Sauna Wood: Which Woods Makers Use and Why

Sauna wood has to take heat and humidity day after day without warping or cracking, as Lunawood puts it, which is why the same short list keeps coming up. Here is which makers use what, from their product pages on Oct 27, 2026.

Who uses which wood

How they differ

• Red cedar: aromatic; Sun Home calls its Canadian red cedar naturally aromatic and dimensionally stable. The default on Almost Heaven's barrels.
• Spruce and pine: Lunawood lists them with aspen as common sauna woods, and notes spruce has round knots and pine butterfly-shaped ones.
• Hemlock: used plain on Almost Heaven's infrared cabins and heat-treated on Redwood Outdoors' outdoor saunas.
• Thermowood: wood heat-treated with heat and steam and no chemicals; Lunawood says the process makes it more dimensionally stable, so it warps and shrinks less.
• Basswood and eucalyptus: the infrared-cabin woods at Clearlight and Sunlighten.

The one place wood moves the price directly is when a maker offers the same model in two woods: Clearlight's Sanctuary 2 is $454 more in mahogany than in basswood.

Common questions

What is the best wood for a sauna?

There isn't one best wood. Makers use red cedar for its scent and color (Almost Heaven barrels, Renu, Sun Home's Luminar interior), spruce and hemlock on indoor and infrared cabins (Almost Heaven's Hillsboro, its infrared cabins), and thermowood for outdoor durability (Redwood Outdoors, Almost Heaven's Harvia Collection barrels). Pick the sauna first; the wood comes with it.

Is cedar better than hemlock for a sauna?

They're different rather than better. Cedar has a strong scent; Sun Home describes its Canadian red cedar as naturally aromatic and dimensionally stable. Redwood Outdoors uses heat-treated hemlock on its outdoor saunas.

What is thermowood?

Wood heated to high temperatures in a controlled process. Lunawood, a Finnish maker, says it uses only heat and steam with no chemicals. It says the process also makes the wood more dimensionally stable, so it warps and shrinks less. Almost Heaven's Harvia Collection barrels use thermally modified pine.

Should you seal or stain the inside of a sauna?

Follow the maker's care sheet. Sun Home's is plain: never use chemical cleaners on the cedar; towel on the bench, a damp-cloth wipe after, and a regular interior wash with daily use.