Clean swimwear is a useful starting point for a shared UK sauna, with a towel to sit on. A swimming costume, bikini or swimming trunks may suit the venue’s dress code. Some also permit towel wraps or loose cotton clothing. Confirm the permitted options before visiting, and leave jewellery and sweaty gym kit out.
Swimwear in a shared sauna
For a shared UK sauna, clean swimwear is a useful starting point. Most contributors to the Mumsnet discussion supplied for this guide recommend a swimming costume or whatever you would wear in a public pool. Some describe different expectations in separate changing-room saunas, though these are personal experiences, not rules that apply everywhere.
There is no agreed favourite style across the sources. Saunass lists swimming trunks, a full costume and a simple bikini among its options. Hekla favours a full swimming costume over a bikini; Mumsnet contributors suggest either. The venue’s dress code settles the practical question. Before your first session, confirm what it accepts, including towel wraps and footwear. Where swimwear is required, a towel wrap is not a substitute.
Towel wraps and loose cotton clothing
A towel wrap can work where it is permitted. The suggestions range from a cotton towel in Hekla’s guidance to a secure towel wrap in Saunass’s advice for shared saunas. Neither source treats it as an automatic alternative to swimwear.
Both guides also recommend natural fibres such as cotton. For loose clothing, Saunass gives cotton shorts, a shirt or a vest as examples, while Hekla includes a sauna-friendly spa gown. Keep anything you wear light, clean and loose.
Their advice on fabrics differs slightly: Hekla says to avoid synthetics altogether, whereas Saunass focuses on plastic-heavy fabrics and compression gear. Both favour loose natural-fibre clothing, but only where clothing is allowed.
Leave workout kit and metal accessories out
If you are coming from a workout, change out of the shirt, shorts, sports bra or leggings you have exercised in. Saunass recommends showering, drying off and then putting on clean swimwear, or using a towel wrap where permitted. Outdoor clothes are also discouraged in Hekla’s guidance.
Heavy layers, including hoodies and tracksuit bottoms, are best left out. Saunass also advises against sauna suits and metal-trimmed clothing; Hekla warns against tight clothing, PVC and anything with metal on it. Remove jewellery and watches before your session. As Saunass explains, metal accessories and trim can become hot against your skin, so a simple outfit without metal detailing fits both sources’ advice. Being clean does not, by itself, make an outfit suitable under the venue’s rules.
A towel for the bench, and where to put footwear
Bring a clean towel to sit on, even when you are wearing a swimming costume. Hekla, Saunass and Floatwell all recommend this. It is not just a possible wrap: Saunass explains that a towel keeps sweat off the bench.
Footwear is less clear-cut. Hekla’s summary says to leave shoes outside, but its later wording about bare feet is contradictory. A Mumsnet contributor describes leaving flip-flops outside the door, while Saunass allows sandals on the floor inside, but not on benches.
These differences make footwear a matter for the sauna’s own policy. Ask where your flip-flops belong before entering, and keep them off the benches. Shower before your session too, as both Hekla and Saunass advise.
Home and infrared sauna options
The setting matters as well as the type of sauna. At home, Saunass suggests a towel, swimsuit or loose cotton clothing. Its infrared advice offers a similar choice: a towel, swimsuit or light, loose clothing. These are options in that guide, rather than a dress code shared by all operators.
Floatwell Cambridge puts particular emphasis on personal comfort in its infrared sauna guidance. It allows a swimsuit or other comfortable clothing and recommends sitting on a towel. That flexibility describes Floatwell’s approach, not what another infrared sauna will necessarily accept. Choose a clean outfit from the options your sauna permits.
Questions people ask
- Can you wear a bikini in a sauna?
- A bikini appears among the suggestions from Mumsnet contributors, and Saunass includes a simple bikini too. Hekla instead favours a full swimming costume. Neither style is universally required; the venue’s dress code determines what you can wear.
- Can you wear gym clothes in a sauna?
- Not the sweaty kit you have just exercised in. Saunass recommends showering and changing first. Clean, loose cotton clothing may be suitable where the venue permits it.
- Is a towel enough to wear in a sauna?
- Sometimes. Hekla and Saunass both suggest towel wraps, subject to the sauna’s rules. A wrap cannot replace swimwear where swimwear is required, and you still need a towel to sit on.
- Should you take jewellery off before a sauna?
- Yes. Hekla advises leaving jewellery outside. Saunass recommends removing metal jewellery and watches because they can become hot against your skin. Its advice also covers clothing with metal trim.
- Can you wear flip-flops inside a sauna?
- That depends on the venue’s footwear policy. Some supplied sources describe leaving footwear outside, while Saunass allows sandals on the floor, but not on benches. Ask where your flip-flops should go before entering.