How to Prevent Wetsuit Rash and Look After Your Skin After Surfing
If you surf regularly, you’ll probably know the feeling.
You’ve had a great session, you’re buzzing from the waves, but your neck, wrists or ankles are telling a different story. Red, sore, irritated skin is one of those less glamorous parts of surfing that most surfers learn to live with.
Wetsuit rash, surf rash, neoprene rash, wetsuit burn or good old-fashioned wetsuit chafing. Whatever you call it, it usually comes down to one thing: friction.
And while you can’t always avoid it, you can help protect your skin.
What causes wetsuit rash?
A wetsuit needs to fit snugly to work properly. But that close fit, combined with wet skin and constant movement, can create friction between your skin and the neoprene.
Your neck is often the worst offender, but wrists, ankles and anywhere a seam or edge repeatedly rubs can also become irritated.
Add hours in salt water, cold temperatures and wind, and your skin can really take a beating.
For surfers putting in plenty of water time, that repeated rubbing can lead to dry, red, chafed and sore skin.
Use Surfer’s Balm before you surf
One of the easiest ways to help reduce wetsuit chafing is to give your skin a little protection before you pull on your suit.
Rad Spa Surfer’s Balm can be applied to common friction points before getting into your wetsuit, helping to create a protective layer between your skin and the neoprene.
Pay particular attention to areas such as:
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Your neck
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Around your wrists
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Your ankles
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Anywhere you regularly experience rubbing from your wetsuit seams
A small amount is all you need. Work it into the skin before putting your wetsuit on and you're ready to go.
It’s particularly useful if you’re heading out for a long session, surfing several days in a row or know your wetsuit has a habit of rubbing in the same place.
And don’t forget the after-surf routine
Protection before you surf is only half the story.
Once you're back on the beach, your skin has had to deal with salt water, cold, wind, neoprene and hours of movement. It can be left feeling dry, tight and stressed.
That’s where Rad Spa Surfer’s Balm comes into its own again.
Apply it after your shower to areas that feel dry, chafed or irritated. Its rich combination of coconut and avocado oils, packed with vitamins and essential fatty acids, helps nourish, condition and soften skin after time in the water.
With pure essential oils and a rich, protective texture, it’s an easy addition to your post-surf routine.
Surf rash isn't just a winter problem
It’s easy to associate wetsuit rash with cold-water surfing and thicker winter suits, but friction can happen at any time of year.
Long summer sessions, repeated surf trips, swimming, watersports and even a wetsuit that doesn't quite fit right can all lead to irritated skin.
The more time you spend in the water, the more important it is to look after the skin that gets rubbed the most.
Keep it in your surf kit
Your surfboard, wetsuit, leash and changing robe probably have their permanent place in the van.
Add a tin of Rad Spa Surfer’s Balm to the kit.
Use it before your session to help protect those high-friction areas, then again afterwards to help soothe and nourish skin that’s been exposed to the elements.
Less wetsuit rash. Less chafing. Happier skin. More time in the water.
That's something we can all get behind.
Why you'll love Rad Spa Surfer’s Balm
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Helps protect against wetsuit chafing and surf rash
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Ideal for applying to friction-prone areas before surfing
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Helps soothe dry, chafed and irritated skin after a session
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Perfect for surfers, swimmers and watersports enthusiasts
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Great for skin stressed by salt, wind, cold and neoprene
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Rich, nourishing and protective
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Made with natural oils and pure essential oils
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A little goes a long way
