Dermatology: Effect Of Regular Sauna On Epidermal Barrier Function And Stratum Corneum Water-Holding Capacity In Vivo In Humans A Controlled Study

Main Category: Dermatology
Also Included In: Clinical Trials / Drug Trials
Article Date: 09 Aug 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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Sauna has a long-standing tradition on the Northern hemisphere, with Scandinavia and Russia looking back over more than 2,500 years of using sauna as a popular procedure to cleanse and regenerate the body. Over the last few years, sauna has become the epitome of wellness, with many studies proving its positive influence on general health. However, although sauna appears to benefit the skin, as every aficionado will happily expound, this had never been scientifically proven until now. Recently however, a group of researchers at the University of Jena has demonstrated that regular sauna leads to a more stable epidermal barrier function, an increase in stratum corneum hydration as well as a faster recovery of both elevated water loss and skin pH. What is more, they also proved that heart beat rate and ionic concentration in sweat as well as epidermal blood perfusion showed a training effect under regular sauna: the more you go, the more your skin and your heart seem to benefit!

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