Different Methods of Steam Bathing
There are several types of steam bathing systems, including steam baths, steam showers, Russian banya, and Turkish hammam. Steam baths and steam showers both use steam, but they are slightly different. Steam baths are very communal. A banya is a traditional Russian steam bath. Banyas usually have an entrance room, a washing room, and a steam room. The tap water is heated using the stove from the steam room. It is believed that sweating before entering the steam room protects the skin from the steam; so many bathers use the hot water to instigate sweat in the washing room. A Turkish bath, or hammam, is a Middle Eastern version of the steam bath. Steam baths were very popular among ancient Greeks and Romans. A Greek or Roman steam bath is called a Laconia. In order to create steam, the bath attendants would pour cold water onto the burning hot rocks.