I tried every home remedy for thigh chafing so you don’t have to

Don’t you just love summer with all of its music festivals, bonfires, and long walks on the beach? Not to mention, the inability to wear any of those super cute sundresses you saw at the mall because the heat causes your thighs to chafe like crazy.

But, not to fear, the end of chafing is here! According to thorough searches on Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr, the solutions to chub rub have been sitting in your bathroom cabinet this whole time.
From deodorant to Pam Cooking Spray, I’ve researched and tested each method, putting it through an intense workout regimen including a walk, run, and set of lunges. After each test, I rated the product on its overall comfort, staying power, and messiness, using a five-star scale (1 being the worst, and 5 being the best).

So go out and buy that sexy little sundress you’ve been eyeing. The end of chafing has arrived.

Baby Powder

• Overall Comfort: 3/5
• Staying Power: 2/5
• Messiness: 1/5

I decided to start with the most simple of products: baby powder. But as soon as I started struggling to figure out how to open it (hint – you have to peel off the sticker at the top, it’s not twist off), I knew something was wrong.

If you want to use baby powder to prevent chub rub, you better not be wearing anything other than a diaper. Though it smelled delightful, the minute I shook some onto my palm and patted it onto my thighs, my outfit was encased in a cloud of baby powder. My poor black running shorts looked like they had been through a dust storm.

Fortunately for my shorts and not -so fortunately for my thighs – baby powder lacks staying power. By the end of my workout regimen, my legs felt smooth, but not slick. There was nothing preventing my thighs from chafing.

Aloe vera

• Overall Comfort: 1/5
• Staying Power: 4/5
• Messiness: 3/5

I have one word for aloe: Nope. On the back of my aloe bottle, it claims it is good for soothing irritated skin. And while it may seem like heaven-in-a-bottle for sunburns, using it to guard against chub rub was hell.

I must give aloe credit; it stayed on quite well despite the heat and wasn’t too messy. But other than its staying power, using aloe was nothing short of painful. Immediately after a gooey application, my thighs stuck to everything. They were covered in specks of dust from the chair I was sitting on, and as I got up to walk, just separating my legs was a struggle.

As I took off for my run, every step I took was matched with a resounding, “Ouch!” I ended up cutting the run short, because it felt like the aloe was only encouraging chafing. From now on, I’ll be saving the aloe for the beach.

Pam

• Overall Comfort: 4/5
• Staying Power: 4/5
• Messiness: 3/5

I am off put by how well Pam worked. The most difficult part was holding back giggles as I sprayed the buttery substance on my legs and massaged it into my skin. (I recommend spraying it in close proximity to your legs, or it can get messy).  

It didn’t provide the most slick surface; my legs were still a little sticky, but it blocked any irritation from occurring, and lasted fairly long. I guess, being a non-stick cooking agent, Pam works well in hot environments.

In the end, Pam is meant for cooking, and I am wary of putting too much of it on my skin. But in a pinch, Pam could certainly be your thighs’ best friend.

Lip balm

• Overall Comfort: 4/5
• Staying Power: 2/5
• Messiness: 5/5

Though I didn’t find any websites recommending lip balm, I figured it was similar enough to other products to give it a try. I hoped it would work – probably more than any of the other products, because of its ease of application and convenient size.

Unfortunately for me, though, lip balm didn’t supply any love to my chub rub, other than a little moisture. Much like many of the other failed products, my legs were left feeling smooth, but not protected from prolonged irritation.

Besides, I was a little grossed out thinking I might have to put the lip balm on my lips once it had touched my sweaty thighs.

Deodorant/Antiperspirant

• Overall Comfort: 4/5
• Staying Power: 4/5
• Messiness: 1/5

If Amy Schumer can post a video of her rubbing deodorant all over her thighs, I can put it proudly on mine. And, my goodness, it worked!

For the first time throughout this testing process, I felt I had a comfortable, long-lasting, anti-chafing product. I’ll admit, I am still looking for something that makes my legs feel like they are gliding past one another without a care, but if I have to settle for using my deodorant I won’t complain.

Deodorant was easy to put on, had lots of staying power, and as an added plus, made my inner thighs smell like cucumber.

Vaseline

• Overall Comfort: 5/5
• Staying Power: 4/5
• Messiness: 3/5

According to my mother, a frequent marathoner, Vaseline is a runner’s best DIY solution for chafing, and I agree.

Vaseline provided the slick feeling deodorant was lacking. And though it was greasy, Vaseline made up for it by how valiantly it fought off chub rub. Not to mention, because of Vaseline’s greasy quality, I found a little went a long way in application. I barely needed a fingertip full to cover the majority of my inner thigh.

My only true beef with Vaseline is that it had been hiding in the back of my medicine cabinet for too long.

Coconut oil

• Overall Comfort: 4/5
• Staying Power: 3/5
• Messiness: 3/5

According to popular trends on the internet, it seems like you can use coconut oil for virtually everything. When I saw it recommended as chub rub protection, I wasn’t surprised.

I suggest using coconut oil only if you are out of Vaseline. The two were very similar in consistency, but the coconut oil felt watered down in comparison. Because of this difference, the coconut oil did not last as long and was a little more messy.

I’d suggest, next time you see a list of “100 things you can use coconut oil for,” you skip the chafing prevention and move on to the teeth whitening.