How to Stay Active and Chafe Free

Staying active is a great way to maintain good physical and mental health, but working up a sweat and making repetitive movements can increase chafing, putting a cramp in your workout routine. Don’t let redness and irritation prevent you from staying on track with your goals. By using these simple, effective tips on what helps with chafing, you’ll be making smooth moves with ease.

How Clothing Choices Can Help with Chafing

Whether you’re taking a spinning class, getting ready for your next half-marathon, or spending some time at the gym, your comfort can play a key role in your performance. 

To avoid chafing, increase your comfort and help protect your skin’s health, consider these four things when choosing your workout gear:

• Fit: Proper fit is key. Clothes that are too loose can allow skin-to-skin friction while clothes that are too tight can pinch and rub.
• Seams: Look for clothing that has flat seams or no seams along high-friction areas like your underarms and inner thighs.
• Materials: Sportswear is often designed to be breathable, but some breathable fabrics like cotton do not dry quickly or pull sweat away from your skin. Choose moisture-wicking fabrics like nylon, polyester and spandex so sweat doesn’t weigh your clothes down and keep your skin wet.
• Compression gear: Compression clothing (like bike shorts or compression shorts, sleeves and socks) is meant to support your muscles and circulation. It also creates a helpful barrier to reduce friction between your skin and clothing, which can help reduce the risk of chafing or blisters.

Sweat and Your Skin: How to Help Skin Stay Healthy

When you’re working up a good sweat, you want to make sure that moisture doesn’t end up being bad for your skin. So, in addition to choosing the right fabrics, take these steps after you exercise:

1. Remove damp clothing as soon as possible and shower (or at least rinse off if possible) after workouts, being sure to properly clean sweat-prone areas.
2. Thoroughly wash and dry your skin to reduce the buildup of sweat and bacteria that can contribute to chafing.
3. After showering, use hydrating lotion to keep your skin moisturized.
4. Most importantly, pay attention to your skin. Check for redness or irritation after physical activity and treat even minor chafing spots to prevent them from becoming serious issues. If left unattended, skin can blister or peel causing a lot more discomfort and even risk infection.

By maintaining this simple routine of good hygiene, you can help prevent chafing and keep your skin healthy.