At one time or another, a lot of us have experienced the pain thigh chafing can cause!What is chafing? Thigh chafing occurs when your thighs rub together, it creates friction that damages the outer layer of skin, causing pain and inflammation, impacting on our comfort level, freedom of movement, and often resulting in inner thigh sores. Inner thigh chafing is a problem felt by women and men of all shapes and sizes. 

This is a problem all year round and is compounded by sweating. When you sweat, moisture sits on the skin and breaks down the outer layer of skin even more, resulting in burning, redness, and in extreme cases can also lead to blisters on your inner thighs.Your skin is your largest organ, and it has a vital role in protecting and maintaining your overall health. Your skin is tough enough to protect your internal body from outside elements such as germs, heat, and physical harm, but can also be fragile.Like anything else, constant rubbing causes damage, and the skin cells can reach their limit and break down if they’re overworked. Repeated rubbing, especially combined with moisture, makes the skin more vulnerable to breaking down, this is when the dreaded chafing occurs. 

Chafing is characterised by irritated sore skin on the inner thighs and will usually blister due to the combination of constant friction and excessive sweating.The first sign that chafing is occurring is a hot spot, just like with blisters on your feet. As soon as you feel a hot spot somewhere, stop and check if the area is red and irritated, take the time to address the issue before damage to the skin occurs.  

So how do I prevent chafing between my legs? 

1. Keep It Dry – Sweating when it’s hot, or when exercising can make chafing worse. One useful trick is to keep a small tub of anti-chafing powder in your bag so you can sprinkle some on to absorb excess moisture when you’re out and about. 

2. Lubricate Your Skin – A bit of lubrication will help your thighs glide past each other, rather than pulling or rubbing the skin. There are some anti chafing balms on the market that you can apply to the insides of your thighs before walking to help protect against chafing effectively. These are available at most pharmacies. 

3. Reduce Friction – One of the best ways to help prevent thigh chafing is also one of the simplest: wear appropriate clothing. When you’re teaming a skirt or dress with bare legs, it’s easy for your thighs to rub together, so investing in some anti-chafing shorts specially designed to stop chafing. Anti-chafing shorts will create a comfortable barrier between your thighs. Ensure you purchase them with moisture wicking fibres to ensure you remain comfortable all day long! 

4. Say no to cotton – Cotton is great for lounging and everyday wear, but as soon as you work up a sweat, it will take a long time for it to dry and can cause painful skin irritation when it rubs. Choose synthetic fibres preferably with moisture-wicking technology to remove the excess moisture from your skin.

Following these four measures will ensure you remain chafe free, but you might be reading this thinking, oh no I’ve already got chafed thighs! Well, we can help you get your inner thigh skin looking smooth and help reduce the redness with the 3 points below.