Bryan Johnson wrote an interesting article about his experiment with Sauna!
Many think that sweating is the goal. The goal is to get your core body temperature to 102.2°F (39°C). Below that threshold you’re getting maybe half the health benefits sauna offers.
Avoid synthetic fabrics. Use cotton!
Taking Vitamin B3 (niacin) before a sauna, often called the “niacin detox protocol,” is used to increase circulation and accelerate detoxification by breaking down fat-stored toxins. Niacin triggers vasodilation (the “niacin flush”), which enhances the body’s ability to sweat out toxins, typically taken 30-60 minutes before a 30-45 minute sauna session.
https://www.finnleo.com/blog/sauna-tips-maximum-health-benefits
- Shower before and after After the last sauna session, don’t wash your body with shower gel. Instead, just rinse off as your body is already perfectly clean and rejuvenated from the sauna.
- Ideally, wearing no clothing in saunas optimizes the health benefits of sauna bathing.
- While 1-2 days per week saw some improvement, 3-4+ days per week resulted in maximum benefits.
- Some sauna users enjoy drinking tomato juice after a sauna session, which helps replace the potassium lost through sweat.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DUCEjeRDXiF/
Cotton towel! no polyester
Always take niacin (vitamin B3) before sauna B3 Vitamine (Niacin) about an hour ago!
take binders! pectacol-c, carbon cleanse, charcoal, ziolites. it is to really get rid of toxins. otherwise, you can reabsorb them binders supplement
use butter knife to scrape your skin
rehydrate with silica supplement salt lemon and distilled water
Gemini:
Silica: Great for binding aluminum, but ensure it’s an ionic form.
Magnesium: You lose a lot of magnesium in the sauna. Adding a magnesium drop to your water will prevent post-sauna headaches and cramping.
| Step | Action | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Sauna | Take Niacin + Binders | Mobilize toxins and prep the “trap” in the gut. |
| During | Sit on Cotton / Scrape Skin | Protect skin and keep pores open. |
| Post-Sauna | Cold Rinse Immediately | This is the missing step! It washes off the toxins and closes the pores so you don’t reabsorb them. |
| Recovery | Mineralized Water | Replace the “big four”: Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium. |
| In a high-heat traditional sauna, you only need 15–20 minutes for the Niacin to do its work, whereas lower-heat protocols go for hours. |
As the Niacin mobilizes toxins and the heat moves your lymph, your liver will dump waste into your bile. Without binders, your intestines will reabsorb that waste (enterohepatic circulation).
Take your binders 30–60 minutes BEFORE the sauna. They need to be waiting in your “gut trap” by the time you start sweating.
Scrape toward the heart to assist with lymphatic drainage. Use a dedicated “Gua Sha” tool or a blunt wood/plastic scraper if a butter knife feels too aggressive for your skin.
Do not use distilled water for rehydration after a sauna. Distilled water is “hungry” water—it lacks minerals and will actually strip electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium) out of your cells to find a balance. This can lead to cramping, headaches, and “sauna hangovers.”
The Better Recipe:
- Base: Filtered or Mineral water.
- Silica: Great for binding aluminum (look for orthosilicic acid drops).
- Sea Salt: For the sodium/chloride you lost in sweat.
- Lemon: For Vitamin C and to help the water enter the cells.
- Add Magnesium: This is the most important mineral lost in the heat.
You must take a cold shower or plunge immediately. If you don’t wash that sweat off with cool water, your pores will begin to reabsorb the very toxins you just pushed out as you cool down. The cold “shocks” the toxins off the surface and forces the blood back to your internal organs to finish the filtration process.
The Pharmacy/Store Shopping List
- Niacin: Look for Nicotinic Acid.
- Crucial: Do not buy “No-Flush” or “Flush-Free” Niacin. They don’t dilate the capillaries, so they won’t work for this.
- Note: Avoid “Sustained Release” (SR) or “Timed Release” for this protocol, as they can be harder on the liver in high doses. You want the “immediate release” kind.
- Binders: Activated Charcoal is the easiest to find at a pharmacy. If they have Zeolite or Modified Citrus Pectin (PectaSol), those are great additions, but Charcoal is the “gold standard” for beginners.
- Electrolytes: Pick up Magnesium Glycinate or Citrate and some Sea Salt (like Celtic or Himalayan).
- Water: Swap the distilled water for Spring Water or Mineral Water.
The Prep (60 Minutes Before)
- Niacin Dose: Start with 50mg or 100mg. Do not start with 500mg! The flush feels like a prickly, itchy sunburn. It’s harmless, but it can be alarming if you take too much the first time.
- The Binder: Take 2 capsules of Activated Charcoal (with a full glass of water) at the same time as the Niacin.
- The Hydration: Drink 16oz of water with a pinch of sea salt and a squeeze of lemon.
The Wait
- Wait for the “Flush.” You’ll feel your ears get hot, then your face and chest will turn red. Once you feel the heat peaking (usually 30–45 mins in), head to the sauna.
The Sauna (Traditional Dry)
- Time: Aim for 15–20 minutes. Because it’s a dry sauna (very hot), don’t push for marathon sessions on day one.
- The Scrape: Use your “butter knife” (be gentle!) or a plastic scraper to move the sweat off your arms, legs, and torso. You’ll notice the sweat might look “milky” or greyish—that’s the biofilm and toxins coming out.
The Cold Rinse (Non-Negotiable)
- As soon as you step out, take a lukewarm-to-cold shower. Use soap to wash off the oils and toxins you just scraped and sweated out. Do not skip this, or your skin will just soak the toxins back in as you cool down.
If you choose to add exercise, the timeline looks like this:
- T-Minus 60 min: Take Niacin + Binders.
- T-Minus 40 min: Once you feel the “flush” starting, begin 20–30 minutes of light-to-moderate exercise.
- The Rebounder (Mini-trampoline): This is the gold standard for detox because the jumping motion is the most effective way to move lymph fluid.
- Brisk Walking or Light Cycling: Enough to get a “light glow” of sweat going.
- Jump Rope: Very effective if you have the stamina.
- Sauna Time: Enter the sauna immediately after your workout while your blood is pumping and your pores are already starting to prime.
You should add silica supplement to your water after you finish your sauna session. While you can drink silica-rich water throughout the day, it is most effective as part of your rehydration because it helps your kidneys filter out the metals that the Niacin and heat just shook loose from your tissues.
The Source: You can use Silica Drops (look for “Concentrace” or “BioSil”) or buy Silica-rich Mineral Water (brands like Fiji, Volvic, or Acilis).