Wellness bath procedures. The benefits of bath procedures for women and men, indications and contraindications. We transform the steam room into a spa salon: the most effective procedures in the steam room and sauna

18.07.2019

The life of any person is inextricably linked with the environment.
The influence of natural factors on life cycles and human health is a constantly open topic of discussion.

This manual is conceived with the aim of understanding the bath process from all sides, the procedures used in the bath and the equipment that makes it possible to create these procedures.
The Russian steam bath is a cultural heritage that we have not yet lost.

Anapa, 2012

Modern bath

Living in harmony with nature is a primary task, the solution of which for a person is a matter of existence. They are trying to resolve global environmental issues at the interstate level. And what about us ordinary consumers living in the confined space of an industrial society?

A tradition that does not develop is doomed to oblivion

Lifestyle is of paramount importance in maintaining health. Nutrition, physical activity, maintaining tone, emotional and mental components allow a person to develop harmoniously.
In the past, by identifying positively influencing actions on the human body, people have created requirements for collective behavior. These requirements developed into traditions that at an early stage of the development of society, in the absence of scientific justification, were quite logical and were not subject to any discussion.
So at the dawn of mankind, traditions arose of maintaining a general order and hierarchy, maintaining cleanliness and health.
Traditions evolved into culture. Culture of behavior, life, work, rest. Undoubtedly, the culture of a healthy lifestyle has occupied and still occupies one of the most important places in the formation and development of society.
For a long time, the culture of bathing has been built on the principle of the needs of society. This culture had a clear division into public baths and family baths. Public baths were created to maintain cleanliness among people living in densely populated cities, and their main purpose is to prevent diseases through cleanliness of the body. However, over the centuries, observations about water procedures and thermal effects on the recovery of patients have led to the emergence of clinics using baths.
The culture of purity is characteristic of all peoples. Each state proclaimed the health of the nation as its property, therefore, water thermal procedures were used by the ancient Greeks and Romans, by the Turks, the peoples inhabiting modern Russia. In Japan, a dirty, unwashed person could not appear in society, otherwise he would be punished.
History has a vivid example, when in Europe, fighting for moral purity out of religious fanaticism, they began to prohibit the display of naked bodies, and therefore banned baths. Bath traditions were forgotten, bath culture died. Plague, typhus, smallpox epidemics kept entire peoples in constant fear. And only the return of the culture of purity of the body made it possible to restore calmness to the society, which got rid of mass diseases.

The culture of the bathing business is not only cleansing from dirt, but also the ability of each individual to restore, cleanse, heal, and correct. When you hear someone's statement that only a washing function is inherent in the bath, you involuntarily recall European countries that have unlimited opportunities for washing and cleaning the body, but have lost the link of water and thermal application procedures for a deeper approach to human health.
As it is written in one ancient treatise, ablution gives ten advantages: clarity of mind, freshness, vigor, health, strength, beauty, youth, purity, pleasant skin color and attention of beautiful women. Note that someone who understands a lot about the steam bath, goes to the bath not so much to wash as to warm up and sweat.

Warming up leads to a beneficial change in the functional state of organs and systems of the body, increased metabolism, promotes the development of protective and compensatory mechanisms. This is explained by the beneficial effects of heat and sweating on the cardiovascular, respiratory, thermoregulatory and endocrine systems in most people. The bath soothes the nervous system, restores vigor, and increases mental capacity.
Staying in a bathhouse of a person leads to significant changes in the activity of the cardiovascular system. The heart rate rises and reaches 100-160 beats per minute, i.e. increases by 60-70% compared to the indicators before visiting the bath. In the bath, blood circulation increases due to a decrease in peripheral resistance and the opening of arteriovenous shunts in the vessels of the skin. Due to changes in the temperature of the skin and internal organs while in the steam room, blood circulation changes in all systems and organs of the body. Cardiac output increases 1.5-1.7 times. In this case, the blood flow time is reduced by almost 2 times. In the steam room there is a rapid distribution of blood in various organs. The cutaneous blood circulation changes especially sharply both during the period of hyperthermia (i.e. in the steam room) and when taking water procedures during the cooling period. When sweating in the steam room, the vessels of the skin expand significantly.

The heart rate and cardiac output are especially significantly increased at high temperatures on the upper shelf of the steam room. Dousing with cold water dramatically reduces the heart rate - by 30-35 beats per minute or more.

The strength of the effect depends on the microclimate of the steam room and the physiological state of the steamer. Air saturation with water vapor promotes the exchange of alveolar air, improves the activity of the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract due to condensation of water vapor on it, affects the thermoregulation of the body by sweating, etc. Under the influence of the bath, oxygen consumption increases and the emission of carbon dioxide increases. During the stay in the steam room, the breathing rate increases to 20 breaths per minute, the vital capacity of the lungs increases, sometimes up to 20%, and the ventilation of the lungs increases. The bathhouse can play an important role in the prevention of respiratory diseases. The active factors of the bath in the treatment of respiratory diseases are heat, hyperthermia of the whole organism, contrasting temperature effects. The bath has a positive effect on the immune processes and eases the course of chronic inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory tract, which are often difficult to respond to conventional methods of therapy

The warmth of the steam room promotes relaxation of the tissues of the external respiratory organs, improves the mobility of the segments of the spine and joints, relaxes the ligamentous structures, tense respiratory muscles, etc. An important effect of the steam room is the expansion of the bronchi. As a result of local relaxation, breathing becomes rapid and deep.

The steam room is the only simulator on which you can train not only the muscles and the heart, but also the vessels, the autonomic nervous system. That is, the steam room is the only place where you can purposefully regulate pressure for the rest of your life, and without the use of pharmaceuticals.
Naturally, in order to build a training methodology, you need to understand the nature and nature of pressure problems and, of course, observe the main principle of any training - gradualness.
People with high blood pressure generally tolerate the Russian bath well, in order to make vaping even more comfortable and beneficial for them, it is recommended to immediately thoroughly warm up the feet and calves, then make poultices on the collar zone and on the projection of the kidneys on the back. The main thing for hypertensive patients is not to overload in the steam room, i.e. vaping can be more intense, but short, so as not to bring to heat shortness of breath. After the steam room, at first, it is better not to use very cold water.
It is more difficult with hypotonic patients, their blood pressure is already low, but here it is still decreasing. However, if you don't practice, you can't fix anything. For hypotonic people, it is better to first drop into a cold shower or into a hot tub, then a sharp intense steaming and then back into a hot tub.
For those who have problems with pressure, the role of the correct use of aromas in the steam room increases significantly.
For hypertension, the following herbal preparations help well: ylang-ylang, hyssop, lemon, lavender, juniper, cypress, geranium, thuja.
For hypotonic patients: rosemary, ginger, pine, cloves, sage, thyme, leuzea, verbena.

Cosmetologists claim that the effectiveness of caring procedures for the face and body is significantly increased if they are carried out on steamed skin. It is best to do this in a bath or sauna, but not all masks and scrub creams are suitable for this. You need to know and follow the rules for visiting and behaving in a sauna so that you get only a high-quality result from visiting.

Read in this article

The benefits of a sauna for body and body

A visit to the bathhouse and sauna is recognized as useful not only by adherents of traditional methods of treatment and prevention of diseases, but also by official medicine. The effect of hot steam on the skin is generally obvious:

the temperature of the surface of the epidermis rises, which causes the rapid and complete rejection of the "shell" of dead scales;
pores open, all the dirt begins to come out of them - the remnants of the secretion of the sebaceous and sweat glands, dust, cosmetics;
the epidermis begins to actively "breathe" and pass all the beneficial substances into the deep layers of the skin;
excess fluid comes out of the skin and the whole body, which solves the problem of edema and cellulite.

Infrared sauna

Precisely because the skin “opens up” to receive various nutrients, various skin care procedures will be especially beneficial for it.

In addition, the sauna has a positive effect on the functioning of the whole organism:

muscles become softer, relax as much as possible;
blood vessels dilate, blood flow to all organs increases;
the functionality of the heart muscle is activated;
motor reaction increases, attention becomes more concentrated.

It is also well known what effect the sauna has on the psycho-emotional background - the mood rises, anxieties go away, irritation disappears.

An excellent option would be to visit with some spa treatments at the same time. They will bring maximum benefit to the skin and solve many problems.

SPA treatments for the skin in the sauna: which can be done and which can not

There are several prohibitions on spa treatments for skin care:

Deep cleansing of the skin. We are talking about peeling, which, with such a maximum steaming of the epidermis, will cause quite serious damage to it. Even if natural formulations are used as cleansing agents, you should not neglect the recommendation of refusing the procedure.
Massage with anti-cellulite creams. The problem can arise literally "out of the blue" - the vessels close to the surface of the skin, under the influence of high temperatures, become so fragile that they can rupture and hemorrhage under the skin. It is unlikely that this will add health, but the fight against bruises (hematomas) will last for several weeks.
Use moisturizers or nourishing creams. After visiting the sauna and carrying out a number of spa procedures, you just need to dry the skin, and all other cosmetics are used at least 10 to 12 hours later.

Various masks for face and body skin, scrubs and rinsing are allowed, but only under the following conditions:

Before heading to the steam room, you need to thoroughly rinse off dirt and makeup in the shower. Ablutions must be performed in the future, before each entry into the "hot room". By the way, you don't need to stay in it for more than 10 minutes.

It is possible to apply cosmetics on the face and body only during breaks between couples procedures. It is generally forbidden to do anything directly in the steam room, otherwise the opposite effect may occur, when the thermoregulation of the skin is disturbed when the pores are blocked and high air temperatures. The result can be fainting, hypertensive crisis, convulsive activity, acute heart failure.
Apply scrubs, masks and other products after the first visit to the steam room. By this time, the adaptation of the body has not yet been completed, additional stress in the form of a mass of nutrients that have entered the skin will definitely not be useful to it.

For information on which face and body care procedures are recommended to be performed in the sauna, and which are not, see this video:

Body and face scrubs

If you mix the coffee grounds from the drink you have drunk with a little honey, you get an excellent remedy for cleansing the skin of the body. The product is applied to the cover, rubbed in a circular motion for 15 - 20 minutes, then washed off with warm or cool water. In the case of too coarse foci (heels, elbows, knees), medium-ground salt and baking soda are added to the mentioned composition. For cooking, all ingredients are taken in equal proportions.

The skin of the face is more delicate, the above recipes are categorically not suitable for it. The following product combinations are optimal choices:

cream or sour cream (1 tablespoon) + fine sea salt (1 teaspoon);
sour cream (2 tablespoons) + chopped fresh cucumber pulp (1 tablespoon) + 5 drops of lemon juice;
small oatmeal (4 tablespoons) + cream (3 tablespoons).

The product should be on the face for no more than 10 minutes, then it is washed off with cool water.

Nourishing face masks

They are applied before the last entry into the steam room, since the skin at this moment is as cleansed and warmed up as possible, so all the beneficial substances from the cosmetic product will completely pass into the deep layers of the cover. The best sauna recipes are:

From clay... You can use blue or white, for 100 g of powder you need to add such an amount of warm water so that the result is a homogeneous mass. Clay itself contains more than 50 minerals and trace elements, so even a basic product is suitable for nourishing the skin of the face.

But if you wish, you can add aloe juice to it - with oily or inflamed skin, milk or sour cream - with increased sensitivity of the cover, oat flour - with a problem type.

From cottage cheese... This fermented milk product is considered universal in cosmetology and can be used to care for any type of facial skin. Mix cottage cheese with honey, oat flour, sour cream, medicinal chamomile oil or algae powder. Before adding an additional ingredient, the curd must be mixed with milk and ensure a homogeneous mass.
From fruits and berries... Everything is simple here: strawberries, apples, lingonberries, melon pulp or any other fruits / berries are crushed in mashed potatoes and applied to already cleansed and scrubbed skin. There is one nuance here: a strong allergy can occur to such a mask, so you need to choose those products that are adequately perceived by the body. When in doubt, it is better to give preference to non-red ingredients, for example, peaches, plums, apricots.

Masks for mature skin

Age is not at all a reason to refuse to visit the sauna, having previously agreed with the doctor. And if there are no contraindications to such pleasure, then you should take care of mature skin. The most relevant for her will be masks based on yeast. Alcoholic ("raw") yeast is used for cosmetic procedures, which is compulsorily crushed and mixed with warm water to obtain a thick, but soft mass. And now you can add to it:

egg yolk;
banana pulp;
liquid honey;
cream.

The amount of ingredients when mixing is taken in equal proportions. And if mature skin is of an oily type and has many age spots, then a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide added to yeast will help to cope with these problems.

For the rules for peeling body skin in a sauna, see this video:

Body and hair care after

After visiting the sauna and carrying out a number of caring procedures, you need to leave the skin of the body and face "alone". After cooling down, many apply moisturizers or nourishing creams to it - this is not necessary. Only if the rest in passed without scrubbing and applying masks, you should use some kind of cosmetics, for example, professional creams.

Hair is also exposed to the heat of the hot air in the sauna, and this is not always beneficial. Firstly, you need to know that it is strictly forbidden to visit a steam room with wet curls - they will become dry and with split ends. This can be avoided by using a bath cap or towel.

Secondly, you need to wash your hair only after the last visit to the steam room, when you have a shower, rest and return home. You can also use masks for them.

You can use a completely extraordinary proposal: mix 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise with a teaspoon of grated garlic and distribute over the entire length of the hair, affecting the scalp. This mask is applied after the first visit to the steam room and is not washed off until the end of the sauna visit.

Since garlic can give a specific smell to curls, it is better to use shampoo with a strong, aggressive aroma when washing them. But the result will be surprising - the hair will become silky, shiny and smooth.

Maoines and Garlic Hair Mask

Contraindications to visit

Sauna, coupled with cosmetic SPA procedures, works wonders: the skin becomes smooth, even, wrinkles disappear, elasticity appears. But if all the described means can be used outside, then not everyone is allowed to visit this place. Doctors categorically prohibit going to the sauna when:

menstruation and pregnancy;
recovery after undergoing surgical interventions;
any problems in the work of the heart and blood vessels;
tumor-like neoplasms of a benign or malignant nature;
varicose veins;
an increase in body temperature against the background of any diseases;
infectious and inflammatory diseases;
dermatological problems;
circulatory disorders in the brain.

Observing the rules for visiting the sauna and conducting spa procedures for the skin of the body and face, regularly performing the described manipulations, you can achieve a lot. The steam room not only normalizes and stabilizes the psycho-emotional background, protects the body from stress, but also makes the skin smoother, smoother, relieves it of acne and blackheads, smoothes fine wrinkles.

Bath procedure - cold treatment

If you have a mild cold, runny nose, cough, redness in the throat, but there is no fever, some bath procedures may well relieve these unpleasant phenomena. Our grandmothers knew about them well, they successfully treated colds in the bath, even in small children.

Bath procedure for the treatment of colds # 1: sit in a hot bath for 5 - 7 minutes to open the pores of the skin. Then rub the honey into your throat and chest (but not your heart). Wait 3 to 5 minutes without washing. During this time, the honey is completely absorbed into the skin, without leaving even the feeling of clammy skin when washing.
Bath procedure for the treatment of colds # 2: before adding a steam (bzdanut), splashing a bucket of water on hot stones, drop 5 - 10 drops of eucalyptus or fir oil into a bucket of hot water. The steam that appears after this will contain essential oils of eucalyptus or fir, which easily penetrate the throat, especially if you breathe first through your nose and then through your mouth.
Bath procedure for the treatment of colds # 3: Soak spruce and fir brooms in hot water for 2 - 3 minutes. First, move the fir broom over the skin of the chest, back and throat, touching the broom lightly, until the needles of the broom tingle slightly. Then roll the broom and massage the back by pressing and rolling it down the back. Of course, in this case, you need someone's help. After that, place a softened spruce broom around your neck and hold it there for 3 to 5 minutes. Read about the benefits of each type of brooms in the article: The best brooms for a bath.

All three of these bath procedures will benefit the bronchi, ease breathing, relieve sore throat and reduce coughing. It is a good idea to repeat these therapeutic bath procedures 2-3 times within 10 days.

Bath procedure for weight loss

Mix three ingredients: salt, cream and honey and rub this mixture into the body before going to the bath. Rub your belly clockwise. After that, go to a hot, steam bath, and sit there without washing for 10 - 15 minutes. Then you can wash as usual or simply rinse off the rest of the mixture with water. The loss of two or three kilograms is guaranteed to you. Such bath procedures can be repeated with each visit to the bath.

Bath procedure - getting rid of cellulite

Mix half a cup of honey with a chopped bunch of parsley, bring the mixture until smooth. Steam in a hot bath for 10 minutes. After that, apply a mixture of honey and parsley to problem areas of the skin and sit in the bath for another 15 minutes. After this period, rinse off the remains of the mixture with warm water.

Sauna treatment for the elimination of acne

Steam a linden broom in hot water for 10 minutes. Treat, that is, rub with a hot broom, areas affected by acne, 2-3 times. Spend 5-7 minutes in a hot bath or steam room for the first time, then pour yourself over with cool water and rest. The second time, increase the time spent in the bath to 10 minutes. For the third time, you can massage the whole body with a hot broom. All three times - this is one bath procedure, that is, one visit to the bath. This bath procedure can be repeated every bath until the acne disappears.

Bath procedure - skin renewal

Sit in a steam bath for 5-7 minutes without steaming. During this time, the body will warm up and the pores of the skin will open. Relax for 15 minutes and then steam with a broom. Wash off with warm water. At this time, the skin pores not only open, but all harmful substances (dirt, sebum) come out of them and are washed off with sweat and then with water. After your skin pores are cleansed, we cleanse and nourish the skin by applying cosmetic masks, and for the body and face - different masks. For the body, you can prepare a mask by mixing a tablespoon of honey with a tablespoon of ground coffee.

For the face skin, we are preparing a more gentle mask. Soak one teaspoon of oatmeal in a tablespoon of kefir and apply it to the face with gentle massaging movements. After three to five minutes, wash off the masks from the face and body with warm water. Such cosmetic bath procedures can be carried out every visit to the bath. After the very first session of this bath procedure, you will feel that your skin is rejuvenated, smooth and elastic.

So, lose weight, rejuvenate and strengthen your health with the help of bath procedures!

In Russia, the bath was appreciated as a universal medicine for many ailments. As you know, a Russian person does not know anything about the middle, so they steamed earnestly, sometimes until they lost consciousness. Such inveterate lovers of the bath heat had to be poured out of the hole with water. Those who were stronger themselves jumped out of the steam room directly into the snowdrift, rubbed themselves with snow until they were red, poured cold water over them. In the summer they plunged into a river or lake, but the greatest pleasure from the bath was obtained precisely in the winter, during the cold season, when a person yearns for the sun and warmth. And colds at this time often overwhelm him. In order to make your body immune to ailments, a bath was invented, an amazingly powerful effect on the human body, a hardening and strengthening procedure.

They also whipped themselves mercilessly with a broom in the bath, adding to the healing power of steam the action of healing aromas and a deep massage of the whole body. Well, these healthy, strong, people accustomed to physical work could afford such a luxury - to take a steam bath without risking getting sick after that. A modern person, leading a sedentary lifestyle, weakened by the benefits of civilization, cannot handle such a tough procedure. Especially at first. The body needs to be accustomed to the bath gradually, very carefully dosing the load, gradually increasing the time spent in the steam room. For beginners and those whose vessels are out of order, the pressure "jumps", it is dangerous to douche with cold water between visits to the steam room. You should not drink a lot of fluids in the bath - this increases the burden on the heart. Even very healthy people should not swim for too long after a steam room in a cold pool: prolonged hypothermia after a steam room is fraught with colds.

So, the old bathhouse, with its hot steam, with its breathtaking contrasting treatments, is no longer within our reach? Not at all. In fact, everything is possible, more precisely, everything is possible, you just need to know how, when and where, namely: how to properly prepare a steam room, choose a safe steaming mode, when to give preference to a particular bath procedure and where these procedures should be performed. After all, the steaming mode, for example, in a sauna, differs from the way of taking a bath procedure in a Russian steam room. Moreover, even with different humidity in the steam room, different temperature conditions, you also need to steam in different ways.

In this regard, it is very interesting to get acquainted with what Avicenna wrote about the bath. Of course, an oriental bath is different from a Russian steam bath, but I think the recommendations of the great healer will be useful to us as well. Avicenna believed that the bath is necessary primarily for people who need warmth and hydration of the body. To achieve this result, it is not necessary to be in the bath for too long. As soon as the body is completely reddened, you can leave the bath. Those who are engaged in physical exercises should go to the bathhouse after having rested.

Another recommendation that applies to everyone without exception: you need to enter the bath gradually and not be in a hot room until you feel sick. You need to go to the steam room some time after eating, having digested what is in the stomach. It is advisable for people with a hot nature to eat something light just before the bath. As for drinking, it is dangerous to drink both too cold and too hot drinks in the bath. As for the healing effect of cold water, Avicenna believed that it is useful only for people who have reached maturity, whose nature (in this case, health means) is perfect, namely: such a person should not suffer from indigestion, vomiting, diarrhea, insomnia, catarrh.

If you adhere to the instructions, the bath, according to Avicenna, will bring undoubted benefits, since it "soothes, opens pores, gives the body shine, dissolves excess, in addition, the bath liquefies harmful thick juices, attracts nutrients to the surface of the body, relieves fatigue" ...

However, excessive exposure to the heat of the bath makes the skin sluggish, deprives it of elasticity. This warning especially applies to women who want to maintain a beautiful breast shape. It is curious that most of the statements of the great Avicenna are not unfounded.

So, even if you did everything right and prepared the "perfect" steam room, excessive diligence alone can cause serious harm to your body. What can we say about those cases when the steam room is prepared by a would-be amateur? Probably, many people are familiar with this picture: white clouds of steam rise under the ceiling of the steam room, dampness, fog, scalding steam are all around. Some believe that this is exactly what a real Russian bath should be, so they splash into the stove, basin after basin, barely warm water. However, such a bath can only do harm. Let's remember the first rule: in a real steam room, the air should be transparent, light, and you can breathe in such a steam room without difficulty.

Another thing is that both the temperature and humidity in the steam room can and should be regulated. Some people benefit from mild steam, while others benefit from moist, dry steam. Let's note one thing: extremes, namely waterlogged steam or, conversely, too dry, will not benefit anyone. Ottak baths are not only of little use, but also no pleasure. Watery steam in the bath is damp, stuffy, breathing is difficult, as too much moisture gets into the lungs. It is very easy to catch a cold after a wet steam room. In a dry steam room, the air is too hot, burns the skin, mucous membranes, and burns are possible. The effect of both baths is minimal, but health problems can arise very soon.

Steam room preparation

Cleaning

So, we found out that the bath procedure can bring not only benefits, but also harm. Therefore, it is important to learn how to prepare healing (or soft, or slightly moist) dry steam. But first you need to prepare a steam room for a bath procedure. If you have your own sauna, it is easier to do this. You just need to know the basic hygiene rules. If you use a public bath, you will have to resort to some tricks.

Any steam room needs cleaning. It accumulates debris, leaves flying around from the brooms, by the end of the day a heavy smell of sweat "hangs" in the steam room, the air becomes stale, because the bath is like a living organism: giving people heat and

healing aromas, in return it absorbs all harmful secretions accumulated in the human body, which, together with sweat, come out through the pores of the skin.

Sometimes it is enough to sweep and ventilate your own steam room. You need to sweep the shelves very carefully. The walls in the baths are usually made of wood. In this case, they must not be washed. But the floors can be tiled, with wooden flooring. The floorings are cleaned of debris, dried well, and the floors are thoroughly washed with hot water and wiped dry. The steam room is ready. We will tell you how to heat the stove below.

How to dry a wet steam room

If you use a public bath, try to visit it early in the morning. First, the bath is cleaned the night before. Secondly, in the morning you can fully enjoy the heat of the sauna, which has not yet been spoiled by the efforts of would-be amateurs who breed dampness in the steam room. If it did happen, it doesn't matter. Even such a steam room can be “saved”. First, you need to wash it properly. One of the advantages of public baths: quite often they (sometimes directly under the shelf) have a pipeline.

With its help, you can quickly and efficiently put things in order in the steam room. First, the entire steam room is thoroughly poured with jets of hot water, with the exception of the walls, if they are wooden. The tiled walls can be washed without fear, but this is where the advantages of the tiled walls in the steam room are exhausted, the steam in such a steam room cannot be dry or transparent, it is always a wet, painful steam room, it is better to leave the bath with such a steam room immediately in order to avoid serious consequences (such a steam room is an ideal place for the spread of fungus and various infections).

The floor should be watered with cold water until it cools well. In this case, a temperature difference is created between the cold floor and a well-heated ceiling, which leads to the wet heavy steam sinking down. Within 5-7 minutes it will be pulled out by ventilation along with unpleasant odors.

If you still feel dampness in the air, you need to put at least two basins of water on the stove. Of course, not immediately, but in several steps, each time giving about a third of the pelvis to the stones. The rising steam will warm up both the walls and the ceiling well, but the main thing is that we will finally get rid of both dampness and unpleasant odors accumulated in the steam room. When the whole room is filled with raw steam, we will consider our task almost completed.

It is very useful to use scented water when cleaning the steam room. In your own bathhouse, you can use coniferous or mint infusion. In public, getting rid of excess steam and bad odors, you can put lime or eucalyptus infusion on the stones. In the old days, kvass diluted with water was splashed on the stove. There are many recipes, but we will tell you more about their healing power in the chapter specially devoted to herbal infusions.

If the stove in the steam room heats well, the steam room will dry out quickly. Dry spots begin to appear on the steps of the shelf. If, after dispensing water, you raise your hands over the slightly open door, you can accurately determine whether the steam room is well dried. If the steam burns your hands, the job is not finished yet. If the skin of your hands does not burn, then the steam room is almost dry. It is only necessary to remove the remaining moisture from the floor. To do this, you need to add hot water to the stones. But this must be done carefully, not in a hurry. Now the bath heat will displace all the remnants of wet steam. It's time to start preparing dry and clean steam for our steam room.

However, the described case is almost perfect. If you come to the bathhouse at the end of the day, the stove will most likely cool down considerably. It takes time to warm it up properly, but it, as usual, is not enough. Well, there is a way out of this situation. After cleaning the steam room, you need to open the oven doors wide and splash there as much as half a weight of water. Water, penetrating deep into the furnace, gets on the cast-iron sides, which, as a rule, keep the required temperature for quite a long time. If necessary, splash water on the stones several more times, then close the oven doors, leaving only a narrow gap for the hot steam to escape. Then the oven doors are opened. Now you can steam with a broom.

Of course, steam in such a steam room will be far from ideal, but it's still better than nothing. Until recently, a real stove was rarely found in public baths. There, most often steam is supplied through pipes from a steam boiler. As a rule, the air in such a steam room is too humid, heavy, stuffy, hot. Some connoisseurs are trying to assure that a similar, if one may say so, a steam room can be dried using a method similar to that already described above. From our point of view, these are nothing more than good wishes, especially considering that such steam rooms are often tiled.

How to prepare dry steam

As we have already said, dry steam is valued in the Russian steam room. Steaming in such a bath, they get a double benefit. Which one? More on this later. Now let's talk about what needs to be done to prepare a truly healing dry steam. Let's make a reservation right away that it is impossible to get such steam in a Finnish sauna. A light stove (about 100-200 kg in weight) is usually installed in it, which perfectly heats dry air to very high temperatures - from 100 to 150 degrees. But such an oven cannot provide dry steam.

The Russian stove is much heavier - from 500 to 600 kg. Such a stove, when heated to 500-600 degrees, accumulates a significant amount of heat (approximately 300-350 thousand kilocalories). If water is poured onto such a red-hot oven very slowly and carefully, it immediately, practically without forming drops of water, goes into a state of dry steam. Moreover, it spreads in the steam room almost instantly, from ceiling to floor, displacing the air outward. Experienced bath attendants know that it is almost impossible to overmoisten such a steam room, of course, if the oven temperature does not drop below 400 degrees.

Dry steam is not safe by itself. Its highest temperature is directly at the stove. Therefore, you need to very carefully pour water onto the stones from a ladle with a long wooden handle. Steaming in a chamber filled with dry steam is not worth it, it is too harsh and unsafe procedure. It is better to prepare two others from dry steam: soft and moist.

Soft dry steam is especially recommended for the elderly, sick and weakened people, as well as for children and those who are taking their first steps in the art of bathing. This steam is easy to prepare. You need to go into a dry steam room with a raw broom soaked in cold water. A damp broom will become a soft steam source.

Humidified dry steam is the best you can think of for a healthy person. To prepare it, you need to alternately pour hot water on stones that are red-hot to crimson color - at the same time dry cotton is distributed, then on the less hot parts of the stove - from here the water evaporates with a slow hiss. Experienced bath attendants, like sophisticated cooks, prepare steam according to the following recipe: one quarter of moist and three quarters of dry steam. But the ability to cook such steam is a special art, and it takes a long time to learn.

In no case should the temperature of the stones be allowed to drop below 375 degrees, otherwise you will have to dry the room again. To prevent this, listen carefully to your feelings, your body will tell you better than any thermometer if the temperature is good, if there is enough dry steam. If the air in the steam room is not waterlogged, the hair begins to crackle slightly, it feels as though it is moving. If the temperature in the steam room is sufficient and it is at least half filled with dry and hot steam, there is a sensation, familiar to every regular in the bath, as if the ears are beginning to "curl". If this happened - stop. Otherwise overdry the steam room. If, on the contrary, when water is supplied to the stones instead of cotton, a hiss is heard, then you have overcooled the stove by flooding it too much with water. Wait until the stones are again heated to the desired temperature, and then just give the water a little.

Finally, if the thermometer in the steam room shows a temperature below 80 ° C, you need to raise the temperature of the steam, otherwise it will be oversaturated with moisture. To do this, put a very thin stream of water on the stones. Very soon the temperature in the steam room will rise to 100-120 ° C. This is the most optimal temperature for the steam room.

By the way, you should be especially careful to watch the ferry during the first entry into the steam room. The fact is that the first wave of steam is the most unstable. It passes quickly, so you need to remember to splash some water on the stones from time to time. This will not only add heat, but also allow you to better purify the air. After all, steam, passing into a liquid state, absorbs all unnecessary odors and perfectly cleans the atmosphere of the steam room. It is also necessary to pour water on stones wisely. It is best when water is poured into more than one area, but covers as large an area as possible. The sauna craftsmen manage to splash water in such a way that it falls on the stones like a fan. Some people recommend using a regular garden sprayer instead of a traditional long-handled bucket.

And the last thing: in order for the steam room to constantly have hot water to serve on the stones, you need to install a basin of water or infusion in a larger basin filled with boiling water.

Stages of the bath procedure

But the steam room is ready. You can start the bath procedure. Where to start? Of course, you should not immediately rush to the steam room, no matter how you miss the sauna heat. And it's not just about hygiene rules, although you shouldn't forget about them either. After all, the unpleasant smell of sweat does not improve the air in the steam room, as do the millions of microbes on the skin. The body must be very gradually prepared for the shake that the blood vessels and the heart will receive under the influence of high temperature. This is especially true for people suffering from cardiovascular diseases and who decided to improve their health with the help of a bath. There is no doubt that they will succeed, but there is no need to rush, everything has its time. After all, a bath is not only a steam room, it is also a whole series of procedures, and the overall health effect depends on how carefully you follow our recommendations. After all, the bath is good because it gives everyone the opportunity to choose what he needs.

Some will benefit from very hot steam, while others will benefit from moderate steam. For some, a pool with cold water or an ice shower is a panacea for all diseases. And for someone it is enough to take a warm shower and pour cold water after that. People with skin diseases need to introduce baths into the bathing procedure, and those with diseased kidneys should not abuse baths. The vaping mode can also be selected differently. It all depends on what goal you are pursuing. Do you want to lose weight? Please. Do you want to get better? No problem. Do you want to get rid of the disease? Nothing is impossible, you just need to choose the right sequence of procedures.

The first stage is a warm shower

So, the first thing to do, regardless of the purpose of your coming to the bathhouse, is to take a shower. The water should be pleasantly warm. If you like to splash in the pool longer, do it immediately after taking a warm shower (if the pool is public, you will have to wash with soap, if your own, you can do with warm water). After the steam room, it will be possible to plunge into the pool with cold water only for a short time. Long-term cooling after a heat treatment can lead to colds, even if you are a very hardened person. It is better not to wet your head before entering the steam room in order to avoid heatstroke or overheating of the head.

After the pool, you need to take a warm shower again. If you are cold, a hot foot bath will do the trick, the latter is highly recommended to anyone with vascular problems. You can take a foot bath directly under a hot or warm shower (by placing your feet in a basin of hot water). After warming up the feet properly, we proceed to warming up the whole body in the following sequence: hands, lower back, lower abdomen, after which you can put a stream of water on your shoulders.

If you get your hair wet, do not forget to dry it before entering the steam room. By warming up the body in this way, firstly, you clear the energy channels of the body, and secondly, you increase capillary peripheral bleeding. At the very beginning of the procedure, you may even feel a slight chill. But then the body will start to warm up more and more. This means that the vessels have expanded, the blood, like a full-flowing river, washes all organs, all parts of the body. The whole body is prepared for the effects of higher temperatures and is involved in cleansing work.

By the way, a hot shower is not only a preparatory procedure, it is also a serious test. When warming up under hot jets, pay attention to the color of the body. If it turns pink (for full-blooded people - red), everything is in order, you are ready to further warm up. But only if the body warms up evenly. If you find white or yellowish areas, you need to warm them up additionally. If they do not turn pink, this indicates a latent stage of a very serious disease. Take urgent measures before the process has gone very far (for more information, see the chapter "The Healing Properties of the Bath").

After the shower, you need to wipe the body dry. If this is not done, the water will interfere with good sweating. By the way, do not wash with soap before entering the steam room. Do this only as a last resort. If you don't rinse off the soap well enough, an unpleasant odor will appear in the steam room, it can sting your eyes. If you do use soap, rinse your skin with an infusion of mint or linden.

Second stage - entering the steam room

First visit to the steam room... We put on a bath cap or a hat with a felt or cotton fabric brim to protect it from overheating. The cap is also needed to protect the hair. After a long stay in the steam room, they become dry and brittle.

During the first visit, we steam ourselves without a broom. We don't give in to a couple either. You can simply take a wet broom with you and put it on the shelves. You can press it to your face - this kind of inhalation is especially useful for diseases of the upper respiratory tract. But we will postpone the broom massage until the next visit to the steam room.

What's next? We sit and sweat. And even better - we lie down, because in this position the bath heat evenly warms up the whole body. Also, if you sit, your head gets hotter as the hot steam rises upward. There is no need to overheat the head. But the legs, if you are lying, can be raised higher. In this position, the load on the heart is almost two times lower. In addition, the muscles completely relax, and it is in this state that they can be properly steamed.

After lying down for 3-4 minutes, you can climb higher. You should not be on the top shelf for more than 2-3 minutes during the first entry. If possible, you also need to lie down here. If you have to take a steam room while sitting, in no case hang your legs from the shelf. The temperature of the legs should not be lower (or better, that it was higher) than the temperature of the head.

Further, in the steam room you need to take a scraper or woolen mitt with you to dump sweat. Moreover, it is more convenient to use a mitten, because, dumping sweat, you simultaneously wipe the skin and cleanse it of keratinized particles. Getting rid of sweat is essential because it covers the entire body and prevents further perspiration. Some people use a massage brush to increase perspiration. This is also a good remedy.

If you feel hot, you can dampen your hat (but not your hair) with cold water. It is possible that this is a signal to leave the steam room. For the first time, five to seven minutes is more than enough. We leave the steam room. Wash off sweat with warm water.

The third stage - contrast procedures

You will learn about what contrast procedures are and how to use them in the bath from a special section. Here we will only touch on general principles. So, let's start with the fact that cold contrast procedures are not shown to everyone. For people with a weak heart, at first, it is better to refuse them altogether. In extreme cases, you can immediately after a warm shower, wash off the sweat after the first steam, stand under a cool stream for no more than two or three seconds.

Healthy people can stand for 3-4 seconds in a cold shower or plunge into a pool of cold water for a few seconds. The temperature in the pool should not be lower than 16 ° C, and even then, such cold water is good only for very overweight people. For everyone else, a temperature range of 18 to 20 ° C is recommended, even hardened people should not be in such water for more than two to three minutes. Rubbing with snow and an ice hole - only for absolutely healthy people.

After the pool, you need to take a warm or hot shower again, dry off, and rest a little. You can walk, then drink a glass of warm tea or herbal decoction, and preferably drink in small sips.

The rest time after each entry into the steam room is from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how you feel. If after the steam room you feel lethargy throughout your body, heaviness in your head, then you have enough for today. If you feel good, you can go to the steam room again.

Fourth stage - broom massage

During second visit to the steam room you can already steam with a broom, you can also give in to the heat. To do this, pour warm water (or infusion) into the heater in moderation. The second, as well as the third entry into the steam room is the most suitable time for bath magic. This is where everything you know about broom massage, infusions for a steam room, herbal teas, healing ointments and rubbing will come in handy. After all, an experienced bathhouse attendant, like a magician, knows a lot about all drugs. He skillfully uses the healing aromas of herbs, he skillfully steams a broom, prepares soft water (a bathhouse is especially good with such water); to prepare a healing, life-giving steam, you need to prepare for the bath, as for a holiday. In the book you will find bath recipes for every taste. Take advantage of them. You will not regret.

When steaming with a broom, you need to ensure that the temperature in the steam room is high enough and the steam is dry. The humidity required for a broom massage can be achieved from time to time by dipping the broom into cold water. If health permits, you can steam on the top shelf. Your partner must be a hardy person, because he will have to soar you while standing. In this position, the bath heat is most difficult to tolerate.

If white clouds of steam appear, it means that you have over-humidified the steam room, the temperature in the steam room has probably dropped to 60-70 ° C. Need to turn on the heat. Right now, bath accessories will come in handy, without which a true bath lover will not enter the steam room. However, if something is forgotten, there is always a way out. Even a broom can be replaced with a towel if necessary, not to mention broom mittens, hats, scrapers and so on. In other words, stick to tradition, but not dogma, because the bath is a very individual procedure.

During the second call, you can take a steam bath for 10-15 minutes. With each subsequent call, you can increase the duration of the procedure by another 1 - 2 minutes. However, it is important not to break the rule: The total time spent in the steam room should not exceed 35-40 minutes.

Moreover, this figure does not depend on the number of visits. Do you want to visit more often? Please. You just have to reduce the time spent in the steam room to 5-7 minutes on average.

We warn you right away - if you decide to use all the allotted time for one run, this will not lead to anything good. After 30 minutes in the steam room, the blood thickens, the pressure rises, and this is dangerous. Do not push to extremes, know how to stop in time.

Various vaping modes

For beginners, sick and weakened people.

Thermal foot treatment (hot shower or foot bath) - 10 minutes.
A visit to the steam room - no more than two runs for 3-5 minutes (the temperature on the upper shelf is not higher than 90 ° C).
Warm shower.
Go to a cool rest room.
Rubbing with a hard towel.

For relatively healthy people, children and adolescents.

Warming up the legs under a warm shower - 5 minutes.
A visit to the steam room - 5-7 minutes (two or three visits).
Contrast procedures: cool shower - 10-20 seconds, hot shower - 15-30 seconds, cool shower - 10-20 seconds.
After drying, rub with a hard towel.

For strong, seasoned people.

Warm shower - 5-7 minutes.
A visit to the steam room - three runs of 10 minutes each (temperature 100-120 ° C on the upper shelf).
Contrasting procedures - a very cold shower (up to 10 'C), a cold pool, an ice hole, a snowdrift, rubbing with snow.
Do not wipe the body, let it dry.

After active physical activity.

Warm shower - 5-7 minutes.
Two visits to the steam room, 5-7 minutes each (temperature 100-120 ° C on the upper shelf). Break between visits 10 minutes.
Cool shower.
Bath with a temperature of 39 ° C.

For those wishing to lose weight.

Three or four visits to the steam room for 5 minutes each (temperature 90-100 ° C on the upper shelf), steam on the middle shelf, lying down, with slightly raised legs. Break between visits 10 minutes. Second entry with broom massage.
After the second visit, drink a hot diaphoretic broth.
After the third session, massage - 10 minutes or wrap in a warm sheet.

For those who want to get better.

Before visiting the bath, you need to eat.
Warm shower, hot foot treatment - 5-7 minutes.
Three visits to the steam room, 5 minutes each (temperature 90 ° C on the upper shelf in the sauna or 70 ° C in the steam bath), steam on the middle shelf. Break between visits 10 minutes.
After the steam room, a cold shower or pool.
After the first visit to the steam room, eat some salted fish.
After the last visit to the steam room, make an oil massage.

Taking a sauna

In its effect on the body, a sauna differs from a Russian steam bath. Even though the temperature in a sauna is higher, many can tolerate the dry heat of a sauna more easily than the humid atmosphere of a steam bath. Elderly, weak, unhardened, sick people, women and children are better off taking dry air baths. Firstly, in a dry air bath, the load on the heart is much less than in a humid bath. In the first case, the pulse does not exceed 120 beats, in the second it reaches 170 beats per minute.

It is easy to breathe in the sauna: after all, the humidity here is no more than 20% (in a humid bath up to 80%). In addition, in a sauna the pressure even slightly decreases, while in a wet steam room it rises. The duration of a single stay in a steam sauna is longer than in a steam bath (IQ - 20 minutes). To take a steam bath, as in a Russian steam room, it is best to lie down, with slightly raised legs. Beginners should start the procedure from the bottom shelf (temperature 60 ° C). Move gradually to the middle shelf (up to 80 “C). On the top shelf, the temperature reaches 100 ° C - this is only for experienced bathers. After you start sweating, you need to remove the sweat from your skin.

After the steam room, you should immediately wash off the sweat, because as soon as the body temperature approaches normal, the released harmful substances will begin to be absorbed through the pores. First they take a warm shower, then a cool shower, then a hot or warm shower again. If desired, you can steam with a broom in the sauna, for this you need to splash a little water or infusion on the stones before the last entry, and constantly moisten the broom with water so that it does not dry out. The number of visits to the sauna: for healthy people - 2-3, for the weak and children - 1-2.

Massage

Massage in the bath is very useful. Bath heat warms up the body, makes it pliable, plastic. The massage is usually done after the second or third visit to the steam room. Broom massage - during the second or third session. True, you have to choose: either massage or cold treatments. The muscles warmed up by the massage do not tolerate hypothermia. In the bath, you can do not only broom or traditional sports massage, but also acupressure and oil massage. The latter is even preferable, because the skin overdried after a bath needs moisturizing and nourishment. We will tell you more about the types of massage in the Chapter "Massage in the sauna".

Steam room exercises

The effect of the sauna heat on different people is not the same. Someone's skin turns red or pink in the first 5-7 minutes of the procedure. For some, some areas of the body turn red, while others remain white or yellowish-pale. This means that not everything is in order with blood circulation. Oddly enough, many simply do not know how to really warm up in the steam room. To warm up the whole body

evenly, you need to relax properly. But we can't relax. The life of a modern person is such that he is in constant stress. In order to learn how to quickly and evenly absorb the life-giving warmth of the whole body, it is useful to perform a few simple, but very useful exercises. This is recommended primarily for people with problematic blood circulation, prone to diseases caused by stagnant processes in the body. Exercise will also bring relief to those who suffer from pain in the spine (osteochondrosis, sciatica), lead a sedentary lifestyle or experience stress on the back during the working day. They need to be performed while lying on your back on a shelf in the steam room.

The arms are extended along the torso, the muscles and joints are as relaxed as possible. Concentrate on the right foot, shake it and relax. Do the same with the calf muscle. Tighten the muscles of the lower leg and immediately "release" sharply. Shake the thigh muscles and immediately completely relax. Repeat the entire cycle for the left leg.
Without lifting your feet from the shelf, bend your knees and shake them 5-6 times, then straighten, relax, strain again and again sharply relax.
Focus on the right hand, shake it, relax. Repeat the sequence in Exercise 1, moving attention from hand to forearm. Do the same with the left hand.
Consistently relax the muscles of the neck, back, chest, especially carefully working out the shoulder areas.
Tighten sharply and strongly, and then relax the whole body.
Lie on a shelf, heels - at a distance of the length of the foot from the wall. Feet are almost parallel to the wall, relaxed. Stretch your heels against the wall, then relax, returning to the starting position. Pull out your socks, trying to touch the wall, relax again. Repeat several times.
Hands along the torso. Without taking them off the shelf, stretch your right hand to your right knee, return to the starting position. Repeat first with the left and then with both hands. Return to starting position.
Hands along the torso. Pull the head and shoulders up, stretching the spine. Return to starting position. Then stretch your arms up, close your hands “into the lock”. Stretch up, bend slightly, take the starting position.

The whole complex takes 5-6 minutes (this is how much is allocated for the first visit to the steam room). When doing the exercises, you need to breathe through your nose so as not to dry out your larynx. Passing through the nose, hot and dry air cools down to body temperature, becoming more humid.

If you find it difficult to do the exercises for five minutes, break the complex into two parts for 2.5-3 minutes. The first part can be performed during the first visit to the steam room, the second - in the following. In between runs, it is helpful to do a few vibration exercises to flush out the toxins.

Starting position: standing, legs together, arms along the torso, the spine is straight, the knees are slightly bent, the feet are parallel (you can with toes inward). Raise your heels 1-2 cm from the floor. Abruptly, with a thud, fall to the floor. Repeat. Perform for 2-3 minutes, achieving a feeling of vibration throughout the body. Then do the same, only now to tear off the heels, not the socks, from the floor. Perform 1-2 minutes. Completing the set of exercises, go up high on your toes 10-15 times, and then drop sharply on your heels.

If necessary, the exercise time can be halved. By adding vibration exercises to the previous complex, you will speed up the process of cleansing the body of toxins and toxins. The constant performance of vibration exercises in terms of the strength of the impact on the cell is equivalent to one-time ultrasonic anti-cellulite baths. If you add body massage with a dry hard brush made of natural bristles to exercises for a steam room and a vibration complex, this will not only eliminate circulatory problems, but also help you lose weight, get rid of cellulite, refresh and rejuvenate the skin.

It is also important that when losing weight in this case, the skin practically does not sag, as it happens during medical fasting or a strict diet. Thanks to massage with a brush and vibration massage, it remains elastic, elastic, skin blood circulation improves, and the work of the sebaceous and sweat glands is normalized. Massage with a stiff brush is performed along the massage lines. The problematic parts of the body are worked out with intense circular movements. Be careful not to cut your skin. Wipe the body dry before the massage.

Bath wash

In Russia, for a long time, there is a rough, but accurate saying: "Fools itch after a bath". Of course, it is not only (and not so much) about the bath, but nevertheless arose because washing in the bath, no matter how simple it may seem, also requires skill. This implies a cleansing procedure using detergents. After all, a regular shower (without soap) must be taken after each entry into the steam room. They wash with soap only after the very last call. The exception is those cases when the body must be properly cleaned of dirt and dust. Try to rinse off the soap as thoroughly as possible. In the hot atmosphere of the steam room, it smells unpleasant and stinging the eyes.

Sometimes they ask: how did you wash and steam in the same room before? Was the soap different then? Let's start with the fact that we didn't always wash with soap. In Russia, they used soapy plants or clay. With clay or chalk

those who washed their clothes with sand, washed their hair with special compounds. By the way, the hair after that became shiny, silky. And one more thing. When a soap-room was arranged from the bath, the humidity in it increased, and the temperature, accordingly, fell. Of course, the lather in this case did not have the same effect on the skin as, say, in a dry air bath.

Soap selection

So, we took a good steam, cleaned the body from keratinized particles with scrapers, the pores on our skin expanded. Now is the time to wash with soap and water. But first you need to choose the right detergent. Not all soaps are good for the skin. Rather, on the contrary, most detergents disrupt the acid-alkaline balance of the skin, impairing its protective properties. All sorts of highly publicized antimicrobial compounds are the worst things you can think of for your skin. The skin itself does an excellent job of killing germs, if it is not interfered with. Of course, after constant washing with antimicrobial soap, you can safely put an end to the skin's own protective properties.

Therefore, we will opt for the most innocuous option - baby soap. It is both soft and gentle, and quite effectively removes excess oil, dust flakes and other dirt from the skin. Soap compositions based on palm, olive, coconut and other vegetable oils are very useful for the skin. However, even such a mild soap is not suitable for delicate, sensitive, too thin and dry skin. She begins to blush, peel off. In this case, it is best to use special formulations for cleansing the skin - we will talk about them at the end of this chapter.

Washing head

Hair is a wonderful natural decoration for any person. But improper care of them can ruin even the most luxurious hair. Old cosmetic guidelines and reference books recommended washing hair with soap and mild water. This is not worth doing. Firstly, now in the afternoon with fire you will not find really soft water. Secondly, despite your efforts, the soap will still leave a thin grayish bloom on your hair. The cosmetics market offers a large selection of natural shampoos for any type of hair based on medicinal plants, honey, and seafood. After all, if you don't trust the shampoo manufacturers, you can make your own shampoo. Such shampoos nourish the hair skin well, give it a healthy look. If, despite careful care, the hair continues to remain dull, brittle, then you have health problems and your body is in dire need of vitamins, nutritional supplements, or requires urgent cleaning.

Water for washing hair should still be softened whenever possible. To do this, it is boiled for 3-5 minutes. After you wash your hair, it is useful to rinse your hair with clean water, which contains lemon juice, chamomile infusion (for light hair), lovage or birch leaves infusion (for dark hair). Do not wash your hair with too hot water, it becomes brittle. It is best to wipe your hair after washing not with a terry towel, but with a natural silk cloth. Silk perfectly dries hair, gives it a healthy shine.

Body wash

Improper use of even very high quality soap can harm your skin. Firstly, you should not rub the body directly with soap, there is a washcloth for this. Secondly, you cannot soap yourself several times in a row. This will dry out the skin and may cause itching. Finally, the washcloth should also not be rubbed with soap. It is much more useful to make lather. To do this, birch leaves are steamed in hot water (you can simply dip a broom), dilute the soapy foam and wash with this fragrant and thick foam. Liquid soap (like a shampoo) works very well on the skin. It, like ready-made foam compositions for baths, perfectly cleanses the skin without disturbing its acid-base balance.

The washcloth should be made from natural materials. In Russia, linden bast was used for this purpose. It turned out to be a very convenient washing device - silky and tough at the same time. For people with firm, healthy, dense skin, a natural bristle massage brush is suitable. For those with delicate, thin skin, it is better to use a natural sponge (such a sponge compares favorably with foam rubber with its spongy structure and sufficient elasticity). For everyone else, a puff scrubber is suitable - a plant that resembles a greenhouse cucumber.

A rough, woolen or linen mitten will also do. In the East, a horsehair mitt is used. She first removes the stratum corneum from the body steamed in the bath, and only then lathers the skin. When using linen, woolen mittens, or puffa scourers, you can use a Japanese bath recipe. It consists in the fact that healing herbs, citrus zest are put inside a washcloth or mitten. Then, when washing, the skin receives valuable nutrients and vitamins. You can also use the secret of Cleopatra, who wrapped the bran in a clean linen cloth - it turned out both a washcloth and soap at the same time.

Washing the body is not only cleansing it of dirt, but also an additional massage. Like any massage, it must be done correctly. The body is lathered in wide circular motions in an hour hand. The back and hands are rubbed vigorously along the massage lines. The abdomen is lathered in smooth circular motions. Then the feet are thoroughly lathered. Feet, hands and elbow skin require special care. More on this below. Wash off the soapy foam, first with moderately hot water, then upholstery with cold or cool water, then again with hot or warm water. Hot water should not be abused.

It has long been noted that frequent washing with hot water makes the skin flabby, lethargic, and fat-free. This happens due to stagnation of blood in the vessels of the skin, the cause of which is the excessive use of the thermal procedure. Hot water must be combined with cool water. Then the blood alternately rushes to the skin, then flows from it. Such gymnastics is very useful for blood vessels, and therefore for the skin itself. For people with dry skin, not only soap, but also hot water is contraindicated. They should wash with lukewarm water and then lubricate their skin with a moisturizing and emollient cream or composition. After the bath procedure, healthy normal skin needs at least an hour to restore the protective fat layer. Dry skin copes with this task even more slowly.

Foot and hand care

Now is the time to start washing your feet more thoroughly. First you need to make a soapy foot bath. To do this, dissolve soap and a tablespoon of coarse table or sea salt in a small basin. Keep your feet in this IQ solution for 15 minutes, after which you can rub your heels with a pumice stone, cut your nails and remove calluses. If your feet are well steamed after the bath, you can do without a soap bath. Corns are removed with a sterile razor. Old calluses should be removed gradually. So, after the bath procedure, it is very useful to apply a lemon peel to the corn with the white side. The procedure is repeated several times. Then carefully clean the dirt from under the nails, shorten the nails with scissors, forceps or file with files.

Cut the nails in such a way that their free edges protrude slightly above the soft part of the finger. It is impossible to cut the corners of the nails too much, they can grow into the skin, and this is a very painful phenomenon. So that the nails do not exfoliate, they are soft, elastic, after the bath procedure, it is useful to rub vegetable oil into them. It is also useful to rub oil into the feet, this prevents the formation of calluses, improves the general condition - after all, there are many reflex points on the foot, which are responsible for the state of almost all systems and organs of the human body.

To soften the hardened skin on the elbows, proceed as follows: after leaving the steam room, pour some heated vegetable oil into two small bowls (you can warm it up by placing it by the stove, but not on the stove!). Soak your elbows in the oil for 5 minutes. Then rub gently with a pumice stone. Then - do a soapy massage with a stiff brush. After washing off the foam, the elbows should be lubricated with either a fat cream or vegetable oil. Another tip is to keep your elbows in mind every time you use hand cream.

Rubbing the body

After finishing the bath procedure, we hasten to dry ourselves properly with a warm terry towel. And completely in vain. You should not wipe your body after a bath, as in general after all water procedures. Ideal: immediately after the bath, throw a cotton robe over the steamed body, as the Japanese do. If you don't have a robe, you can dab your skin with a sheet. If after a steam room you want to keep your body warm as long as possible, get wet with a terry sheet or towel, and then put on a terry robe. The latter should be made of natural fabric. No synthetics! Thus, you do not deprive your skin of invaluable moisture, but its appearance depends on the amount of moisture. No wonder cosmetologists advise to take walks in rainy weather, when the skin, like a sponge, absorbs moisture.

If, nevertheless, there is a desire to rub thoroughly after a bath (for example, to improve blood circulation), the body is rubbed with a linen cloth. Do not wipe, but rub it. And certainly a canvas. The rougher the canvas, the better for the body. The best cloth is homespun. The people attribute to him the properties of a talisman, it was believed that a freshly woven, never used canvas protects from evil spirits, with its help they got rid of damage and the evil eye. You need to grind with a canvas in the following sequence:

Hands... Having folded the canvas in four, rub the left hand from hand to shoulder along the back side and back (from shoulder to hand) along the inside. Ditto for the right hand.

Legs... Grind in reverse order: on the inner surface - from the feet up, on the outside - down.

Back... Take a folded canvas with both hands, rub the upper back vigorously from side to side.

Breast... With sliding movements, walk with the right hand with the canvas from the left shoulder to the right side of the groin, with the left - from the right shoulder to the left side. Perform alternately with each hand at least 10 times.

Stomach... Rub in a circular motion, pressing lightly with a cloth.

Small of the back... First, rub in the same way as the upper back, then, shifting the canvas into one or the other hand, rub from top to bottom and back to the left and right of the lumbar vertebrae.

Feet... Sit on a chair. Vigorously rub the soles of the feet with the cloth: first from the heel to the toes, then, in a circular motion, the entire foot. Especially vigorously you need to rub the place located under the middle of the pad.

Rubbing according to this scheme, you will preserve the health of the kidneys, lungs, and increase the skin blood circulation.

By rubbing the soles of your feet, you stimulate all the internal organs. As mentioned, acupuncture points on the soles (as well as on the palms of the hands and ears) are associated with almost all internal organs. By rubbing these body parts vigorously, you are thus giving an internal massage to the vital organs. The effectiveness of such a massage increases if you perform it after taking a steam bath.

You can, in addition, how to rub your face and ears. Try not to stretch your face while doing this. Ear massage is no less useful than foot massage. If, while washing in the bath, water accidentally gets into your ear, remove it by shaking your head bent to this side. In the summer you can not do this, the water will come out over time, but in the winter the middle ear can become inflamed.

Soap replacement formulations

Regular soap is not suitable for all people. We have already mentioned that thin, dry skin does not tolerate lather well. She flakes, turns red, too fat-free, and her protective layer of fatty acids is already too thin and weak. What to do? For centuries, people have dispensed with soap as we know it today. So, the ancient Romans had semi-liquid soap (it was made from goat fat and beech ash). During the excavations of Pompeii, vessels with such soap were found - they were used almost two thousand years ago. In ancient Egypt, soap was replaced with diluted wax. At the time of Cleopatra, other recipes for pasty soap, close to Roman, were also known. But Cleopatra herself did not use this soap. Of course, not because she considered it an expensive pleasure (soap in those times was not cheap), but because she replaced it with a product much more useful for sensitive female skin. We are Cleopatra's recipe. we will give a little below.

Actually, soap, close in composition to the modern one, first appeared among the Celts. Needless to say, the French put soap making on an industrial basis. It happened in the 9th century, and the Italians produced the first bar of solid soap in 1424. Since then, the composition of this popular detergent has undergone significant changes. Today, an increasing number of manufacturers are opting for natural herbal ingredients for making soaps. However, most commercially available soaps have the following disadvantages:

degrease the skin;
remove valuable natural components (for example, vitamins) from its surface;
dry out the pores.

The latter ages the skin, dehydrates its surface layers, worsens the condition of collagen fibers.

The pastes prepared on a natural basis perfectly cleanse the skin, nourish it, make it look healthy and smooth.

There is an ancient Sufi parable about how a man asked God to bring him food along the river so that a person engaged in spiritual exercises would not waste time taking care of food. His request was fulfilled. Every day the river brought him a piece of fragrant halva wrapped in a rag. The man nevertheless decided to find out where this heavenly food comes from. He went upstream of the river and, having overcome many difficulties, learned that fragrant halva was nothing more than the remnant of toilet paste, which the king's daughter used to cleanse her body every day.

Here are some recipes for cleansing pastes. First of all, they will interest women, but we recommend them to everyone, without exception, especially to people with problem skin and adolescents.

Pea flour paste. Pea flour - 5 tablespoons, mustard oil - 2 teaspoons.

Mix the finished pea flour (or freshly ground from dry peas) with butter, add a little water until a thick paste is obtained. You can add 1 drop of iodine or 0.5 teaspoon of dry herb celandine to the composition.

Aromatic paste. Pea flour - 5 tablespoons, germinated wheat oil - 1 teaspoon, rose oil - 10 drops.

Cook in the same way as in the previous recipe. You can add 1 teaspoon of fenugreek powder to the mixture.

Milk mustard paste. White or yellow mustard seeds - 0.5 cups, milk - 2.5 cups.

Mix milk with mustard seeds, bring to a boil, boil until the milk completely evaporates, not allowing the mixture to burn. Dry the boiled seeds, then grind them with a pestle, pour into a glass or ceramic container. Before use, mix with a small amount of whole (or thick powdered) milk until the consistency of thick sour cream.

Wheat paste. Wheat flour 1st or 2nd grade - 1/3 cup, germinated wheat oil - 1 tablespoon, lemon juice - 2 tablespoons.

Add lemon juice to the germinated wheat oil, then gradually add flour, grind until the consistency of thick sour cream. Store in the refrigerator no more than 24 hours after preparation.

Cleopatra paste. Bran (can be replaced with oatmeal or oatmeal) - 1/3 cup, milk powder - 1/3 cup, starch - 1/3 cup, olive oil - 1 tablespoon.

Mix all the components well, wrap in a clean linen cloth, use for washing the body instead of soap and a washcloth. Powdered milk can be replaced with infant formula.

Almond paste. Freshly made almond paste - 1 tablespoon, freshly made hazelnut paste (hazelnuts) - 2 teaspoons, germinated wheat oil - 1 tablespoon, pea or wheat flour - 4-5 tablespoons, boiled milk froth - 1 tablespoon , lentil paste - 4-5 tablespoons.

Soak almonds and hazelnuts separately overnight in a little water. In the morning, remove the peel from the nuts, chop, add a little pea flour. Lentil paste can be replaced with bean paste: soak half a glass of lentils or beans overnight in milk, then grind thoroughly.

Scented clay paste. Well-refined cosmetic clay - 5-6 tablespoons, algae ash (kelp, fucus) or powdered algae - 1 teaspoon, rose oil - 2 drops.

Add algae to the clay powder, dilute with water and rose oil until the consistency of thick sour cream. Apply the composition to the body in a thin, even layer. Remove almost completely dried clay with your fingertips, rub the whole body vigorously with your hands. Relax for 15-20 minutes, then lubricate the skin with olive oil.

Note: The rose oil used to flavor the clay must be natural. If it is not possible to purchase it, use olive oil infused with rose petals. Substitutes and essences, instead of good, will only do harm. It is better to give up aromatization altogether than to use unnatural ingredients.

The above recipes are not one thousand years old, but they still have no equal in terms of their effectiveness on the skin. At the same time, pastes are not as addictive as modern formulations based on hormonal supplements. Each component acts in its own way. Vegetable oil cleanses and lubricates the skin. Flour, milk powder, nuts and beans give the skin a smooth and healthy glow. Pea flour is especially useful for the body. The mechanism of action of the paste is also interesting. Initially, immediately after application, the cool paste cools the surface of the body. As it dries, the paste is removed from the skin with rubbing movements. This improves blood circulation, improves skin absorption of nutrients contained in the paste.

You need to keep such a paste on the body for at least 15-20 minutes. After removing it, the body is rinsed with warm water, and the face with cool water. To protect delicate parts of the body from excessive action of the sauna heat and accelerate the formation of a protective fat layer, after the procedure, apply a special wax cream to the face, lubricate the skin around the eyes with a fat cream, and massage the lips thoroughly with vegetable oil. By the way, regular performance of the last procedure will allow you to preserve the beauty and freshness of your lips for a long time.

Compositions "after the pair"

After a steam bath, the skin loses its protective layer of fatty acids. In addition, the pores of the skin are temporarily enlarged. Special formulations will help to return the skin to its normal state, which should be applied to the skin 15-20 minutes after the last steam room intake. All compositions are prepared in advance, shortly before visiting the bathhouse. Designed for women of any age, as well as for anyone with thin, dry or, conversely, oily and porous skin.

Recipe 1.1.5 teaspoons of borax, 5 teaspoons of cocoa butter, 8 teaspoons of lanolin, 5 teaspoons of beeswax, 1 cup of sunflower oil, 1.5 cups of water.

Melt sunflower oil, lanolin and wax in a clean enamel bowl in a water bath. In another clean enamel bowl, mix water, cocoa butter and borax and heat. Slowly mix the solutions in well-heated earthenware. Stir with a wooden spoon until thick.

Recipe 2. 2.5 teaspoons of cocoa butter, 3 tablespoons of almond oil, 10 drops of jasmine oil, 1 teaspoon of lanolin, 3 tablespoons of beeswax, 2 teaspoons of borax, 3 teaspoons of broth of hazel, a glass of water.

In a clean enamel bowl, melt the wax, lanolin and almond oil in a water bath. In another clean enamel bowl, mix water, cocoa butter and borax and heat. Slowly mix both solutions in well-heated earthenware. Stir with a wooden spoon until thick. If it's too thick, you can add jasmine oil.

Recipe 3. 1/3 cup beeswax, 2/3 cup cocoa butter, 1 cup sesame oil, 3 tablespoons almond oil.

In a clean enamel bowl, heat the wax in a water bath, add all the oils listed in the recipe, stirring thoroughly. Pour into a well-heated earthenware dish, stir until cooled.

Recipe 4. 5 tablespoons of sprouted wheat oil, 0.5 cups of sesame oil, 2.5 teaspoons of beeswax, 3 tablespoons of broth of hazel, 10 tablespoons of lanolin, 1.5 teaspoon of borax, 0.5 cups of water.

In a clean enamel bowl in a water bath, melt the wax, add the oil listed in the recipe. In another clean enamel bowl, mix water and borax, heat. In a well-heated earthenware dish, slowly mix the solutions until a thick mass is formed.

Recipe 5.1.5 tablespoons honey, 3 teaspoons cocoa butter, 5 teaspoons linseed oil, 3 tablespoons lanolin.

In a clean enamel bowl on a water bath, melt, mixing, all the ingredients. Slowly pour the mixture into a well-heated earthenware dish and pour in 4 tablespoons of warm water, stir until it cools.

Recipe 6.3 tablespoons of beeswax, 1 cup of wheat germ oil, 0.5 cups of carrot oil, 1 tablespoon of an aqueous solution of apricot tree resin, 3 tablespoons of lanolin, 1.5 cups of distilled water, 1.5 teaspoon of borax.

In a clean enamel bowl in a water bath, melt the wax and add the oil listed in the recipe.

In another clean enamel bowl, mix water and borax, heat it up and quickly pour it into the first bowl. Pour the solution into a well-heated earthenware dish, stir until it cools slightly, then add the apricot tree resin solution. Stir with a wooden spoon until thick.

Recipe 7. 5 tablespoons of avocado oil, 0.5 cups of sesame oil, 0.5 cups of almond oil, 10 drops of lavender oil, 1/3 cup of olive oil, 4 tablespoons of sunflower oil, 5 tablespoons of beeswax, 5 teaspoons of lanolin, 0 , 5 cups water, 0.5 teaspoon borax.

In a clean enamel bowl in a water bath, melt the wax and add the oil listed in the recipe. In another clean enamel bowl, mix water and borax, heat. Slowly mix both solutions in well-heated earthenware. Stir with a wooden spoon until thick.

Recipe 8. 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, 0.5 cups of almond oil, 10 drops of orange oil, 3 tablespoons of beeswax, 5 tablespoons of rose petal infusion, 1.5 tablespoons of lanolin, 2 tablespoons of an aqueous solution of apricot tree resin.

In a clean enamel bowl in a water bath, melt the wax, add the oil listed in the recipe, mix with the warmed infusion of rose petals. Pour into a well-heated earthenware dish, stir until it cools slightly, then add the apricot tree resin solution. Stir with a wooden spoon until thick.

Recipe 9. 1 teaspoon infusion of rose petals, 3 drops of camphor alcohol, 5 teaspoons of oat flour (oatmeal).

First you need to make a warm linen compress on your face. Mix the ingredients in a well-heated earthenware dish and apply. Keep for 15-20 minutes. Wash off with warm water.

Recipe 10. 5 drops of camphor alcohol, 1/3 cup of tomato juice, 2 tablespoons of honey.

Make a warm linen compress available. Mix the ingredients in a well-heated earthenware dish and apply to face. Keep 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water.

Recipe 11.7 teaspoon honey, 1 onion, 1 tablespoon green or yellow clay.

Apply a warm linen cloth to your face. Finely chop the onion, squeeze the juice into a well-heated earthenware dish, add cosmetic clay and honey, stir well. Apply there. Keep 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water.

Recipe 12. 1 chicken egg white, 1 teaspoon of honey, 1 teaspoon of carrot juice, 1 teaspoon of white cosmetic clay, 1 clove of garlic.

Apply a warm linen cloth to your face. Squeeze the juice out of the garlic. Mix protein with white cosmetic clay and honey in a well-heated earthenware dish, add carrot and garlic juice, apply on face. Keep 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water.

Recipe 13. 0.5 cups of cottage cheese, 5 teaspoons of kelp ash (or fucus).

Burn the dried algae on a clean ceramic plate or dish, chop the ash thoroughly. Apply a warm linen cloth to your face. Mix ash and cottage cheese in a well-heated earthenware dish to a paste, apply on face. Keep 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water.

This mask cleanses and whitens the skin well.

Recipe 14. 1.5 cups boiled plum puree, 1/3 cup almond oil.

Mix plum puree with almond oil in a well-heated earthenware bowl until a paste. Apply a warm linen cloth compress to your face, then apply the paste to your face. Keep 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water.

The mask smoothes and nourishes the skin, helps fight acne.

Recipe 15. 0.5 cups almond oil, 3 tablespoons apricot oil, 0.5 cups lemon juice, 3 tablespoons lanolin.

Mix almond and apricot oil with lanolin in a well-heated earthenware dish, add lemon juice. Stir with a wooden spoon until thick. Make a warm linen cloth compress and then apply the paste to your face. Keep 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water.

Recipe 16. 1.5 cups rose water, 2 tablespoons dried geranium leaves.

Pour rose water into a well-heated earthenware dish, soak geranium leaves in it for 8 hours. Stir with a wooden spoon until thick. Make a warm linen cloth compress, then apply the paste to your face. Keep 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water.

The mask softens the skin, smoothes wrinkles.

Homemade hair shampoos

If you have the time and desire to prepare nourishing fortified hair cleansers, use our recommendations. Of course, homemade shampoos do not have the same presentation as branded ones, but they also have a number of serious advantages. Firstly, you know exactly what components are used here, while buying a beautiful bottle with a translucent liquid, you, in fact, get a "pig in a poke". Even if you like the shampoo after the first use, no one knows how chemical additives (which are necessarily present in most shampoos) will affect the condition of your hair.

Shampoo with rum. 2 yolks, 2 dessert spoons of linseed oil, 2 dessert spoons of rum.

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Lubricate hair, let stand for one hour. Wash off.

It will be useful for people with dry hair and will also help get rid of dandruff.

Toning shampoo. 0.5 cups dried burdock leaves, 0.5 cups dried nettle, 1 liter water.

The grass is soaked for a day. The infusion is brought to a boil, boiled for 5-7 minutes, then poured into ceramic dishes and infused under a lid for 30-40 minutes.

Egg shampoo. 2 yolks, 1 glass of warm water.

Beat with a mixer or jerk. Hair is thoroughly lubricated, kept for one hour. It is advisable to wrap your head warmly with a terry towel. Then the hair is washed well with warm water.

Gelatin shampoo. 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of powdered gelatin, 1 spoon of any mild shampoo.

The egg is thoroughly mixed with gelatin until smooth, which

diluted with a small amount of shampoo. The mixture is applied to hair, kept for 15-20 minutes, washed off with warm running water.

Improves the appearance of hair, makes it thicker.

Wash balms for hair

Recipe 1. 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of castor oil, 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, 3 tablespoons of any mild shampoo.

In a well-heated earthenware dish, mix oil and vinegar, add an egg, beat thoroughly, add shampoo. Stir, apply to hair and scalp. Wrap your head in a warm towel, hold it over the steam, then rinse.

Makes hair shiny, soft, thick, and more styling.

Recipe 2. 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of honey, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of any mild shampoo.

In a well-heated earthenware dish, mix butter and honey, add an egg, beat thoroughly, add shampoo. Stir, apply to hair and scalp. Massage, hold for 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water.

Recipe 3. 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of brandy, 3 tablespoons of shampoo.

Mix everything in a well-heated earthenware dish, beat thoroughly. Apply the mixture to hair and scalp, massage. Keep it on for 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water.

Recipe 4. 1 medium onion, 0.5 cups rum, 3 tablespoons shampoo.

Finely chop the onion, put in a well-heated earthenware dish, pour rum and leave for 24 hours. Remove the onion, add shampoo. Stir, apply to hair and scalp, massage. Keep it on for 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water.

A good remedy for hair loss.

First aid

The bath is a potent procedure and, like any powerful remedy, is far from safe. It is very easy to get burned in the bath, especially if you accidentally come into contact with metal objects. That is why it is strictly forbidden to wear metal jewelry on the body in the bathhouse. For the same reason, all nails must be deeply "sunk" into the wood. You can burn yourself by touching a preheated oven, boiling water, and too hard steam. Electrical appliances are even more dangerous - they must be taken out of the steam room. If the bath is heated with a wood-burning stove, it is possible that carbon monoxide can enter the room. Previously, in Russia, people "got drunk" in the baths quite often. Finally, in a too humid steam room it is very easy to get heatstroke, and if you overestimate your strength, if the rules for using the bath are not followed, fainting, heart attacks and even cardiac and respiratory arrest are possible.

That is why it is so important to choose the correct thermal regime, but in this case, you need to listen carefully to your body. Feeling tired, lethargic, heart palpitations, mild dizziness, nausea are signs that you are overdoing it, exceeding your capabilities. It is necessary to immediately stop the bathing procedure, go to a cooler room, drink warm herbal tea, perhaps lie down for a while.

The bath is a publicly available procedure, and the power of the pleasure received from it is so great that sometimes it makes you forget about elementary precautions. Combining the most diverse aspects of the impact on the body, the bath really heals, but it can also cripple those who, for no reason, risk their own health.

However, even if all the rules are followed, no one is immune from accidents. Therefore, it does not hurt to have a small first-aid kit when visiting the bathhouse and "arm yourself" with the necessary supply of information.

The first-aid kit should contain: ammonia, linseed or lavender oil, several tablets of nitroglycerin and valerian tincture, 2-3 mustard plasters, potassium permanganate, bandage. With these simple tools at your disposal, you can provide first aid yourself in case of heatstroke, burns, fainting, carbon monoxide poisoning.

First aid for heatstroke

Heatstroke occurs when the body is generally overheated due to a violation of thermoregulation. Most often this happens in a too humid steam room, when stuffiness and high humidity interfere with normal sweating.

Symptoms: dizziness, nausea, general weakness, lethargy, heart palpitations, severe headache, heaviness in the head, a sharp rise in temperature (sometimes up to 40 "C), tinnitus, shallow, rapid breathing. Loss of consciousness is possible.

A prolonged increase in temperature during heatstroke is very dangerous, as it can lead to irreversible consequences. It is necessary to immediately transfer the victim to a cool, well-ventilated place (if possible, to fresh air), lay him down with his head elevated, wrap with wet sheets, put a cold towel on his forehead, give plenty of drink.

First aid for carbon monoxide poisoning

Carbon monoxide poisoning leads to oxygen starvation of the brain, while circulatory and respiratory disorders occur. Prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide gas can have the most serious consequences.

Symptoms: headache, dizziness, heaviness in the head, throbbing in the temples, tinnitus, nausea, vomiting. In more severe cases - palpitations, shortness of breath, general weakness, legs become "wadded", in this state, a person often cannot walk without help.

The victim must be immediately taken out into fresh air, brought to the nose with a cotton swab with ammonia, rubbed with whiskey with the same alcohol, and given a glass of strong tea to drink.

First aid for burns

We have already talked about the causes of burns in the bath. Most often, first or second degree burns occur due to improper water supply, when a sharp stream of hot steam enters the body, but this rarely leads to severe burns.

Symptoms: the skin turns red, the burn site swells, blisters appear.

The victim should immediately apply a gauze bandage soaked in ammonia or in a 2% solution of potassium permanganate. Linseed and lavender oils are good for burns. If there was not a single anti-burn agent at hand, urine compresses (in other words, from urine) help perfectly. In this case, the blisters disappear very quickly and painlessly (which in no case should be pierced!), And after healing there are practically no scars.

First aid for fainting

Fainting, that is, a sudden short-term (from a few seconds to 2-3, less often up to 10, minutes) loss of consciousness, can happen not only with a sick and weakened, but also with a completely healthy person. Usually, fainting occurs after a long stay in a stuffy room, with a rapid change in the state of the body (therefore, after lying in the steam room, you cannot rise quickly and abruptly). An interesting detail: people of "air" signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) are more likely than others to faint, they tolerate stuffiness, heavy, stale air worse than others.

Symptoms: pallor of the skin (especially of the face and lips), impaired coordination, weakness of the pulse, breathing, nausea, a feeling of suffocation, lack of air, impaired hearing, vision, short-term hallucinations are possible before loss of consciousness.

The victim should be immediately taken out into fresh air or into a cool room, laid down, raised his legs, allowed to smell ammonia, rub his whiskey. Massage hands and feet vigorously, you can rub with alcohol. Sometimes it is recommended to put a mustard plaster on the back of the head. A cool drink works well.

Cardiac and respiratory arrest

This happens quite rarely in the bathhouse. Reason: incorrect vaping regime, neglect of medical recommendations in cases when steam room is contraindicated. Excessive hypothermia can lead to cardiac arrest; complications of various diseases, mainly cardiovascular, are also possible.

Symptoms: lack of breathing, loss of consciousness, pallor or cyanosis of the skin, dilated pupils, no pulse.

First of all, you should immediately call an ambulance and immediately start doing artificial respiration, otherwise after 5 minutes your actions will be practically useless.

Anyone who has visited a Russian bath at least once and felt its healing steam will probably tell you that after visiting it, the bad mood disappeared somewhere, the aches in the joints disappeared, and other sores, which quite recently literally poisoned life, ceased to be felt. At the same time, a constant desire arises for such a pleasure to last as long as possible.

Since time immemorial, a Russian person went to the bathhouse not only for taking water procedures. For him, it was a place for ancient customs and rituals, as well as fortune-telling. And why do people go to the baths today? Let's try to understand this issue.

Folk healer

Baths have existed for many centuries. And people prefer to wear them not only to wash themselves well. This invention has many adherents. And all because bath procedures have healing properties, with which mankind has been familiar since ancient times.

For example, Hippocrates often prescribed a steam room to his patients. He believed that toxins and poisons accumulated in the body and poisoning it during an illness will certainly leave the body due to increased sweating. It is worth saying that this ancient Greek doctor himself used the methods of treatment developed by him, which allowed him to live 110 years.

Wellness bath procedures were offered to their patients by the healers of Ancient Rome. They rightly believed that water together with steam (both dry and wet) works real miracles.

In Russia, they also knew that carrying out bath procedures brings health benefits. Our ancestors believed that a well-heated steam room can heal any patient, even the most seemingly hopeless one. For a long time in Russia, bathing procedures have been used for diseases of the nervous system and musculoskeletal system. In the steam room, they treated gout and colds, set joints and got rid of skin diseases. It was believed that there is no such ailment from which the bathhouse could not save.

Respiratory system treatment

Steam and hot air are often the only remedies for curing certain diseases. That is why bath wellness procedures are recommended for the treatment of the respiratory system. During them, hot steam gives off its warmth to a person. At the same time, the lungs warm up, pathogenic microbes lose their ability not only to multiply in the body, but also to penetrate into it.

In a Russian bath, a so-called heat stroke is created, which multiplies the healing effect. This phenomenon occurs at the moment when liquid is poured onto hot stones in a steam oven. And if you add various healing infusions and decoctions to the water, then you can get a wonderful opportunity to inhale healing vapors.

A visit to the bath will help after an attack of bronchial asthma. In this case, it is recommended to use brooms made of woody twigs, densely covered with foliage. After all, it is in it that healing components are contained, which, evaporating, will cleanse the lungs of phlegm, produce a powerful anti-inflammatory effect and will contribute to the disinfection of the bronchi.

Strengthening immunity

The use of bath procedures is a wonderful way to preserve human health. In order to feel vigorous and full of vital energy, we all need good immunity, which will be strengthened by hardening procedures.

Even in ancient times, people drew attention to the fact that contrast temperatures have a beneficial effect on human health. This is confirmed by modern research. So, if a person heated up by a bath immediately plunges into snow or an ice hole, then the body reacts to this by releasing a huge charge of energy. At the same time, there is a strong activation of vitality. Such bath procedures are useful for men and women with an inactive lifestyle. In addition, with regular exercise, such a hardening will increase the body's immune forces, protecting it from colds and inflammatory diseases.

Slimming

A woman of any age wants to be slim and beautiful. But do not forget that a person's appearance is largely influenced by his health. After all, many are unhappy with their brittle hair, poor skin condition, ugly complexion and excess weight. And these are the components of health.

Bath procedures will help you get rid of many problems. For women, the steam room is recommended as an effective means of losing excess weight. Hot water enhances blood circulation, due to which a deep cleansing of the body occurs and metabolic processes are enhanced.

Baths are repeated in courses with a break of 2-3 days. They should be continued until the desired result is achieved. In between visits to the steam room, it is recommended to drink at least two liters of apple juice daily, excluding coffee or sweet tea from the diet. It is worth saying that bath procedures for weight loss are so effective that they allow you to get rid of 300 to 400 g of excess weight in one session in the steam room.

There is another way to make your body beautiful. It involves taking a cool shower after being in the steam room for five minutes. Then you should wrap yourself in a hot towel and return to the bathhouse for another two minutes. This must be repeated at least 4-5 times. The contrasting effects of cold and heat will best destroy the fatty deposits under the skin, which will be excreted from the body.

Skin care

Bathing or showering is undoubtedly. However, the tap water in our homes contains chlorine, which has an adverse effect on the skin. The water in the bath is quite another matter. It is much softer and better. In addition, the beauty of this water lies in the very atmosphere, saturated with the smell of oak trees and combined with clouds of steam and hot air.

However, water alone is not enough for the skin. You need to perform this procedure with a piece of soap with the simple name "Bath". This product does not have any special charming aromas, but it is most suitable for a steamed body due to the additives it contains of natural herbal extracts.

Many women believe that bathing procedures are harmful to the skin. And to prevent exposure to hot steam, they rub fatty creams into the body. However, this is not worth doing. A greasy cream will only clog your pores and prevent your skin from breathing normally. Bath air has the opposite effect. It unclogs the pores and therefore improves the appearance of the skin.

There is one old folk advice, using which, you can get a feeling of unusual freshness. According to him, a little honey should be rubbed into the skin, while simultaneously performing massage or self-massage of the body. Despite its simplicity, this procedure is very effective. It will cleanse the pores, as well as nourish the skin and relieve irritation from them.

Nail and hand care

During bath procedures, you can not only take a steam bath. Many women use this time to care for their hands. Of course, it is difficult to do oneself in public baths. But the structures near the village or country house may well replace a small beauty salon.

So, it is recommended to use bath procedures to rejuvenate the skin of the hands, which often looks unkempt and rough. At the same time, in addition to moist and hot air, which expands the pores, it is necessary to use exfoliating and softening mixtures and compositions.

One of the simplest recommendations is an oil wrap. To perform this procedure, you will need either a fat cream or vegetable oil. After applying the product to the skin, put on cotton gloves on your hands.

The same procedure is performed for nails. Only in this case it is necessary to add a pinch of salt to the vegetable oil. A mixture of milk and honey (1: 1) applied to their skin will add beauty to your hands.

Ordinary bath brooms will become one of the anti-aging agents. They are pre-soaked in water, into which they are then dipped.

Feet care

Pleasant trips to the bathhouse can be combined with very useful procedures. And among them there are those that are aimed at caring for the feet. Often all kinds of corns appear on our feet. Our feet also hurt from corns formed when wearing uncomfortable shoes. The most suitable place to get rid of these growths is a bath. Here, the legs are superbly steamed, which allows you to remove the stratum corneum from their skin.

The bath will also help those who suffer from heel spurs, which bring discomfort when walking. To eliminate such deposits on the sore spot, it is recommended to apply a compress from an alcoholic tincture of lilac.

Bath procedures will help get rid of excessive sweating. This process is accompanied by a not very pleasant smell coming from the feet. To get rid of the problem after the bath, you should wipe your feet and skin between your toes with an ice cube. But at the same time, it is enough to pour cold water on the legs themselves. Also recommended are foot baths with infusion left over after soaking an oak or birch broom.

With fatigue and muscle stretching, coniferous solutions will help the legs. Baths from them will relieve the skin from bruises.

Contraindications

Bath procedures are not useful for everyone and not always. There are also some limitations regarding general well-being and health. So, there are diseases in which visiting the steam room is strictly prohibited, and one of them is hypertension, which has reached the second or third stage. Indeed, in the bath, the body temperature rises to 38-40 degrees, and after it arterial pressure rises. A similar condition for hypertensive patients can end not only with a worsening of the condition, but also with loss of consciousness, stroke, heart attack, renal failure, etc.

Doctors also forbid to take a steam bath from the heart for those who suffer from certain cardiovascular diseases. After all, everyone knows that when visiting a steam room, the pulse quickens. And this indicates an increase in the load on the heart muscle. So, it is forbidden to go to the bathhouse for endocarditis, pericarditis and myocarditis. With such pathologies, sessions in the steam room sometimes end tragically. Hot air of baths is also contraindicated for those who have suffered a heart attack. Caution will be required from patients with a diagnosis of arrhythmia, angina pectoris, atherosclerosis of the coronary vessels and aorta.

What other contraindications do bathing procedures have? For bursitis and other inflammatory diseases, you should seek the advice of your doctor. The adoption of a particular decision by a specialist will depend on the degree and severity of the disease.

Doctor's recommendations regarding the possibility of visiting the steam room will be needed in case of anemia and infectious diseases. But a categorical prohibition on such trips exists in patients with asthma, dermatitis and eczema.

Falling asleep during bath procedures is also contraindicated. It will not bring health benefits and will significantly increase the load on the heart and blood vessels.