How Knot Springs Makes Its Saunas Smell So Good
Image: courtesy Knot Springs
In most wet saunas, the steam that screams through the vents smells like nothing but boiling water (and, in some unfortunate cases, sweat). Some bathhouses infuse their steam with things like eucalyptus—the botanical workhorse of the spa world—but the folks at Northeast Portland health club Knot Springs didn’t stop there. The team hired experimental fragrance design studio Maak Lab to create seasonal scents for both the wet and dry saunas—essential oil blends boiled with the future steam of the former and sprinkled in the ladling water of the latter. They focused on scents you might typically sniff strolling through a Portland neighborhood or hiking in Forest Park: woodsy fragrances for the fall and winter, and garden florals straight out of Irvington for the spring and summer.
Alli Lurie, one of Knot Springs’ founding employees and its current director of hospitality, agreed to break down their seasonal essential oil blends, in case people want to try DIY-ing a steam room with a hot plate and a saucepan in their bathroom (absolutely do not try this at home).
Fall/Winter Scents
“You have this perception of sitting in the damp forest of the wintertime,” Lurie says. “It’s almost reminiscent of the holiday scents.”
Noble fir: Pine-like, with woodsy, menthol notes. It’s giving Christmas.
Cedar: A richer, more robust woody scent, with deeper spice character. Sauna-esque.
Oak moss: Musky and earthy. How a forest smells after it rains.
Spring/Summer Scents
“We wanted to transport people to the amazingness of Portland this time of year. It feels like you’re frolicking in the field in the summertime.”
Jasmine: Floral, with a verdancy that’s downright vegetal. A classic perfume smell—your grandmother probably wore jasmine.
Lavender: A soft, lush floral with almost rosemary-like herbal, savory notes. Basically inescapable in Portland.
Cut grass: Like you’re lying on the front lawn of your friend’s house, post–Slip ’N Slide.
