Thighs Rub Together? You Need The Megababe Anti-Chafe Stick

I was eight the first time I realised I had thighs, by which I mean full quads that touched and bubbled out from under my unitard. Every girl in my school gym team seemed blessed with genes I did not possess: long, spindly limbs that let them nail the perfect backbend and just the right amount of surface area on their behind so that their onesie never gave them a wedgie. Then there was me. No further explanation.

Every time I was this close to kicking my legs back over the rest of my body, gravity would pull them down and they'd land with a thud. And when everyone went to chalk their hands for the high beam, I'd also be religiously smothering white dust where my thighs would rub back and forth. Not long after I felt my first pangs of body shame (not really even knowing that that's what I was feeling), I told my mum I wanted to do softball instead. My pragmatic reasoning? I could play in trousers.

Two decades later, that style sensibility hasn't changed. I've had colleagues laugh at my "summer uniform" because it's so impractical: a logo tee, a loose blazer, high-waisted skinnies, and pumps. I'd write it off as being a tomboy and dresses not being my thing (partially true), but have you ever tried walking a mile to the train in 90 degree heat when you don't have a thigh gap? Ouch.

Not that jeans in the same circumstance is much better. But hey, at least it doesn't make your thighs bleed. You do tend to wear through a lot of jeans right near the crotch, though. Can we please make that fashion!?

Eventually the discovery/miracle of Spanx's mid-thigh shorts came to save me, just in time for the boom of the off-the-shoulder dress. But as much as I love my girl Sara Blakely, being suction-cupped in shapewear on a packed train can also be the pits. Oh, and wearing shorts? Ha! Nope. Never.

So cut to me flipping through Instagram stories on a Saturday as one does, and up pops Lauren Chan, GLAMOUR US's fashion features editor, hanging out with babes like Iskra Lawrence and Ashley Graham in the Hamptons. And what was that, floating in the pool with them? The freaking cutest little beauty stick for...whispers...chafing.

Weirdly enough, days later I got an email from the brand's PR asking to meet and learn more about Megababe. Clouds part, angels sing. Yeah, my thighs wanted to know more.

For all the things the Internet's come up with to make women feel better about our legs—terms I personally find obnoxious and silly like "mermaid thighs" and "hip dips" — Megababe's Thigh Rescue just got it. Finally, a smart (and still Instagram-friendly) way to discuss chub rub that doesn't pander. Which is essentially what Katie Sturino, Megababe's founder, set out to achieve: to create a line of un-embarrassing products for traditionally "embarrassing" beauty problems, like boob sweat and, of course, chafing.

First off, let's talk about the packaging, because yes. It's like GLOW and your deodorant stick had a baby. This is not the stuff you find tucked away on drugstore shelves, usually targeted toward "runner's rash" or sweaty ballsacks (the latter description is mine, not the packaging's, but c'mon, who are those powder bottles fooling? We know).

Second, it smells incredible — light and citrusy, but not like you've dunked your nether bits in a piña colada. And the important part: After slicking it on for my 45-minute commute into the city and a day of running around on beauty appointments, I felt nothing. Not a tug, not a burn, not a need to waddle bow-legged. Just a slick swish of what I imagine walking without fabric between your legs should feel like.

This is all thanks to the formula, a combination of aloe, pomegranate- and grapeseed oil. Pro: It's cruelty-free.

Con: You do have to reapply it. But with a container so cute, I found myself bragging about it on the way to the bathroom instead of the ol' "hide this up my sleeve" tampon trick. And now I'm bragging about it on the Internet. My thigh-chafe stick. It's no full embrace of mermaid thighs, but I'll chalk it up as a win for feeling better about my body in my book.

Megababe Thigh Rescue Anti-Chafe Stick, $14, megababebeauty.com

Can we start a petition to get Megababe to ship to the UK please? Until then, you might need to make a trip to the states.

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