Best chamois creams to keep you comfortable in the saddle
Treat your rear end to a comfortable ride with our roundup of the best chamois creams
Chamois cream is a godsend for many cyclists, whether they’re seasoned endurance athletes, or brand new commuters. Your undercarriage will be sensitive to the amount of weight and friction it’s exposed to when spending increased amounts of time in contact with a saddle. Eventually, it will toughen up, but if you’re struggling with pain, or if you’re building up your mileage, you will most likely benefit from using a chamois cream to help keep everything happy ‘down there’. That’s why we’ve rounded up the best chamois creams available.
What is chamois cream?
Chamois cream is a lubricant, usually oil or silicone based, that creates a barrier between your skin and the chamois pad in your shorts. This layer of lubrication helps to reduce friction and irritation to the skin, making it especially useful on long rides. It’s also a helpful addition to your indoor cycling setup, since you’re less likely to be moving around and getting out of the saddle as much as you would when riding on the road.
What to look for in a chamois cream
If you’re new to this, it can be overwhelming trying to navigate the many chamois creams available, and the various ingredients and claims they make. The best chamois creams will not only create a lubricating barrier, but will also contain antifungal and antibacterial ingredients to help prevent skin infections if you do happen to develop saddle sores.
Paceline Chamois Butt’r
The quick drying, non-greasy, firm favorite
Paceline’s Chamois Butt’r is a firm favorite among many cyclists, because it’s easy to apply and simply does the job well. It’s mineral oil-based, with a fairly thick and creamy consistency, so it stays put for hours at a time and washes out easily in the washing machine. It’s lightly fragranced, but not overly so, which means it should work for all but the most sensitive skin types, and contains soothing aloe vera, as well as vitamins A and E. It’s made in the USA, with ingredients that are all natural, and free of parabens, gluten, phthalates, and artificial fragrances and colors.
Assos Chamois Cream
An honorable mention goes to this classic that just works
Aside from Chamois Butt’r, Assos Chamois Cream is well known and beloved in cycling circles, for being a product that just works exactly how it should. It has a thick and durable consistency that spreads easily, and can last up to five hours before you need to reapply. It’s also designed to rehydrate and replenish sensitive skin, preventing rubbing and inflammation from hours in the saddle. The fragrance is minty and delivers a cooling sensation on application (which can feel somewhat… tingly), but this does well to help you stay comfortable.
Fresh Body Fresh Balls
No-nonsense anti-chafing cream for a specifically male issue
There’s no point beating around the bush, most male cyclists unfortunately experience an unpleasant sweatiness in the groin area that can lead to chafing. Since bacteria thrives in moist environments, this can result in serious discomfort and genital health, so Fresh Body Fresh Balls is designed to combat this exact problem. Without the use of talc, aluminum or parabens, Fresh Balls is a quick-drying formula that starts as a lotion and dries to a silky-smooth powder. It contains oatmeal as an anti-irritant, and delivers a light scent that will keep your man-region feeling fresh as a daisy.
Paceline Chamois Butt'r Her’
Special formula and pH balance for intimate areas
We’ve already recommended Paceline’s Chamois Butt’r, and we’re doubling down to include Butt’r Her’, Paceline’s women’s version of the original lubricant. Similarly to the original, its ingredients include aloe vera and vitamins A and E, though the women’s formula is pH balanced specifically for lady parts, so you can slather it all over. It also contains shea butter that moisturises, and tea tree oil, which has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. It has a light consistency, similar to hand cream, and a light lavender scent, though this doesn’t linger after application.
Blue Steel Sports Anti-Chafe Cream with Tea Tree Oil
Silicone-based and wetsuit safe
Triathletes not only have to contend with the challenges of long-distance cycling, as they also have to navigate running and swimming. What sets Blue Steel Sports’ anti-chafe cream apart is that it’s suitable to use with a wetsuit, thanks to its silicone-based formula. This means there’s one less thing to worry about when transitioning between stages.
The cream itself contains tea tree oil to reduce risk of infection, and feels smooth and silky on the skin, protecting it against blisters, abrasions and saddle sores. It’s long-lasting and won’t sweat off, and doesn’t leave you feeling sticky or greasy either.
Gooch Guard
A gentle formula with natural ingredients
Since the perineum, also lovingly known as the gooch, is such a sensitive and delicate area, it’s important to only apply products that contain natural ingredients for a gentle and soothing formula. Gooch Guard is designed to do exactly that. It’s a unisex formula so it can be used by anyone safely, and is free of parabens, petroleum, silicons, common allergens, and added fragrances. Instead it contains aloe, shea butter, castor seed oil, echinacea, tea tree oil and vitamin B5.
Muc-Off Luxury Chamois Cream
High-performance premium protection
Luxury by name, luxury by nature. This chamois cream from Muc-Off is silky smooth and performs incredibly well on longer rides, lasting up to six hours at a time. The antibacterial formulation contains aloe vera and witch hazel, which delivers a subtle cooling sensation for long-lasting comfort on extended rides. It stays put, doesn’t sweat away, and washes out easily with soap and water.
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Mildred joined as Reviews Writer for Cyclingnews and BikePerfect in December 2020. She loves all forms of cycling from long-distance audax to daily errand-running by bike, and does almost everything on two wheels, including moving house, and started out her cycling career working in a bike shop. For the past five years she's volunteered at The Bristol Bike Project as a mechanic and session coordinator, and now sits on its board of directors.
Since then she's gone on to write for a multitude of cycling publications, including Bikeradar, Cycling Plus, Singletrack, Red Bull, Cycling UK and Total Women's Cycling. She's dedicated to providing more coverage of women's specific cycling tech, elevating under-represented voices in the sport, and making cycling more accessible overall.
Height: 156cm (5'2")
Weight: 75kg
Rides: Stayer Groadinger UG, Triban RC520 Women's Disc, Genesis Flyer, Marin Larkspur, Cotic BFe 26, Clandestine custom bike