The Anti-Chafe Action Plan
Athletes are no strangers to chafing. Whether your skin is rubbing itself raw against equipment or breaking down from the grind of repetitive movements, chafing is a common obstacle all athletes face. At Mil Usos, we created our products to help athletes deal with chafing in a comprehensive manner that will banish this skin demon for good!
Chafing Prehab
Believe it or not, there's a lot you can do to avoid chafing before it starts. One of the best ways to prevent unnecessary chafing is to regularly condition the skin. At first, this may sound counterintuitive. Chafing leads to blisters, which leads to calluses. Calluses are your skin's natural protection against further chafing. We are big callus fans! The skin is its own best expert, and calluses are a genius solution your skin creates to insulate itself from friction.
But let's think about the skin the way we think about clothing. If you've ever made the mistake of wearing cotton socks or a cotton shirt on a long run, you know just how badly cotton rubs the skin during repetitive movements. Cotton is a natural fiber that creates a lot of friction. Synthetic fibers like polyester not only feel silky smooth against the skin, but they also produce way less friction. Running socks and athletic gear is usually made with these synthetic fibers because they do not cause blistering.
In the same way, you want your skin to be as frictionless as possible. If you already have built up calluses in specific hot spots (hands, feet), then you should definitely keep them. But also! But lubricating the skin with quality moisture on a regular basis conditions and restores the skin to better withstand friction in the future.
The key is to use moisture that sinks into the deeper layers of the skin quickly and effectively. And for that, cheap pharmacy products just won't cut it. Almost all cheap lotion products are made with white emulsifying wax and sticky petrochemicals like petrolatum and mineral oil. Petrolatum and mineral oil are both derived from refined petroleum. These products sit on top of the skin and wreak havoc.
At Mil Usos, we choose a blend of vitamin-rich plant oils that sink into the deeper layers of the skin, where they work hard to repair and restore the skin barrier. Our Total Cranarchy Multi-Use Balm contains an elegant blend of specialty oils that each have a unique fatty acid profile. The result is nourishing moisture that conditions the skin over time. The skin becomes strong and supple and better able to withstand friction.
During Activity
When you know you'll be engaged in an activity that causes chafing to your skin, there are a few things to help. The easiest solution is to wear the right clothing. If your inner thighs chafe during running, for instance, then very short running shorts probably aren't the right clothing item for you (even though they are cute!). Runners also need to make sure they are wearing running socks, which are made from fibers designed to withstand a lot of friction in the shoe.
Many men suffer from "jogger nipple," which sounds funny, but is actually a hug problem. Jogger nipple is a painful situation where the shirt rubs the skin raw. It can get so bad that it causes bleeding and scabbing. The skin on this part of the chest is very thin and extra sensitive, so this condition is quite painful. You'll want to make sure you wear moisture-wicking clothing and fibers designed for athletes. Since most of these fibers are synthetic, we suggest that you purchase from an athletic clothing brand that uses recycled materials. You can also opt for modal or silk, which are natural fibers.
Clothing won't fix everything, unfortunately. Cyclists experience intense chafing from their upper legs rubbing against the seat. And other common areas of chafing include the feet and toes, the bra line, and the upper arms. For these problem areas, an anti-chafe product should be applied directly to the skin.
When searching for an anti-chafe product, you'll want to consider the ingredients. Any product with "petrolatum" or "mineral oil" are using petroleum-based ingredients. The petroleum industry is one of the most destructive enterprises to ever touch this planet. As humanity shifts away from oil toward electric sources of transportation, the petroleum industry looks for ways to change and sell its product. Skincare is one of those ways. These ingredients are unnatural and irritating to the skin, and we do not recommend them.
Our Total Cranarchy Multi-Use Balm is a based entirely on plant oils and modified beeswax, meaning it contains no water. It works especially well to prevent chafing during activity. The nutritious plant oils and modified beeswax provide a layer of protection to the skin and help smooth outside friction. The lightweight lubrication won't feel uncomfortable when you start sweating, and the soothing anti-irritant ingredients work hard to heal skin under friction.
Aftercare for chafing
Maybe you forgot to address problematic areas before you put in all those miles, or maybe your workout created a new problem area for you. Either way, your workout has now thoroughly punished your skin. It's red, raw, and maybe even bleeding. How to care for it?
If the skin is rubbed raw or bleeding, it should be treated like an open wound (because it is). You'll want to clean the skin with a non-irritating cleanser. Avoid essential oils, as they will sting, burn, and irritate the broken skin even more. Essential oils are marketed as disinfecting oils, and while they do exhibit disinfecting properties, they come at a cost. Essential oils are a major cause of contact dermatitis. Which is to say, essential oil soaps can provoke an angry - or even an allergic - reaction in the skin. And if your skin is already broken, the last thing it needs is extreme irritation. Instead, we recommend cleaning the skin with our Char Goals Everything Bar Cleanser. The Char Goals Bar is designed to be extra gentle on fragile skin, and instead of essential oils, it uses activated charcoal for deep cleaning.
Next, you need to treat the wound with a healing ointment. Again, we recommend the Total Cranarchy Multi-Use Balm (it's called multi-use for a reason!). The Balm's nourishing plant oils help restore the broken skin barrier, which increases the rate of wound healing. The safe antimicrobial extracts (green tea, glyceryl laurate, licorice, and bakuchiol) will help clean the skin, and the strong anti-irritants (curcumin, bisabolol, sea buckthorn) calm the inflammatory response. The extra-concentrated formula will ramp up the healing process so your skin heals faster, and you can get back to training as usual!
Author: Rebecca Williams, Founder