Chafing can make swimming in a wetsuit incredibly uncomfortable and can ruin your open water experience or triathlon performance. The most common area for athletes to experience chafing while wearing a wetsuit is around the neck. This occurs due to the constant movement of the neck when turning your head to breathe or looking up to sight. Chafing can certainly occur in other areas such as armpits, elbows, lower back, thighs and groin area. Likewise chafing can occur in these areas due to movement during the swimming action.
Although wetsuit companies strive to design wetsuits that minimise chafing, it's almost impossible to eliminate it entirely due to certain contributing factors. Here's an overview of what causes chafing and how to prevent it.
Causes of Chafing
Fresh vs. Saltwater: Swimming in salt water tends to cause more chafing than freshwater due to its higher abrasiveness.
Choppy Conditions: Swimming in rough water often involves increased head movement when breathing and higher head tilts for sighting, significantly increasing the chances of chafing.
Swimming Style: Your swimming technique matters. A smooth swimmer may experience less chafing than someone with a messier stroke or excessive head movement.
Swim Duration: The longer you swim, the more likely you are to experience chafing.
How to Prevent Chafing
There are several practices that will help minimise the risk of chafing during your open water swim. Ideally you should be doing some of these things already (such as wetsuit care), it is certainly not unreasonable to implanting all these practices if you have sensitive skin which is chafing prone.
Proper Fit
Ensuring that your wetsuit fits properly is the first step to preventing chafing. Most notably a wetsuit that is too big will have excess material which will group up in these high movement areas such as the neck and armpits. This creates a lot more rubbing and friction as not only your body is moving, but the excess material is also constantly shifting around too. An extremely tight-fitting wetsuit may also create chafing if your body is restricted from executing full range of motion.
Lubrication
Using a lubricant is one of the easiest and most effective ways to prevent chafing. However, avoid petroleum-based lubricants like Vaseline, as they can degrade the neoprene material over time. If you do use a petroleum-based product, be sure to clean it off immediately after your swim using an antibacterial wipe, wetsuit shampoo, or even a baby wipe. Keep in mind that using petroleum-based lubricants may void your wetsuit’s warranty with most brands.
Recommended lubricants include Body Glide and Gooch Goo which are both purposely made sportswear lubricants and are readily available in sports store (such as Aid Station) and online. Simpler products such as pawpaw ointment are also effective and can be found at regular shops.
Wetsuit Care and Maintenance
A well-maintained wetsuit will thoroughly reduce the chance of chafing. Simple practices such as rinsing the wetsuit thoroughly after each use will remove salt, sand and other materials which can break down and roughen the wetsuit fabric. Similarly, drying and storing your wetsuit correctly will reduce degradation of your suit and stop creasing of the suit, both of which would increase friction between body and suit.
Pre-Race Preparation
Completing a pre-race training swim wearing your wetsuit in open water will allow you to identify any areas that may be prone chafing, this is important because this step will show different results for every swimmer and every wetsuit. Complete this more than a week prior to the race so your body has time to recover any small amounts of chafing that may occur, and you can focus lubrication efforts in these areas on race day.
The second part of pre-race preparation is wetsuit acclimatization. For longer distances (or longer triathlons) it may be very useful to practice multiple times in your wetsuit and build up the distance of these practice swims. For example, if your race is expected go for an hour, swimming for 30minutes, 45minutes and then 60minutes across three spread apart sessions will allow your body to become accustomed to the movements and build up a resilience in areas that may have previously been more sensitive.
New Technology
If chafing persists despite using lubricants, and following all other routes there is also the option of wearing a neck protector, or other protective garments. Neck protectors may look odd and feel uncomfortable to begin however they are purposely made to protect sensitive skin from rubbing against wetsuit materials. The discomfort on chafing is certainly much worse than the uncomfortable feeling of the protector if you have never worn it before.
We recommend neck protectors that are made of high-grade silicone with zero seams to reduce irritation. These are available from a range of brands at various online retailers.
By following these tips and using the right products, you can minimize or even eliminate the discomfort of chafing, allowing you to focus on enjoying your swim or race!