This was the worst winter ever. Is my skin getting worse, or the pole more slippery?
I was about to give up on all the tricks in the air until the summer. I don’t seem to grip, even though I spend 30min warming up myself and the pole.
Looks like my dry skin is the main reason. It gets flaky immediately after I touch the pole.
Climbs start rubbing the skin off of my shins. Leg hangs – off my waist. I loose skin and my pole wear gets full of it.
I know, disgusting! :/
But is this my fault? I’ve been using body lotions since my teenage years!
The Body Sorbet from The Body Shop, which is very popular amongst pole dancers, turned out to be a great moisturizer also for me. My skin feels better and this is my #1 skin care product at the moment. But it’s quite expensive and my grip on the pole got just slightly better. Climbing and sticking to the pole still feels like a fight in the winter months.
In my despair I tried out a homemade pole grip recipe.
The simple and cheap ingredients made me skeptical at first. It’s just glycerine and water.
But the results were mind-blowing.
The difference is remarkable! Suddenly my shins stick to the pole. I can rely on my legs and don’t have to overcompensate with my arms.
Injuries are less likely when you have a good grip. And besides a good technique, sometimes your own skin can prevent this.
You can play around with the proportions, depending on your skin.
But here’s what worked well for me so far:
- 2 tbsp of glycerine (20%)
- 8 tbsp of distilled water (80%)
- 1 tsp of vodka (as preservative)
You can see the before and after difference in my YouTube video:
For best results, wash your hands and make sure that the mixture is well absorbed by your skin, before you hop on the pole.
Keeping this in mind, I’ve been using this as a pole grip for over a month and I haven’t noticed any downsides yet. But I’d love to hear about your experience.
Let me know if it works for you!
P.S.: Recently I also heard that Dew Point has a similar effect and ingredients. I tried it once and found, it also works well. In my opinion, it’s a great alternative if you don’t want to mix it yourself.
P.P.S.: Many thanks to Li and Vertical Ballerina studio for the inspiration. And to Huong for trying this with me.
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But what about slippery hands in the winter months????
Hi Muriel! Personally, I use Dry Hands. I find it less smudgy than other liquid chalks.
I try to use it only when necessary, because unfortunately it’s not very good for your skin care. But it does its job on the pole.
Hi Miglena 🙂
Thank you sooo much ! Finally I can do knee hooks 😀
With such a simple trick !
Take care 😉
Instead of vodka, would rubbing alcohol work?
Yes, I believe so. Alcohol in general has a preservative function.