The advent of electricity in the late 1900s gave birth to the first infrared sauna. Holistic health guru, John Harvey Kellogg recognized the profound healing effects of purification through intense sweating and wanted to improve upon the traditional sauna therapy being used.

He turned to the first electrical light bulb and created his ‘Incandescent Light Baths’. In a cabin like structure, incandescent light bulbs were exposed to emit infrared light that penetrated deeply into the skin membrane. This was so effective in its ability to produce excessive sweating, and therefore detoxification, that it became the forefather of the infrared sauna we know today.

 

A timeline of infrared sauna history:

 

• 1893: Kellogg’s Incandescent Bath Lights are shown at the World’s Fair in Chicago and skyrocket in popularity and across the world.

 

• 1960s: NASA takes an interest in the variety of wavelengths created through the infrared. The discovery of the near, mid and far infrared wavelengths catapulted the sauna to its next evolutionary state.

 

• 1965: A Japanese doctor received the first patent to create a ceramic infrared sauna using far-infrared wavelengths. Until the late 1970s, Japanese doctors were the only known medical practitioners to use far infrared sauna treatment for their patients.

 

• 1979: The first full spectrum infrared saunas became available to the public in the United States. In the last twenty years, heating systems have been honed to create optimal infrared wavelengths that promote comfort, safety, and ultimately profuse perspiration.

 

Today, infrared sauna use is one of the most effective holistic health practices.

From <https://infraredsauna.com/blog/history-of-saunas/>