I discovered ChafeX a few months ago and used it while training for the Boston Marathon.

Running involves repetitive motion and every runner deals with chafing eventually. Some runners chafe in certain areas, others chafe when they are wet.

I discovered chafing in 2003 during my third race, the Providence marathon. It was sprinkling that day and my loose singlet eventually wore away the skin on my nipples.

Somewhere after the half-way mark the person I was running with mentioned that I was bleeding. I hadn’t noticed until he said something and then each step caused unbelievable stinging.

Somehow I managed to get through the rest of the race and crossed the finish line with my jacket zipped up. My wife was horrified. I managed to bleed through my soaked jacket!

Women chafe at the sport bra line, guys chafe under the belt. I’ve even heard of butt cheek chafing. Thighs and under the arms are two other common chafe areas.If you run enough races eventually you will chafe in areas you could never imagine.

Feeling the burn

Over time, I discovered that I could run up to 10K and not chafe in most conditions. If it was wet I would chafe sooner. If I wore a tight shirt or Under Armor I could run further, even in the rain. I can actually run a marathon wearing Under Armor and not chafe.

Before I discovered tight shirts and Under Armor I used band-aids. These were literally a pain when it came time to take them off. I tend to wear Under Armor later into the spring than most people to avoid chafing on long runs.

Eventually I discovered a silicon roll on that worked really well. Slick silicon protects your skin from abrasive fabric. If I run with a loose shirt in the rain I might have some chaffing, but no bleeding.

Often runners feel the burn when they hop into the shower. You may have forgotten your glide, it may have been wet or a tag on a new shirt or shorts rubbed you the wrong way.

You think you are okay and then the hot water hits that irritated skin. Yeeoow! You swear you’ll never forget protection again.

Chafex

When I read about ChafeX I was intrigued but skeptical. With silicon you roll it on like deodorant, and go. ChafeX needs to be applied like sunscreen. It needs to be rubbed in to bond with your skin and may need another minute to dry.

I was concerned it would take too long to apply and dry. Like most people I never have enough time and I’m often in a hurry. I was also worried about following directions correctly.

Simply Better Laboratories sent me a 50g tube to try. This is my only “compensation” for this review.

It turns out that ChafeX is easy to use and even I could follow the directions!

A toe on each foot tends to take a lot of abuse when I run. I had been using 3M First Aid tape to wrap my toes and protect them from the friction. It turns that ChafeX worked as well as tape, and I didn’t have to worry about it coming un-done.

Sometimes on a long run I will get a hot spot on the soul of my fore foot. I started applying ChafeX to these areas also, and that problem was solved.

I rotate my running shoes and sometimes different shoes will rub different areas of my foot. During my Boston Marathon training I rubbed ChafeX on the area that day’s shoes rubbed the wrong way, and problem solved.

ChafeX worked well on my original problem area, the nipples. You rub it on like sun screen, let it dry and can add a second layer for extra protection.

Man or woman, no one wants to apply a roll on below the belt and then use it next time above the belt. Or use it ever again! The ability to apply protection in this area without a roll on really sold me on ChafeX.

ChafeX and the Marathon Test

The true test of any product is the marathon. Talk about repetitive motion. It took me 4:09 to run the Boston Marathon this year. ChafeX worked like a charm.

I didn’t wear tape on my toes. I applied several layers of ChafeX to my toes and under the belt. I ran for FamilyAid Boston this year and we had custom singlets. I couldn’t risk bleeding through my shirt, so I used my silicon roll on which also worked perfectly.

I had never worn this shirt for more than a 5 mile run. I didn’t want to try two new things on my chest on race day.

I have worn the 3M tape on my toes since 2005 or so. I had enough confidence in ChafeX to go without the tape, and it really worked. I have all of my toe nails! I also didn’t have any hot spots on my feet.

Check out this instructional video on how to apply ChafeX. Here is the link to their site.

I would recommend ChafeX to anyone. It really works and you can use it anywhere on your body.

Run Well my Friends!

Andy

© 2016 andrew nagelin