Patrick Gunther
*This contrast therapy studio review is sponsored by The Pod Company, dealer of innovative cold plunge bundles supplying ice bath enthusiasts with their every need.
What Ash and Ice Offers
Ash and Ice Wellness Studio is a contrast therapy establishment in Pleasant Grove, Utah that operates two traditional dry saunas that hover around 210-degrees Fahrenheit, two infrared saunas that top out around 174-degrees, and four cold plunge ice bath tubs. Each of the ice bath tubs vary in coldness – one set at around 40-degrees, another at around 45-degrees, one set around 50-degrees, and the last one set around 55-degrees. There is some slight variance plus or minus a few degrees in either direction, but those are the base temperatures each is set at. The cold plunges are those found on Plunge.com that I have previously conducted a product review on. You can read my Plunge Review to get a better idea of their construction and user experience.
My Introduction to Ash and Ice Wellness Studio
I first started communicating with one of the co-owners, Josh Harrison, in anticipation of the business opening at the beginning of March 2024. I had been a regular at Plunj Saratoga Springs ever since it had opened (which is near and dear to me – having become a “gathering place of the members of my tribe” in a manner of speaking), but felt the desire to switch to a more local venue, so as not to have to drive the 30-minute round trip every night from Pleasant Grove to Saratoga Springs for my contrast therapy. Ash and Ice is located much closer to my residence, being only a 2 ½-minute drive. That saves a lot of gas money, being that I traveled to and from Plunj six nights per week.
The Owners and Their Journey
Josh was a friendly voice, very welcoming and enthusiastic when I first called him to inquire about his business opening in March. I had read this Deseret New article about the red tape and challenges they had to work through in order to legally open. It seems laughable, but cold plunges were being regulated in Utah as if they were public swimming pools, which required installation of fencing, ladders, and employing lifeguards – an infrastructure expense of around a $300,00 starting point. The ownership of Ash and Ice lobbied and contacted our state senators to get the law changed, or in effect banning the law from overreach, and allowing this type of venue to operate legally in Utah. It took about a year to get this passed through the legislative process.
I’d like to mention at this point that both Josh and his brother Benjamin are both eager to provide the best possible contrast therapy experience to be had in the state. It is evidenced by their asking me and other patrons on several occasions about our feedback on what could be done to improve upon their offerings. Little things I have mentioned to them are already in the works, which makes me as an OG (having been one of the very first visitors and one of the first to buy a monthly membership) happy and satisfied to be part of the growth of this local business.
The Ash and Ice Contrast Therapy Experience
Booking an appointment at Ash and Ice is pretty straightforward. You usually book online (but can also call in a reservation). A one-time visit for a one-hour all access session (all of their featured services) is a very reasonable $25. Contrast that with $65 that is charged at Jiko Life, and you’ll feel like you are getting quite the value for your money. The monthly memberships are also very fair at $149 for an unlimited pass for one person, and $225 per month for an unlimited pass for yourself and your spouse.
Entering the front doors at Ash and Ice you’ll be met with smiles from the front desk employees, and be checked in to your session. I was offered some bottled water, and then taken to the locker area. The lockers are stocked with three towels – one large, fluffy body towel, and two smaller towels. The smaller towels are for sitting on in the sauna, or for wetting in cold water and putting over your head to keep it cool while sitting in the sauna, or whatever else you could want a towel for during the contrast therapy experience. The lockers themselves have a combination lock on them, where after you store your clothes and effects in them, you can set your own code and then shut and secure it. Oh, I forgot to mention there are two bathrooms that include showers in them, that I like to use to take a warm shower afterwards, especially if I end my session with a cold plunge.
After I was shown the locker area, I was then taken to the shower area. There are a couple of showers in archways just in front of the cold plunge tubs. Each archway has two showering methods available, one that emits water straight down onto your head, while the other option is to shower yourself from the chest down.
Just beyond the showering area are the four cold plunge tubs. As mentioned previously, the temperature settings range from 40- to 55-degrees. The difference between my experience at Plunj and Ash and Ice is mainly with the cold plunge experience. Plunj Saratoga had two sides – Plunj 1 and Plunj 2, each side having a 10 ft. by 10 ft. traditional sauna, a bucket shower, and a jacuzzi-like (sans being jetted) chilled pool of water. This offered a ~45 – 50-degree cold plunge experience, depending upon the night and the behavior of the chiller. The cold pools also included an addition of chlorine. The saunas were usually set at around 220- to 230-degrees. The sessions booked out at 7 individuals.
Ash and Ice Distinguishing Characteristics
The differences with Ash and Ice began with the two traditional saunas being side-by-side (rather than in different rooms altogether). Ash and Ice has a much more open layout, making it seem like a lot larger floor plan. Similar to Plunj, the saunas have a couple of sand timers in them to keep track of how long you’ve been “sweating it out”. Ash and Ice keeps their dry saunas hovering at about 210-degrees. Ash and Ice also offers two infrared saunas, whereas Plunj does not have this option. Plunj does offer various hot teas to sip on after a dip in the cold plunge, and you can also pour water mixed with essential oils over the rocks in the sauna at Plunj.
The cold plunge experience differs quite a bit at Ash and Ice. Each of the acrylic tubs are long and rectangular and smooth-feeling like a bath tub. At Plunj, the cold pool is more of a communal experience, whereby anyone can enter the same pool that you are in, disturbing your personal thermal layer, and giving you a “jolt of awakeness” after you have settled in to do your chilling. The cold plunge experience is much more personal at Ash and Ice, each tub only fitting one person. You can get in, and lounge as you’d like. Another difference is that at Ash and Ice, the cold tubs are not chlorinated, so you don’t have to deal with the strong whiff of chlorine. There is a filter system to be sure, so don’t worry about the cleanness of the water. As well, at the end of each night, the water is completely drained from the receptacles, and replaced with fresh water the subsequent day. There was no timer to keep track of your time in the cold plunge at Ash and Ice, but I’m told that one is soon to come.
My Routine
Because I enjoy sweating and detoxifying through my skin’s pores as much as possible, my personal routine is composed of ~16.5 to ~18 minutes of the dry sauna (which I have found timing it with my phone that the actual “15-minute” sand timers usually equate to), then resting in the wooden body-shaped chairs for about 5 minutes to allow my heart rate to come back to normal (my heart rate towards the end of my sauna time reaches as high as 160 bpm), while I drink a large amount of water to rehydrate (you can sweat out about 1-liter of water in a 15-minute session). Many people shower straightway from the sauna, and then jump right into the cold plunge, but I find that if I do not shower off and then have a rest between the two, I get dizzy upon entering the cold plunge (a sign of blood pressure spiking). You are encouraged at Ash and Ice to do a cold plunge for 30 seconds to 2 minutes, but up to 5 minutes (no longer). With very cold temperatures, longer than 5 minutes can be a hazard, and cause problems with your kidneys. I have personal experience with staying too long in ice baths. I’ve become much more moderate in my approach, recognizing that 5 minutes should be my personal maximum per plunge. They say that 11 minutes per week is adequate, so no need to feel inferior for doing your plunges in short bursts.
Upon exiting the plunge (by the way, my personal preference is the colder the better, so I usually choose the 40-degree plunge), my body is nearly completely red, and numb, so I tend to wait at least three minutes to regulate before entering the sauna again. Upon entering the sauna after said 5-minute plunge, I rarely sweat until the last 2 minutes of an additional 15-minute sauna, since much of that time is spent rewarming my body. I usually start my hour session with the sauna for that reason – so at least one of the sauna periods gets me sweating and detoxifying.
I jump in the sauna again after my cold plunge, and bake for an additional 15 minutes; thereafter I plunge again for the last time for 5 minutes. At that point I usually wrap things up, and go jump in a hot shower for a few minutes to warm up before traveling home.
Parting Thoughts
In all, I’m very satisfied with Ash and Ice Wellness Studio. I like the ownership and the direction they are headed. I have no doubt that they will steadily grow this business, as there is a proven demand for this type of venue in our region. I had been eagerly anticipating its opening to cut down my commute time for my contrast therapy. I absolutely love the feeling that I get from contrast therapy, which is why it has become a regular part of my nightly wind-down routine. One of the biggest benefits I have been afforded due to contrast therapy has been much better sleep. Also, for about 4 hours (if I go earlier in the day), I have a heightened sense of wellbeing. The rush of endorphins you’ll get afterwards is simply amazing. Remember that when you are freezing your butt off in the cold water 😉. You may also find that you can handle stress better. I do. And, I also have much less inflammation in my body. My back has experienced a marked improvement. As an aside (something just to be aware of), after your session, you might be a bit hungry, as the hormone ghrelin is released during contrast therapy (and you burn quite a few calories, too). There are so many more benefits that you can experience with contrast therapy. It’s wonderful for the heart. Athletes commonly use it for recovery after training and exertion. And on, and on… Visit Ice and Ash Wellness Studio; you’ll be glad you did, but be careful, you might just become “addicted” like me!
A Coupon Code for You
If you’ve read this far, good on you – you deserve a coupon code 😊. Compliments of Ash and Ice, enter IBTREVIEWS when booking a reservation, for $5.00 off!
