Sauna oils are essential oils mixed into the water that the gusmester pours on the hot stones. The water turns to steam, the steam carries the scent, and the towel moves both through the room. In a saunagus, the scent is part of how the session is built, round by round, alongside the heat and the music.
Why the oil goes in the water
Hot air gathers under the ceiling. When the gusmester pours water with oil over the stones, you may notice the scent before the heat. It arrives first as a smell, then as a warm wave on your face and shoulders. Then the towel goes to work and pushes that scented air down the benches to you.
We use three aroma oils in every session. This autumn we start a new collaboration with Frank Oils, a Copenhagen brand of small-batch, 100% pure essential oils. The first package is on its way. The profiles can shift across the session, from crisp to calm.
The main scent families
There is no fixed menu. Every gusmester picks their own oils, but what you meet on the benches falls into a handful of families.
Fresh and cooling
Eucalyptus, mint and menthol. These are the sharp, clean scents. In hot air they can feel strangely cool in the nose, a contrast that can feel refreshing or quite intense. Our gusmester Lukas Vá sometimes brings menthol crystals into the middle round for exactly that cold and hot sensation.
Forest and wood
Pine, cedar and sage. They smell like a walk in the woods and can make the room feel grounded and quiet. Trine Thy describes her blend of cedar and pine as a small escape into nature, even though we are sitting in Nordvest and not in a forest.
Citrus
Blood orange and other citrus. Bright, sweet and light. Citrus can lift a round without making it louder.
Floral, spicy and earthy
Soft floral notes, warm spice and deep earthy scents. These are the slow ones, suited to calm rounds. Mixing oils is where Lydia Bevan shines. She is skilled at blending many oils into one scent, and her blends cover the whole range, from grounding floral and spice to uplifting citrus bursts and refreshing minty pops.
How a gusmester uses them across the rounds
A gus has three rounds of 10 to 12 minutes, with about 10 minutes of break in between. The oils are chosen to fit what each round is trying to do.
In a Signature Gus, the first round is calm and grounding, the middle round builds energy, and the last one settles again. So the scents can move the same way: something woody or earthy to start, something fresh or citrus when the tempo rises, and something soft to finish. A Relaxed Gus keeps soothing scents in all three rounds. An Energizing Gus works with more potent aromas from start to finish.
If you want help picking a format, read Which gus suits you?.
Why you cannot bring your own
Our house rules do not allow personal essential oils, salt scrubs, honey or similar products in the sauna. They affect the air everyone breathes, and they can damage the sauna oven. Only the oils the gusmester brings and pours are used during a session. The full list is in our behaviour policy.
It is also a matter of the room. Everyone on the benches shares the same air, and the gusmester is the one balancing it. One extra scent from a private bottle would change the round for everyone.
Questions we get
What oils are used in a sauna?
At Heat Harmony, three essential oils per session, and from this autumn they come from our new partner Frank Oils. Which ones depends on the gusmester and the format: fresh eucalyptus and mint, pine and cedar, citrus, or soft floral and earthy blends.
Can I bring my own sauna oils?
No. Personal essential oils, scrubs and honey are not allowed, to protect the air quality and the sauna oven. The gusmester takes care of the scent.
Is saunagus aromatherapy?
Scent is a big part of it, but we call saunagus a ritual, not a treatment, and we do not promise health effects from the oils. What we can say is how it feels: the scent sets the mood of a round, and it changes when the round changes.
What if a scent is too strong for me?
Move to a lower bench, where the air is cooler, or step out. You can leave at any point without explaining yourself, and you wait for the round to end before going back in. Our FAQ answers the other practical questions.
Which session has the calmest scents?
Relaxed Gus, with soothing scents across all three rounds. Pair it with slow breathing, as described in Breathing in the sauna.
Smell it for yourself
The easiest way to learn the scent families is to sit through a gus and notice when the oil changes. We are at Bispevej 23 in Nordvest. Current prices are on the pricing page, and every session is in the booking calendar.