathing. Temperature, 2026.
