Wanted: A simple and safe chamois cream
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Wanted: A simple and safe chamois cream
I've been looking to purchase a chamois cream for the first time and am disappointed to find that nearly all commercial brands typically include around twenty or so ingredients, including preservatives and other chemicals with unpronounceable names. I can't imagine anyone letting that stuff get absorbed by their skin, particularly around their private parts, just because the FDA says that it's safe to use. It's as if the manufacturers load up these products with unnecessary ingredients simply to justify their high prices - often $20 or more for 8 oz.
Does anyone know of a truly simple, all-natural commercial product with no more than a handful of ingredients, or otherwise a convenient home-made alternative?
Thanks.
Does anyone know of a truly simple, all-natural commercial product with no more than a handful of ingredients, or otherwise a convenient home-made alternative?
Thanks.
#2
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Look at diaper creams. Since they're used on babies, the pressure to be safe is more intense, and you can find some with simple ingredients. Also much less expensive. They work as well or better in my experience.
Here's one example for $7 a tube. The ingredients are: Active Ingredient - Purpose. Zinc Oxide, 16% - Skin Protectant. Inactive Ingredients: Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Beeswax, Citric Acid, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba Wax), Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Myroxylon Pereirae (Balsam Peru Oil), Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil.
Here's one example for $7 a tube. The ingredients are: Active Ingredient - Purpose. Zinc Oxide, 16% - Skin Protectant. Inactive Ingredients: Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Beeswax, Citric Acid, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba Wax), Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Myroxylon Pereirae (Balsam Peru Oil), Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil.
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I made up a double batch of this earlier this year. It works quite well and saves some $$. My wife had a few of the ingredients already.
Coach Levi’s Mint Deluxe Chamois Cream Recipe
Now, let’s get fancy!
2. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
3. Stir in lanolin.
4. Place in freezer for 20 minutes (or until partially solidified).
5. Add essential oils and mix for 10 minutes.
6. Place in freezer 10 more minutes.
7. Whip until a butter-like consistency is achieved.
8. Once ready, place in a small jar for storage.
9. Test it out.
*Note that cooking times and exact preparation will vary depending on your cookware and the specific brands of ingredients you’re using
Coach Levi’s Mint Deluxe Chamois Cream Recipe
Now, let’s get fancy!
- 4oz shea butter
- 2oz coconut oil
- 2oz lanolin
- 1/8oz tea tree oil
- 1/16oz menthol
- 1/16oz peppermint oil
2. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
3. Stir in lanolin.
4. Place in freezer for 20 minutes (or until partially solidified).
5. Add essential oils and mix for 10 minutes.
6. Place in freezer 10 more minutes.
7. Whip until a butter-like consistency is achieved.
8. Once ready, place in a small jar for storage.
9. Test it out.
*Note that cooking times and exact preparation will vary depending on your cookware and the specific brands of ingredients you’re using
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#4
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I've been looking to purchase a chamois cream for the first time and am disappointed to find that nearly all commercial brands typically include around twenty or so ingredients, including preservatives and other chemicals with unpronounceable names. I can't imagine anyone letting that stuff get absorbed by their skin, particularly around their private parts, just because the FDA says that it's safe to use. It's as if the manufacturers load up these products with unnecessary ingredients simply to justify their high prices - often $20 or more for 8 oz.
Does anyone know of a truly simple, all-natural commercial product with no more than a handful of ingredients, or otherwise a convenient home-made alternative?
Thanks.
Does anyone know of a truly simple, all-natural commercial product with no more than a handful of ingredients, or otherwise a convenient home-made alternative?
Thanks.
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There are some places I would not put tea tree or peppermint oil, and definitely not menthol, and the places I would put chamois cream are definitely those same places. OW.
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Bag Balm is not all natural but it has a ~120 year history of use, first on cow tits, then when the 2nd generation mechanical milkers obviated the need, farmers' wives quickly figured out a lot of uses on humans for which it worked really well. Probably didn't take too long for the early cyclists to catch on.
I was turned on to it by a tandem stoker 30 years ago, The stuff works. Cheap, Available in any old-school drug store. It is also the best if you have saddle sores or any other ongoing injury.issue down there and you have to ride. I always bring it on tours. I may not use it. I may even use the creme given out as freebies, but that Bag Balm is always in my gear in case things get ugly.
Ben
I was turned on to it by a tandem stoker 30 years ago, The stuff works. Cheap, Available in any old-school drug store. It is also the best if you have saddle sores or any other ongoing injury.issue down there and you have to ride. I always bring it on tours. I may not use it. I may even use the creme given out as freebies, but that Bag Balm is always in my gear in case things get ugly.
Ben
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I've been looking to purchase a chamois cream for the first time and am disappointed to find that nearly all commercial brands typically include around twenty or so ingredients, including preservatives and other chemicals with unpronounceable names. I can't imagine anyone letting that stuff get absorbed by their skin, particularly around their private parts, just because the FDA says that it's safe to use. It's as if the manufacturers load up these products with unnecessary ingredients simply to justify their high prices - often $20 or more for 8 oz.
Does anyone know of a truly simple, all-natural commercial product with no more than a handful of ingredients, or otherwise a convenient home-made alternative?
Thanks.
Does anyone know of a truly simple, all-natural commercial product with no more than a handful of ingredients, or otherwise a convenient home-made alternative?
Thanks.
Bag Balm is not all natural but it has a ~120 year history of use, first on cow tits, then when the 2nd generation mechanical milkers obviated the need, farmers' wives quickly figured out a lot of uses on humans for which it worked really well. Probably didn't take too long for the early cyclists to catch on.
I was turned on to it by a tandem stoker 30 years ago, The stuff works. Cheap, Available in any old-school drug store. It is also the best if you have saddle sores or any other ongoing injury.issue down there and you have to ride. I always bring it on tours. I may not use it. I may even use the creme given out as freebies, but that Bag Balm is always in my gear in case things get ugly.
Ben
I was turned on to it by a tandem stoker 30 years ago, The stuff works. Cheap, Available in any old-school drug store. It is also the best if you have saddle sores or any other ongoing injury.issue down there and you have to ride. I always bring it on tours. I may not use it. I may even use the creme given out as freebies, but that Bag Balm is always in my gear in case things get ugly.
Ben
WIth newer synthetic chamois I would be inclined to use Bag Balm. It is great stuff. My wife is a dairy farmers daughter and she turned me on to it years ago for surf fishing and cold damp activities. It really helped the chapped cold hands. I never tried it for a chamois cream, but given its past performance, I should work very well.
#8
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Interesting question. The problem is just because something has a fancy name it doesn't mean it isn't a completely natural product. One classic example is that the first ingredient on my pot of Assos chamois cream is Aqua, which is just a fancy name for water. If they can do that for water then goodness knows what all the other ingredients are. For the record, I've been using Assos chamois cream for years and found it to be very good and reasonably economical.
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https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bon...al-flavors/amp
Last edited by indyfabz; 06-23-20 at 05:54 AM.
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Unless you have an underlying medical condition why can’t you just ride your bike without buttering up your arse?
Wouldn’t that be the simplest and most natural?
Wouldn’t that be the simplest and most natural?
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I did almost all my racing in my teens and twenties with nothing, cause I had the butt of a young man.
At 40, I can still mix it up a bit but I've got to be a lot more careful about my junk.
If all natural is the only option, I'd do what the second poster suggests without the foo foo. Shea butter, beeswax, coconut oil. Melt together and apply liberally. It'd probably work to dip your chain into also.
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Queen Helene Cocoa Butter Creme works for me (57 y/o) and is $4.47 for 15oz on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Helene-...s%2C210&sr=8-5
https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Helene-...s%2C210&sr=8-5
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#16
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I've been looking to purchase a chamois cream for the first time and am disappointed to find that nearly all commercial brands typically include around twenty or so ingredients, including preservatives and other chemicals with unpronounceable names. I can't imagine anyone letting that stuff get absorbed by their skin, particularly around their private parts, just because the FDA says that it's safe to use. It's as if the manufacturers load up these products with unnecessary ingredients simply to justify their high prices - often $20 or more for 8 oz.
Does anyone know of a truly simple, all-natural commercial product with no more than a handful of ingredients, or otherwise a convenient home-made alternative?
Thanks.
Does anyone know of a truly simple, all-natural commercial product with no more than a handful of ingredients, or otherwise a convenient home-made alternative?
Thanks.
Please don't let words you don't understand scare you, and don't get too wrapped up in the phrase "all natural." It many parts of the world (including the USA) the words "natural" or "all natural" are not regulated, so they're meaningless.
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For some (me; others) lanolin (key ingredient in Bag Balm) goes outside of a wish to avoid products that may involve animals in a way we don't prefer.
I like the idea of DIY.
I like the idea of DIY.
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You know there's no correlation between your ability to pronounce a chemical's name and it's safety, right? FWIW, "natural" products are full of unpronounceable chemicals also. The world is made of chemicals.
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Remember, everything is chemicals. You are comprised of chemicals. An apple you pick off of a tree is chemicals. Here's the ingredients list of a banana:
Please don't let words you don't understand scare you, and don't get too wrapped up in the phrase "all natural." It many parts of the world (including the USA) the words "natural" or "all natural" are not regulated, so they're meaningless.
Please don't let words you don't understand scare you, and don't get too wrapped up in the phrase "all natural." It many parts of the world (including the USA) the words "natural" or "all natural" are not regulated, so they're meaningless.
AQUA/WATER/EAU, PARAFFINUM LIQUIDUM/MINERAL OIL/HUILE MINÉRALE, GLYCERYL STEARATE, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, STEARIC ACID, GLYCERIN, LANOLIN, PEG-100 STEARATE, DIAZOLIDINYL UREA, IODOPROPYNYL BUTYLCARBAMATE, CETYL HYDROXYETHYL-CELLULOSE, POTASSIUMSORBATE, DISODIUM EDTA, ALOE BARBADENSIS (ALOE VERA) LEAF JUICE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, ZEA MAYS (CORN) OIL, RETINYL PALMITATE, CHOLECALCIFEROL.
8-Hydroxyquinoline is the active ingredient in Bag Balm is also a biocide. It’s released by invasive knapweed so it is a “natural product”. It’s hard on other plants and also on some animals but it is “natural”
Petroleum jelly is kind of a natural product that just happens to take several million years to produce. It comes from petroleum which is “natural” but it has lots of toxins in it.
Another scary name is (2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-2-[(2S,3S,4S,5R)-3,4-dihydroxy-2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)oxolan-2-yl]oxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxane-3,4,5-triol. That’s sucrose. As in “sugar”.
Finally, α-amanitin is a completely natural chemical. It is one of several similar compounds that can be found in Amanita phalloides, a rather common...and commonly confused...mushroom which is more commonly known as the death cap mushroom. Completely natural and completely deadly. The unpronounceable chemical name is 2-[34-butan-2-yl-13-(3,4-dihydroxybutan-2-yl)-8,22-dihydroxy-2,5,11,14,27,30,33,36,39-nonaoxo-27λ4-thia-3,6,12,15,25,29,32,35,38-nonazapentacyclo[14.12.11.06,10.018,26.019,24]nonatriaconta-18(26),19(24),20,22-tetraen-4-yl]acetamide
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Last edited by cyccommute; 06-23-20 at 09:45 PM.
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