Chamois Butter

[lizc]

Hi Ladies -

I need the female opinion on this one. I get why the guys use Chamois Butter to keep their bits from chafing. I also understand that it claims to keep your shorts chamois supple and relatively bacteria free - a good thing since you can't wash in hot water and to keep you cooler while riding. Just trying to find out if that is true or simply marketing hype.

And since I always see it marketed alongside pictures of men, I want to know if it causes any problems for us gals (i.e. infections, itching, burning).

Any advice is welcome. Thanks!

[Eden]

Well - the supple chamois thing is really a throw back to the days when they really were made of chamois leather. If you didn't want your "pad" (it wasn't so much padding as a non seamed surface) to get stiff and hard you had to use a chamois cream all over. Now-a-days the creams/lotions/sticks, are for creating less friction between your body parts and the pad in your shorts, as synthetic pads don't have the problem of drying up or hardening.

Personally when I use a cream, and I don't all of the time - I apply it to my body, rather than the chamois and only in the places that are subject to rubbing - rather than slather all over the pad as it can be hard to wash out and get into places where I may not care to have it. I've used all kinds of stuff from creams made just for cycling to bag balms or zinc oxide and I've never had any irritation or infections from any of them, but I'm not prone to those types of things either (never had a UI or yeast infection).

[kelownagirl]

I use body butter from Walmart - $5 for a decent sized container. I have fairly sensitive skin so was cautious at first. I put it directly on my skin - generally the insides of my thighs (the crease) because that's where I chafe and avoid the "girly bits" so to speak. I only use it on rides over 60km.

[Starfish]

I have never found a real need for it, even on rides over 10 hours. In fact, the one and only time I ever got a saddle sore, it was the first time I tried Butt'r.

I have used the bar-style silicone-based ones...like Glide (I think is the name?)...just experimenting. I think if I had a need, I would prefer the feel and delivery method better...kind of like a push-up deodorant, you can just run it along the seams of your chamois.

Again, I just don't find the need. The one place I did used to need some lube, for the first couple of years, was under my gloves, in between my thumb and forefinger. Neosporin was perfect. Now I have callouses and don't need the lube.

[sarahkonamojo]

I use chamois butter sometimes. Hot days, long rides, certain shorts.

You might want to look into beljum butter. It is paraben free. Paraben is one of those cancer causing agents we continue to rub into our skin.

sarah

http://www.beljumbudder.com/

[Brandi]

If you don't need it don't use it!
I have never ever needed it except for a long bike trip we were on for a week. No showers! When we finally reached a lake we could all wash off at, i washed the shorts i was wearing and put on a pair of dry clean one's. For some reason these shorts started to rub in a bad area. I had to use something. I had a tube of monistat chafing relief powder gel and it was great. But that is the only time I have had to use something. Oh and my shorts were not the most expensive so that could be another reason. Don't buy cheap shorts. Lessoned learned on my part!