If you suffer from saddle sores or chafing while cycling, chamois cream can make a huge difference. Designed to reduce friction between your chamois, saddle, and intimate regions, chamois cream helps keep things comfortable down there.
Most chamois creams are also anti-bacterial, so it can help prevent keep things clean and prevent infection.
Here are 7 different creams that we swear by (or that our friends swear by). If you’re not already familiar with using chamois cream, we’ve also provided some tips on getting started and included info on why we recommend using a women’s-specific chamois cream.
| 1 | Chamois Butt’r for Her |
| 2 | Hoo Ha Ride Glide |
| 3 | Assos Women’s Chamois Cream |
| 4 | Mad Alchemy La Femme |
| 5 | DZNutz Bliss Chamois Cream for Women |
| 6 | Body Glide For Her |
| 7 | Muc Off Women’s Chamois Cream |
Chamois Butt’r for Her
Chamois Butt’r is probably the best-known chamois cream on the market, and “Chamois Butt’r for Her” is a version of the popular product designed for women cyclists. The formula includes all kinds of natural stuff including aloe vera, green tea leaf extract, tea tree oil, shea butter, and lavender oil.
This is one of the easier creams to find at your local bike shop, if you want to shop locally, this is one to keep your eyes peeled for.
Price: $15.71 (8 oz) (Last updated: 2023-09-08 at 09:06 – More Info)
Hoo Ha Ride Glide
We like the Hoo Ha Ride Glide for its lack of synthetic ingredients (and for its name). The chamois cream is anti-bacterial thanks to several essential oils including lavender, tea tree, peppermint and eucalyptus essentials oils.
It’s also great if you already have sores and/or chafing thanks to epilobium angustifolium flower/leaf/stem extract and vitamins E, B5 and C. It includes no parabens or synthetic fragrance.
The one thing to be aware of though, is that this cream has a bit of a cooling or tingling sensation. Some women like this, other women don’t. We recommend trying it on a small patch of skin before lathering it everywhere.
Price: $15 for 10 packs
Assos Women’s Chamois Cream
Similar to traditional Assos chamois cream, but with a lower pH, the Assos Creme Woman is a non-oily, non-perfumy option. We did find that on long rides (like century-length rides), we needed to apply the Assos cream more than once. It works great on shorter training rides, though.
Price: $29 (1.5 oz)
Mad Alchemy La Femme
Mad Alchemy La Femme is a veggie-based, paraben-free cream. It does have a slight scent so skip this one if you don’t like fragrance.
We’ve found that it washes well and doesn’t leave any residue on your chamois. It’s a thinner cream but lasts a long time, so it’s a good choice for women who don’t like “thickness.”
Price: $21 (4 oz)
Price: Price not available (8 oz) (Last updated: 2023-09-18 at 23:58 – More Info)
DZNutz Bliss Chamois Cream for Women
The DZNutz Bliss Chamois Cream is the only one we’ve tested that includes pre- and pro-biotics. This helps prevent infection and also help maintain healthy skin flora so you don’t end up with a nasty yeast rash.
This cream does have a bit of a tingly-sensation that some women may not like, though it is not as noticeable as other creams. Amongst the women we’ve talked to this is one of the favorite chamois creams for post-ride use as it does a good job of helping heal existing saddle sores.
Price: $19.99 (4 oz) (Last updated: 2023-09-18 at 11:00 – More Info)
Body Glide For Her
Ok, this isn’t technically a chamois “cream” but that’s why we like it. Body Glide is a stick that you can rub on like deodorant.
It works great for traveling, isn’t messy, and can be applied to other areas that might chafe while you’re riding: the inside of your thighs and waistband of your shorts.
We found that it works well even on hot, sweaty days, and we appreciated that it is unscented.
Price: $10.99 (4 oz) (Last updated: 2023-09-18 at 23:58 – More Info)
Muc Off Women’s Chamois Cream
We love the Muc Off cleaning products, and we like their chamois cream as well. It’s pH balanced for women and made with natural ingredients like aloe vera, shea butter and sunflower oils.
It is nice and thick and lasts a long time. The only bummer is that it’s a bit too tingly for some women.
Price: $12.99 (3.3 oz)
Why You Should Use a Women’s Specific Chamois Cream
There are a lot of things in the cycling industry that are branded as “womens-specific” but are more of a marketing ploy than anything. Chamois cream isn’t one of those.
Of course, there are women that use traditional chamois cream with no problems, but for many the ingredients in traditional chamois cream are problematic. The most noticeable of these are the use of menthol in many chamois creams. Men tend to like the “tingly” and cooling sensation, but women often find this unpleasant when/if it comes in contact with the vagina.
The second reason to use a women-specific chamois cream is the pH. Most women’s chamois creams have been formulated to have a lower pH that helps prevent vaginal irritation and infection.
How To Apply Chamois Cream
Chamois cream was originally developed when cyclists used traditional leather chamois and the cream helped condition the material. Therefore, cyclists applied the cream directly to their chamois.
Today, you can certainly still apply the chamois cream to your chamois, but it is more common to rub it onto your bum directly. Apply chamois cream to your sit bones and any other areas that make contact with the saddle or experience chafing.
How much you use is a personal matter, but I recommend starting with a quarter size amount and adjusting from there. If you use too much, you’ll feel slimy all day.
Many women end up with chafing on the inner part of their thighs. You can add chamois cream there as well.
Or, if you have sensitive skin (like I do) and have seams on your shorts that rub, add a little chamois cream to your skin in these areas.
Afterward, your bike shorts will have chamois cream residue on it, so it becomes extra important to wash your shorts in between rides.
What To Do When Chamois Cream Isn’t Working
Many women expect chamois cream to be a miracle formula–put it on and suddenly no more soreness! Unfortunately, chamois cream tends to be only one piece of a larger solution. If chamois cream alone isn’t solving your soreness and chafing, consider trying a new saddle or bike shorts.
Need More Help Keeping Your Bottom-Side Comfy?
Chamois cream is only one step of the process of keeping your bum happy on the bike. In fact, before you start using chamois cream, we highly recommend you find a saddle that’s comfortable for YOUR body and a good pair of cycling shorts.
This has been super-helpful!! Thx for posting!!
Thanks for your article. I found it helpful as a cyclist, but as a retired women’s health care provider, just want to make one clarification re your article’s lead words, “The moisture helps breed saddle sores as well as other nasty bacteria that can cause yeast infections.” Bacteria don’t cause yeast infections, yeast does. Folks tend to call all common perineal/vaginal irritations “yeast infections” but that is often a misnomer. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that antibiotics treat bacteria and not yeast (antifungals like nystatin do that). But antibiotics (especially systemic–oral or IV– ones) can wipe out ALL bacteria, including the healthy, helpful ones (eg, lactobacillus). That allows yeast to flourish, overgrow, and cause a true yeast infection. And if you already have a yeast infection, I would guess that smearing lots of cream over the perineal area could make things worse by spreading it further. Dos that make sense?