Hi Julian, thank you for sharing your experience. Sorry to read about your skin problems. The best advice can come from a dermatoligist who specilizes in skin issues. However, I know that saunas can contribute to skin health for healhy individuals. They helped me and many friends a lot. Easy perspiration and increasing blood flow are the main mechanisms.

Subjective benefits of cold depend on each invididual. Both cold and heat exposure can change the hormonal and neurotransmitter profiles. Objective measures are inflammation markers and heart rate variability. Inflammation markers require blood tests ordered by family doctors but you can purchase heart rate variabiloity and pulse monitoring devices. Cold exposure lowers pulse and heat increases it. Both can contribute to variability which is an excellent health indicator. I posted an article about it. https://medium.com/p/e6a21798dfb2