According to a study published in Frontiers of Medicine, around 60-70% of women report having sensitive skin. Even those who don’t fall under this category have likely experienced itchiness, rashes, and irritation before. It’s uncomfortable, annoying, and can hold you back.
Workout clothes come into close contact with sweaty, and perhaps sensitive, skin, making them a huge culprit for triggering irritation. But it doesn’t have to be this way. By choosing skin-friendly materials, your activewear can soothe your skin and enhance your workout.
In this post, we’ll share with you why we chose to create skin-friendly and high-performance activewear. A healthy lifestyle needs healthy skin and healthy bodies, after all.
Sportswear and skin
Have you ever noticed that when you keep activewear on for a long time you start to get itchy? Maybe the back of your legs begins to form a rash, or you can’t help but scratch the waistband of your high-waisted leggings?
That’s often because the synthetic materials used in most sportswear are a playground for bacteria. As you sweat, they trap pungent species of bacteria making you itchy and, well, smelly.
Worse than that, some studies have even found that synthetic materials like polyester have often acute toxic chemicals in them, such as benzothiazole and benzotriazole, which are harmful to human health (more about toxins in activewear you can find in our recent article and in this post).
We’ve spoken to many people, women in particular, about the struggles they have with workout clothes to see what can be improved.
What we found is fascinating, yet scary, to learn that almost every woman we speak to gets rashes on her skin when working out in synthetic-based activewear. Many women take it as a burden that needs to be accepted, as they get this experience from most activewear and think it’s normal.
But we believe that you don’t need to accept this discomfort. By choosing skin-friendly materials for your activewear, you can prevent irritation.
When our customers wear our Tripulse activewear, with its hypoallergenic properties and the skin-friendliness of Tencel, they realize they no longer get these rashes and have no more discomfort. This is what truly makes us happy - realizing that we can solve a real problem for people through our clothes and that we can help improve people’s health.
So, what makes Tencel and our activewear so skin-friendly? And how can Tripulse activewear improve your workout?
Benefits of Tencel and Tripulse activewear for sensitive skin
Tencel is a brand of lyocell fibre made from the renewable pulp of eucalyptus and other trees that have been sustainably sourced, dissolved in a non-toxic solvent that is 99% recovered and reused. As well as an incredibly sustainable fabric, it is one of the most skin-friendly materials. We also made sure that the dyes used on our Tencel fabric don’t contain harmful substances which we can assure through the Oekotex and Reach certifications of our products.
Here are some of the reasons it’s perfect for even the most sensitive of skin:
Moisture absorption
Tencel absorbs more moisture than cotton without feeling wet. As bacteria thrive in damp conditions and cause irritation, moisture-wicking fabrics are a must for sensitive skin.
Thermoregulating
Tencel supports the body in regulating your temperature, meaning it feels cool and dry to touch even if your workout is hot and sweaty.
Friction-free
Tencel feels incredibly smooth to touch. Even if you put the fabric under an electron microscope it will still show a smooth surface. This means it’s completely friction-free, avoiding irritation to sensitive skin.
Naturally anti-bacterial
Tencel is unfavourable for bacteria growth. Not only does this mean less bacteria-caused irritation, but sweaty clothes stay odour-free and can be washed less regularly (perfect as washing detergents can be another sensitive skin trigger!).
Certified safe
You can guarantee that the Tencel fabrics we use including the dyes are free from any toxic chemicals as they are certified STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX and REACH compliant, which means every aspect of the fabric is harmless to human health. You can read more about fabric certifications in this post.
Our customers have experienced these benefits for themselves with our activewear. For example, Helena has very sensitive skin and found that it responded almost immediately to synthetic fabrics with an allergy breakout. ‘‘Thanks to Tripulse, I can work out without worrying about getting a reaction because the fabric is skin-friendly and feels so smooth on my skin’’, she shared with us.
Softness, moisture management, and bacteria resistance are three key advantages of Tencel and Tripulse activewear for sensitive skin. Now let’s see how it plays up against one of the most common skin conditions…
Tencel for eczema
Eczema is a chronic skin condition that affects around 1 in 5 children and 1 in 10 adults in the UK and causes dry, red, and itchy patches. Due to the damaged skin barrier, eczema is especially sensitive to soaps, skin care products, and, you guessed it, clothing.
Luckily, our activewear and superhero fabric can help eczema sufferers too. One of our customers, Manon, shares her story:
"I have eczema-prone skin, and when it gets warm and sweaty, I often have unbearable rashes on the lower back (with high-waist leggings) and behind my knees, especially when I keep my sweaty clothes on for some time after working out. After 4 sessions, I can say that [Tripulse] leggings have improved the situation: I did not get any rashes, even though I sweated like hell and kept them on up to 2 hours after working out! I feel relieved about how I'm going to handle the sweat in the summer."
Manon’s experience of Tencel isn’t in isolation. A study published in the journal Dermatitis found that, compared to cotton, lyocell improved the comfort and reduced itchiness of those with eczema.
What does Tencel feel like?
It's incredibly smooth surface makes Tencel super soft (it’s said to be softer than cotton and even silk). Of course, we’re a little bit biased, but we believe Tencel makes for the most comfortable activewear.
How will it improve my workout?
Tripulse activewear made from Tencel can improve your workout in many ways. Firstly, without worrying about discomfort and irritation, you’ll be able to give your workout your full attention.
It's moisture absorbing and thermoregulating properties contribute to your performance as you’re able to push yourself further whilst staying cool and dry. And if self-consciousness prevents you from giving it your all, you can trust that your skin-friendly activewear won’t start to smell or look damp.
The only thing left is to try it for yourself …
Whatever’s holding you back from a fun and effective workout, you can trust that we are always looking for a sustainable solution.
If sensitive skin is getting in your way, why not see what our skin-friendly activewear can do for you?
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Sources:
https://lyocell.info/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19321117/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6533878/
https://www.popsci.com/article/cotton-vs-polyester-which-gym-clothes-trap-most-body-odor/
https://www.dreamfit.com/blogs/news/the-benefits-of-allergen-resistant-tencel
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19321117/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237548338_THE_FUNCTIONAL_PROPERTIES_OF_TENCELR_-_A_CURRENT_UPDATE,
https://www.tencel.com/general
https://www.tencel.com/active
http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:850089/FULLTEXT02.pdf
https://www.allergyuk.org/resources/biologicals-and-treatments-people-with-eczema
