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Things to Take to a Russian Bathhouse

My love for the banya appeared thanks to my father-in-law, the public bathhouse in Sestroretsk, and an ice hole in Lake Razliv. Before that I had only been to saunas with friends, where the sauna was just a change of scenery for drinking.

One way or another, now that I get enormous pleasure from the Russian banya, I try to persuade friends to discover this kind of bodily and slightly spiritual rest too. A certain list of essential items has formed, which I have to send to friends every time. In addition, some items need comments. So, to avoid explaining all this again and again, I decided to write it all here.

Things to Take to a Russian Bathhouse

well, from the girls' stuff, basically just a hair mask, face mask, and a mask for elbows and the big toe

Comments on the Bathhouse Packing List

Everything below is about a public bathhouse.

Basins, of course, are available in the bathhouse. But your own basin from home will be more hygienic anyway. The main thing is that it should be different from the ones there. For example, pink.

The ideal basin shape is rectangular. Unlike a round basin, it can fit the whole banya whisk when soaking it overnight. They are sold, for example, at K-Rauta.

Seat pad is the same as a camping foam mat. Felt ones also exist. Without one you can make do with a towel, but it is a little less comfortable. Without anything it is especially uncomfortable in the steam room, where the benches are very hot. Hat is also usually felt, but wool will do too. It is needed only for the steam room. Mittens can be the simplest ones from a hardware store. In the steam room, when you wave a whisk without mittens, your hands soon start to burn.

Banya whisk should be personal. It is not customary for everyone to steam with one shared whisk; you can compare it with a washcloth. You can buy one right at the bathhouse, but that will usually be a disposable option. A good whisk can be used for 10-15 bathhouse visits. The whisk is soaked in warm water a few hours before going to the bathhouse. It should not be soaked in boiling water because it wilts. If you do not have a whisk, it is better to take care of it in advance, even by buying one at Lenta, so you can soak it properly before the bathhouse.

Washcloth, soap, and shampoo are absolutely necessary in a bathhouse. It is not enough just to steam with a whisk. After steaming, everything needs to be washed off thoroughly. For me, for example, this is the greatest pleasure. You calmly sit in the warm washing room, slowly soap yourself, slowly rinse off. There is none of the constraint of a home bathroom, where you have to wash standing up and it is often chilly.

As a bonus, I am publishing a secret from my father-in-law: the so-called “steam clean,” when after washing you go back to the steam room once more.

Generally speaking, banya and alcohol do not go together. Instead of alcohol, brew some tea in a thermos.

Towels are needed at least two: one for use in the bathhouse, walking to the lake, sitting in the changing room, and so on, which will get completely wet; and a second dry one for drying off at the end.

Update from March 2, 2016

I finally gathered myself and systematized the pros and cons of bathhouses: a review of public bathhouses in Saint Petersburg.