Our Saunas Use Only
High-Quality, Grade “A” Canadian Western Red Cedar

Canadian Western Red Cedar is the ONLY wood that should be used in sauna manufacturing.

Why? Because it’s naturally antimicrobial and prevents fungi and mold.

Many saunas use white woods—such as hemlock, aspen, Douglas fir, and poplar—which are all porous, so they grow mold and fungi. White woods are considered to have fewer irritants out of the box, but after long-term use, they can cause a toxic sauna experience.

Once fungi and mold start to grow, white wood will cause an exponential amount of air toxins. No ventilation or air circulation can prevent this.

(If you see other brands saying cedar is toxic or creates an allergic or asthmatic reaction, the studies they are referring to are based on cedar wood dust, not finished planks.)

Red cedar is also durable, so it will last.

Our Cedar is Eco-Certified

At Influence Sauna, we care about forests, globally and locally. We work with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC™) to protect our forests, ensuring they will be around for generations to come.


Thoughtful Cedar Processing

Usually, cedar is cut and then placed in a high-temperature thermal cabin or stove to speed up the drying process.

Here’s the disadvantage of this method: you lose many of the wood’s natural water molecules under extreme temperatures. And the water molecules are what give cedar its antimicrobial benefits.

How Influence Sauna does it differently: our wood is naturally dried for a minimum of 6 weeks under the sun to preserve the wood’s natural state. This method guarantees that the wood keeps a majority of its water molecules—keeping your sauna smelling fresh and able to kill bacteria and mold.

Other qualities that set our wood apart:

  • Non-toxic glues are used in construction.
  • The wood will never bend, crack, or lose its color.
  • We use only the finest, center-cut vertical grain wood.

Vertical grain wood is stronger and better able to deal with heat.


Not All Red Cedar Is the Same

Western Red cedar may be different depending on 3 things:

  • AGE OF THE TREE. We care about nature and only work with certified wood suppliers. To protect forests, the western red cedar that is used for Influence Sauna infrared saunas is over 300 years old.

  • TIME OF THE YEAR WHEN THE TREE IS CUT. The cedar that Influence Sauna uses is cut in winter, as all essential oils and nutrients of the tree are kept inside the trunk to be used by the tree during cold Canadian winters. Winter cutting and processing allows these volatile aroma compounds to keep for ages in every plank.

  • THE PART OF THE TRUNK USED FOR PLANK PRODUCTION. Sapwood is one of the two parts that make up the inner part of the trunk. These parts together form the xylem.

Choose Influence Sauna infrared saunas for the highest-quality, eco-certified wood that is safe and lasting.

Check out your affordable, well-made infrared sauna options here.