While you’re reading this, still wrapped up in your winter jumper, our expert wellness reviewers are somewhere in London, semi-naked, testing every sauna style on your behalf. In our Spring issue’s Sauna Guide, they reveal what’s hot, from five-star hotel hideaways to neighbourhood gems, and unpack the cultural, physical and emotional realities of a modern sauna session: what to wear (or not), how to behave once the towels come off, and how to avoid turning a moment of calm into a hot mess of faux pas.

London is embracing the heat like never before. The capital’s saunas now welcome everyone from social twentysomethings to silver-haired solo regulars, cheek to cheek, all purifying and rejuvenating. But navigating this sweaty social scene comes with potential for embarrassment and fnarr fnarrs. The modern city sauna is about showing up, stripping off, slowing down, and being part of something Londoners have decided is worth the sweat.

Londoners, brace yourselves: naked bodies in close quarters are officially trending. Most of us panic at accidental eye contact on the Tube, yet here we are, tiptoeing into communal saunas like it’s the done thing. Sweat, awkwardness, and the occasional absurdity are guaranteed, but so is instant euphoria and rejuvenation. Our experts have done it all: attic saunas at home, reggae-fuelled Aufguss sessions in Italy, and every awkward London sauna in between.

Francisca Kellett:

“I grew up with saunas. We even had one in my attic when I was a kid, which sounds a bit creepy, but it was only because I am half German. It means I’ve always appreciated them and am cheered to hear that Londoners have picked up the habit with gusto. My top tip is to follow a session with an ice-cold shower and a nap. And don’t do like the Finns and down shots of vodka while you're in there.”

Suzanne Duckett:

“Some Londoners are nervous about the sauna situation and the thought of all that flesh-on-display-in-public stuff. Too up close and personal for the prudes. I have sauna’d around the world for three decades and am so addicted to the feel-good factor, I now have a barrel sauna in my back garden. When I tell people, some say it sounds like the new and more surreptitious version of pampas grass in the front garden! They get a firm ABSOLUTELY NOT from me at that point. Besides, I have been known to rake the leaves off the lawn in between bouts in my sauna, in an old and mismatched bikini, so trust me, nothing sexy is going on here! I think I have hit unembarrassable levels.”

Andy Friedlander:

“I’ve had more saunas around the world than you could shake a ladle at, and seen enough nakedness of all shapes and sizes that nobody surprises me anymore. Human anatomy doesn’t become more mysterious at 90 degrees; it just gets shinier. People get oddly nervous about sauna protocol, all that semi-nakedness in your face (sometimes almost literally), especially when it’s co-ed, but honestly, there’s nothing racy or risky about it. Saunas strip away bravado, leaving very little to the imagination. One highlight was a reggae-themed Aufguss ceremony in Italy where Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds played loudly as three buck-naked Rubenesque women gently swayed. Everything was swaying. It was Joyful, entertaining and completely unguarded.”