Press & Media

Halsa is a Wisconsin-based wellness brand making premium 100% wool sauna hats for the modern American sauna ritual. Founded by Valerie Young in 2022, Halsa brings a centuries-old Finnish and Baltic tradition into everyday home and gym sauna routines.

For journalists & podcast hosts

Halsa's founder Valerie Young is available for interviews, expert quotes, and product samples on topics including sauna wellness, heat therapy, wool thermoregulation, hair and scalp protection, women-founded e-commerce, Wisconsin small business, and the cultural history of sauna.

We respond to all media inquiries within one business day. For fastest turnaround, email support@shophalsa.com with your outlet, deadline, and angle.

The Halsa story

Halsa was founded in 2022 by Valerie Young, a Wisconsin entrepreneur who discovered the Finnish and Baltic tradition of wearing a wool hat in the sauna and couldn't believe it wasn't already a part of American sauna culture. Most American sauna bathers, she noticed, were leaving the hot room before they wanted to — not because their bodies had reached their limit, but because their scalps and ears were burning. A simple wool hat solves the problem instantly. Saunagoers in Finland, Russia, and Estonia have known this for generations.

Valerie launched Halsa from her kitchen table with a small first run of hand-felted wool hats, sourced direct from manufacturers who had been making them for the European market for decades. The brand grew through word-of-mouth in sauna and wellness communities before expanding to shophalsa.com and Amazon.

Today, Halsa serves thousands of sauna enthusiasts across the United States — from home-sauna owners to gym and spa regulars to professional athletes using heat therapy as part of their recovery routine.

Founder bio: Valerie Young

Valerie Young is the founder and CEO of Halsa, a wellness brand specializing in premium wool sauna hats. Based outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Valerie has spent years researching sauna culture, wool thermoregulation, and the wellness benefits of regular heat therapy. She founded Halsa to bring centuries-old Finnish and Baltic sauna traditions into modern American wellness routines.

Valerie speaks on topics including:

• Sauna culture and the science of heat therapy
• Why wool outperforms other materials for sauna and wellness apparel
• Hair and scalp protection during high-heat exposure
• Building a niche wellness brand from the Midwest
• Women-founded e-commerce and bootstrapping
• The intersection of traditional ritual and modern wellness

To request an interview, written quotes, or a podcast appearance, email support@shophalsa.com.

Halsa fact sheet

Featured products

The following products are available as press samples on request. We cover shipping on samples for verified media outlets.

See the full lineup on the sauna hats collection page.

Story angles we can speak to

If you're writing or producing on any of these topics, we'd love to contribute:

Wellness and self-care

• Why sauna culture is the fastest-growing wellness category in 2026
• The under-discussed science of why a wool hat extends your sauna session
• How heat therapy compares to cold plunge for recovery and longevity
• The cardiovascular research behind regular sauna use

Beauty and hair

• Sauna-induced hair damage and how to prevent it
• Why wool outperforms cotton, linen, and synthetic head coverings during sauna
• A practical pre/during/post sauna hair care routine

Founder and business

• Building a wellness brand outside the coastal startup ecosystem
• Female-founded e-commerce in the Midwest
• The mechanics of importing, sourcing, and growing a niche physical product brand
• Why product education beats paid ads for niche wellness brands

Culture and tradition

• The Finnish and Baltic origins of sauna hat tradition
• How UNESCO-recognized Finnish sauna culture is being adapted by American wellness consumers
• What modern wellness culture borrows (and misses) from traditional sauna practice

Press requests checklist

To help us respond quickly, please include in your email:

• Your outlet, publication, or podcast name
• Your story angle or topic
• Your deadline (be specific — "next Tuesday" beats "soon")
• What you need from us: written quote, phone interview, product sample, photography, expert background?
• If requesting a product sample: which product, your shipping address

This page is updated as our story evolves. Last revised June 2026.