Features & Benefits
Hand Shower
After relaxing in the steam shower or whirlpool bath you may want to rinse off and thoroughly cleanse before you step out. This product features an additional shower head. With our steam showers the hand shower hangs neatly out of the way when not in use so you have optimal space whereas the shower cord retracts inside of the bath frame on our whirlpool baths.
It is ideal for rinsing of lather fully and can even be used to give the shower or bath itself a quick rinse after use.
Fibreglass Tray
All of our steam shower and bath trays are made from fiberglass with a stainless steel frame, ensuring they are highly durable and long lasting.
Fiberglass is created by mixing very fine strand or fibres of glass with a hardening resin to create a strong and lightweight shell.
What Exactly is Fiberglass?
The 'glass' in fiberglass is the same basic substance used in windows and glassware. Molten glass is extruded through ultra-fine openings measured in microns, resulting in thread-like formations which can be woven together to form a rough cloth or patch. Different resins can then be added to this fiberglass material, allowing it to be formed and pressed into moulds. The result is a heat-resistant, lightweight fiberglass panel.
Why Use Fiberglass?
Its lightweight properties mean that it is easy to install and maintain which means we can get your shower fitted and ready to use in much less time. Due to the fact that it can be pressed in moulds it can be transformed into any style and shape meaning you get the best design possible as no functionality or design has been compromised by the materials pliability.
Fiberglass is a very strong and long lasting material so you can rest assured that your steam shower will continue to remain in perfect health for the foreseeable future; it is also cheaper to produce than similar materials such as carbon fibre which reduces unnecessary additional costs. Fibreglass is also more flexible than materials such as carbon fibre and can deal with higher stresses of elongation before breaking. Finally it is both made from recycled glass and is easily recyclable itself meaning you will be helping the environment as well.
Further Reading
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-fiberglass.htm
Chromotherapy
What is ‘Chromotherapy’?
Chromotherapy is the use of colour to affect the physical and/or mental state of a person. It is also known as colourology, colour therapy and more recently by scientists photobiology (to strip it of its links with spiritualism and mysticism.) It differs from ‘Light Therapy’ which has been scientifically proven to counteract seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D)
It can relate to the use of colour in any form such as the colour cloths you choose to wear, imagining colour in your mind’s eye or even the colour foods you eat. In this case however, we use the term to refer to the use of coloured lighting to alter the physical condition and mind state of the user.
We all know and understand that colour can have an effect on our emotions. Red renowned for representing and heightening danger or anger whereas blue is a cooling and calming colour which also diminishes appetite. There has also been plenty of investigation and experimentation regarding the use of colour to alter the physical state as you can see below.
History
- In India, practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine believed that specific colours corresponded with each of the seven ‘chakras’ (Energies in the body that represent organs, emotions, and aspects of the soul)
- In the days of ancient Egypt, practitioners built solariums with specifically designed glasses and lenses that served to break up the sun's rays into the colours of the spectrum
- In the late 1800’s Dr. Edwin D. Babbitt and Dr. S. Pancoast conducted numerous experiments and Babbitt then went on to publish a book entitled ‘Principles of Light and Colour’ which outlines chromotherapy as we understand it today
- In the late 1940’s Russian researcher S.V. Krakov conducted a series of experiments to show how colour affects the nervous system. In his experiments, he observed that red light stimulated the adrenal glands, raising blood pressure and pulse rate, and that blue and white light had a calming, relaxing effect.
Scientific Beliefs
It is becoming more and more common to find mainstream researchers turning to chromatherapy for a variety of ailments as well, particularly sleep disorders. Colour is a property of light, which is made up of many different waves of energy. When light falls upon the photoreceptor cells of the retina, it is converted into electrical impulses.
These impulses travel to the brain and trigger the release of hormones. The release of these hormones in controlled bursts can be used to treat the body and mind for many of the medical conditions that hinder sleep as well as promote conditions that are conducive to sleep and rest.
While many forms of chromatherapy can and should only be practiced by licensed practitioners, some forms of colour therapy are simple and safe enough to be practiced in the comfort of your own home, such as the chromatherapy lights in many of our whirlpool baths and steam showers.
Criticisms
Critics of chromotherapy claim that it is a ‘pseudoscience’ which means that past experiments, claims and findings do not follow the correct conditions to be classified as 100% scientifically proven. They believe that there is too much room for false and invalid results. Selection Bias is also a criticism of chromotherapy, this is linked in with the placebo effect by which if you believe that it will affect you, it will.
Spiritual Beliefs
Ayurvedic medicine describes the body as having seven main ‘chakras’, which are spiritual centres located along the spine that are associated with a colour, function and organ or bodily system. According to this explanation, these colours can become imbalanced and result in physical diseases but these imbalances can be corrected through using the appropriate colour as a treatment. The purported colours and their associations are described as:
| Colour | Chakra location | Alleged Function | Associated System |
| Red | Base of the spine | Grounding and Survival | Testes , kidneys, spine, sense of smell |
| Orange | Lower abdomen, genitals | Emotions, sexuality | Urinary tract, circulation, reproduction |
| Yellow | Solar plexus | Power, ego | stomach, liver, gall bladder, pancreas |
| Green | Heart | Love, sense of responsibility | Heart, lungs, thymus |
| Blue | Throat | Physical and spiritual communication | Throat, ears, mouth, hands |
| Indigo | Middle of forehead | Forgiveness, compassion, understanding | Eye, pineal glands |
| Violet | Crown of the head | Connection with universal energies, transmission of ideas and information | pituitary gland, the central nervous system and the cerebral cortex |
Further Reading
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromotherapy
http://www.tipsforinsomnia.info/articles/chromatherapy_is_the_use_of_co/
Body Jets
Our steam showers body jets are ideally positioned to target your stressed muscles and release tension causing you to relax both physically and mentally. They also ensure all round water coverage as there is nothing more irritating than parts of your body being cold in the shower especially on a cold winter morning, the body jets ensure that you get all over body coverage for total comfort and easy rinsing off. Our Whirlpool bath body jets circulate the warm bathwater rather than cold air as many cheaper units do, this means you bath will stay at a more constant temperature for longer.
All our jets are fully adjustable so if the water isn’t quite reaching its targeted muscle/body area you can alter its direction and perfect the shower for you, after all everyone’s body shape is different. With this freedom the shower modes are endless.
Aromatherapy
What is Aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine which involves the use of plant materials and other aromatic compounds to alter the users mood, health and mental state. There are a few main methods of conducting aromatherapy including:
- Inhalation– Breathing in aromatic vapour (Aerial diffusion and direct inhalation)
- Topical – Applying oils directly to the skin
- Orally – Ingesting materials
In the case of our steam showers and whirlpool baths the inhalation methods is the most applicable. A number of our products facilitate for aromatherapy, many of our saunas and steam showers outlets have specially designed locations for aromatic materials to be placed in so that the heat will cause them to turn to vapour and the fans will circulate this vapour around you. They can then be absorbed by your hair follicles and sweat glands to help promote healthy and bacteria free skin as well as being processed by your repertory system via inhalation. This is the quickest and most direct route for the material to affect your state of mind and wellbeing.
How Does It Work?
Each method of application works in a different way, as we have just seen by applying oils to the skin it can be absorbed into the blood stream and also kill bacteria on the skin. With inhalation the vapour passes tiny nerves in the top of our noses which then transmit data to a part of our brain called the limbic system. This are of the brain is responsible for heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, memory, stress levels and hormone balance.
As previously mentioned this is the most effective and fast acting method of aromatherapy, we suggest placing aromatic oils or materials in the special designed sections of our products or even adding plant oils to your bath water. This will help you to relax, lower your heart rate and settle your breathing making it more consistent. The result will be a calmer and happier you.
Criticisms
The positive effects of aromatherapy have yet to be 100% proven by science. Many critics suggest that it is another case of the placebo effect. That said MANY people swear by its effectiveness, the brain is an amazingly powerful tool which can be affected in many surprising ways. There is certainly no real evidence of its use being harmful or damaging in anyway.
Related Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aromatherapy
http://www.aromatherapy-at-home.com/howdoesaromatherapywork.html
http://solework.wordpress.com/2007/11/20/aromatherapy-steam-inhalation/