HigherDOSE Sauna Blankets, Red Light Masks and the Higher Dose Recovery Tools Beside Them

HigherDOSE Sauna Blankets, Red Light Masks and the Higher Dose Recovery Tools Beside Them

A higher dose of wellness at home usually starts with a sauna blanket and a mat, then grows into red light masks, serums and recovery tools. Here is how I read the HigherDOSE range, plus the dry brushes, soaks and wearable devices from other brands that sit well beside it.

HigherDOSE, which most people search as Higher Dose, began with a pitch to yoga studios. Co-founders Katie Kaps and Lauren Berlingeri say they got their start selling infrared heating systems to yoga studios, and in 2016 they pivoted to opening their own infrared sauna spas in New York City. By summer 2017 they had launched the first version of the Infrared Sauna Blanket, which the brand describes as its first at-home product. That move from spa to living room is the whole brand in one gesture, and it explains why the range still feels like a spa menu you can own.

Everything in this first row is the same idea at a different size. The Infrared Sauna Blanket V4 is the starting point: the product page says to preheat it for 10 minutes, tuck in, and emerge in about half an hour. The Sauna Blanket Insert is a machine-washable organic cotton towel made to sit between you and the blanket. The Infrared PEMF Go Mat weighs about five pounds and can tuck into a tote, the Infrared PEMF Pro Mat is the lie-down-with-a-book version, and the 2-Person Full-Spectrum Infrared Sauna is the full cabin, with carbon and ceramic heaters and a suite of LEDs.

Then come the small rituals. Serotonin Soak is made with magnesium flakes, apple cider vinegar, French green clay and brown algae, and the page suggests a scoop in a warm bath for 20 minutes. Magnesium Spray goes on clean, dry skin, and the Supercharge Copper Body Brush is for dry brushing before a session.

My tip: read the directions on each device before your first session, and keep the brush and the insert clean and dry as their pages say.

Big numbers collage titled HIGHER DOSE, six products numbered one to six with each product set beside its number: HigherDOSE Infrared Sauna Blanket V4, HigherDOSE Infrared PEMF Go Mat, HigherDOSE Red Light Face Mask, HigherDOSE Serotonin Soak, HigherDOSE Magnesium Spray and HigherDOSE Light-Activated Glow Serum
Higher Dose

HigherDOSE sauna, PEMF and soak

Red light masks, serums and a microcurrent set

The second row is where HigherDOSE moves from recovery to skin. The Red Light Face Mask combines red and near-infrared light with 62 LED bulbs and two program times, 10 or 20 minutes, and the Red Light Neck Enhancer does the same for the neck and décolletage with 75 LED bulbs. The brand suggests three or four sessions a week for 10 to 20 minutes on the neck piece. The Red Light Hat is the odd one out, with panels that emit 650 nanometers of red light, and the page says to wear it for 10 minutes a day.

For the body there is the Full Body Red Light Mat with 1,000 LED lights, which you can lie on, lie under or hang on a wall. The Red Light Shower Filter swaps in for your showerhead and has a 10-stage filtration system along with red and near-infrared lights. The Microcurrent Body Sculptor Ritual Set is a trio built around an activator gel with copper peptides, the sculptor device and a magnesium mist.

The serums are designed to pair with the light. The Light-Activated Glow Serum has copper peptides, hyaluronic acid and a collagen blend, and the usage steps are cleanse, apply one or two pumps, then use the Red Light Mask. The Light-Activated Scalp Serum comes with a Scalp Derma Stamp for use one to two times a week.

What I would skip: stacking the hat, the mask and the mat in one evening. Pick one light session, use its matching serum, and stop there.

HigherDOSE red light, microcurrent and skin care

Recovery tools, dry brushes and soaks from other brands

Brand by brand, the third row shows how wide the category has become. SaunaSpace Glow is a single-bulb red and near-infrared light in basswood and stainless steel, small enough for a bedroom or office. Therabody makes most of the rest, and its tools are the ones I would reach for after a long day at a desk. There is the TheraCup, which has three suction levels, three temperature settings and three vibration intensities, the SleepMask with three vibration patterns, the ThermBack LED wrap that combines near-infrared light, heat, vibration and far infrared, and the RecoveryTherm Cube for hot, cold or contrast modes.

The quieter half of the row is analog. The goop Beauty Ultimate Dry Brush has an FSC-certified wooden handle and sisal bristles and is meant for right before the shower. The Dr. Barbara Sturm Body Brush in Soft is the soft version of the same habit. Surya Muscle Relief Bath Soak is made with arnica, calendula flowers in a tea bag and three kinds of salt, so the tub stays clean.

What I would skip: leaving the TheraCup in one spot. The page says to hold it for a minute or so, then move it a few inches, and the device shuts off on its own after three minutes.

Recovery tools, dry brushes and soaks

Building a home recovery corner that you will actually use

The best recovery corner is the one you will use on an ordinary weeknight. Pick one anchor, such as the sauna blanket or a mat, and add one small ritual beside it, like the soak or the dry brush. Put the red light mask next to your couch so it is easy to reach. Keep the magnesium spray to clean, dry skin, and keep the copper brush dry at all times, as the page instructs. If you want a higher dose of routine, add a session to a day you already have a gap in instead of making a new block of time. Start short, follow each brand's timing, and let the habit do the work.

The oils, creams and baths I reach for after a session

If a HigherDOSE sauna blanket session is part of your week, your skin needs something afterward, and this last shelf is where I would start. For the ritual side, Kate McLeod's Dry Brush exfoliates and primes skin, Susanne Kaufmann's Mountain Pine Bath Oil uses essential oils from spruce and pine trees of the Austrian Alps, and Commune Seymour Bath Salts blend Himalayan pink salt and black Hawaiian lava salt. T3's Source showerhead has seven spray settings from gentle rainfall to high-intensity massage.

For after the shower, I like lighter textures first. Monastery Lapiz Matte Body Oil absorbs without shine or stickiness, AESTURA ATOBARRIER365 is a lightweight lotion with Micro-Fine Ceramides, and Biossance Caffeine Toning Body Cream is powered by caffeine and niacinamide. Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum has guarana and a salted caramel, pistachio and vanilla scent, and Caudalie Resveratrol-Lift is a velvety, nongreasy cream. When I want richer, L'Occitane's Almond Supple Skin Body Oil is 50 percent almond oil, and Tania Bulhoes Figo Negro lotion has shea butter, almond oil and a ripe fig scent. Nécessaire's Body Wipe is individually wrapped for a refresh between workouts.

What I would skip: layering an oil, a butter and a cream on the same night. One is plenty.

Body care for after the sauna