Why it’s time to normalise summer thigh chafing – and stop it from ruining our holidays

Why it’s time to normalise summer thigh chafing – and stop it from ruining our holidays

Credit: Getty

Love Women


Why it’s time to normalise summer thigh chafing – and stop it from ruining our holidays

By Amy Beecham

2 years ago

3 min read

Thigh chafing is a warm weather reality for many of us. So isn’t it time we normalised it?


I’m 17 and on my first girls’ holiday. It’s nearly 35°C in the south of France and my friends and I are trekking down a rocky path to a hidden cove. It’s a summer heavy with the expectation of what we might do and who we might meet, but all I can think about is the burning of skin between my thighs. I lag towards the back of the group, my steps getting wider in the hope of some temporary relief. It doesn’t come, and the friction mixed with the heat is enough to make me wince.

I’m 25 and on a romantic trip to Florence. It’s quite a hilly city, so I prepare for a day of climbing with my most comfortable sandals. But my feet aren’t the problem. Just minutes after we begin our ascent to one of the city’s most breathtaking viewpoints, I’m flagging. I can feel my legs starting to blister but I have to keep walking.

The story is repeated every single summer and has been since I was a young teenager. 

It's time to normalise summer thigh chafing - and stop it ruining our holidays

Credit: Getty

While I recognise that I have the privilege of being straight-sized, my thighs have always been a problem. At first, it was purely visual, the inevitable by-product of coming of age during Tumblr’s thigh gap glorification era. But then came the physical consequences. Every time the weather got even the slightest bit warmer, raw, red bumps would appear that made walking, sitting and even swimming painful.

And then comes the embarrassment. I can’t even begin to count the number of cities I’ve waddled through while trying to stop my inner thighs from touching or had to stop sightseeing to place something cooling between my legs. I’ve writhed in pain as salt water has swept across my skin and spent evenings in my hotel room coating my rashes in Sudocrem with the hope they’d miraculously disappear by the morning.

All I can think about is the burning of skin between my thighs

Of course, I’m certainly not the only person to struggle once the temperatures climb, though it often feels like it. Thigh chafing is a common skin problem and one of the summer season’s most unpleasant side effects – but yet we rarely speak about it. We simply silently adapt our behaviour and hope for the best, while assuming that everyone else is free to galivant as they please.

Even when I’m not abroad, I’m acutely aware that while a summery skirt or dress may align better with my personal style, they should be worn with caution. Because I have also tried what feels like every method under the sun to avoid rubbing. I’ve used the kind of slick balms made for marathon runners, worn shorts under every outfit and attempted ‘hacks’ like roll-on deodorant and talc to try to abate the impact.

But sure enough, nothing ever keeps chafing truly at bay. It’s happened so much over the years that the skin texture of my inner thighs has completely changed, the soft, supple skin replaced with coarse, darker patches caused by constant friction. 

It’s by far from an ideal situation and, given the choice, I’d of course opt to forgo the pain, discomfort and irritation that chafing causes. But whether it’s under arms, under the breasts, in the groin and on the thighs, chafing happens to the best of us. Thankfully, embracing our bodies for what they are, regardless of things like stretch marks, texture and hyperpigmentation, has become the overwhelming narrative in a lot of spaces, so much so that there’s even an annual Love Your Thighs Day held every year on 25 April.

It doesn’t always feel easy to accept, but acknowledging it feels surprisingly freeing. Thigh chafing may always affect me, but I won’t be letting it ruin my holiday again. 

This article is part of Skin Freedom, a Stylist Love Women series that aims to champion the reality of women’s skin in all its glory.


Images: Getty

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