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Slippery Pole – I’ve tried a million things!
Hi all!
I’m new to these forums 🙂 I’ve been doing pole for a year now and bought an x-pole pro pole (chrome) last year (with the new lock at the bottom).
Ever since I bought it I’ve had huge problems with it being slippery. At class we have brass poles which I do find slippery as well but not nearly like the chrome. My hands are VERY sweaty unfortunately when I work out. I’ve tried Dry Hands, iTac (behind the knees which is ok), Stickum Spray (worked OK for the first 20 seconds then that was it, and HORRIBLE on the brass poles at class).
I’ve cleaned my pole over and over with alcohol, white vinegar, I have a pole warmer from x-pole. I do a good warm-up before so I’m a bit sweaty. I even have gone back to applying Drysol on my palms each night.
I don’t know what else I can do. I live in Canada so buying the pole cost me even more because of the exchange rate. I didn’t know what kind to get when I bought it and now I’m wishing I had gone with the powder coated – they sound like you grip really well to those.
Anyway I’m not sure what else I can try. So frustrating. A routine in class that’s easy (before my hands sweat) I can’t do at home.
I also purchased Mighty Grip gloves to use at home. They were great until I guess the rubbing from my hands/gloves ripped a huge chunk of skin out and its been super painful for days.
Any help would be appreciated. I’m so frustrated. Thanks 🙂
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27 Replies
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Welcome to the website!! Oh, that sounds so frustrating! Chrome is one of those finishes that seems to be problematic for sweaty hand people. Avoid getting itac or anything that is sticky/waxy on your pole, those are more for people with dry hands. Dry hands is a good option, but you’ve tried that….Some people find mighty grip works. I’m not sure of any new grid aids for sweaty hands though.
To get all the stuff off the pole use a steamer! It will remove all the old grip aids and might help, at least for a bit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdjeYnLLaBw&t=15s
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I found the instructional video for steaming https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/50ccac91-674c-4915-8e13-3b120ac37250
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Thank you! I’ll give this a try.
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I wish there was some kind of a kit you could buy that would tell you which pole finish works best with your skin! It’s sooo frustrating and pole finishes aren’t something you can just “try out” unless your studio has poles with different finishes.
I was going to say I found both of my poles slippery when I first got them (brass and chrome), but you mentioned you’ve had yours for a year.
Not sure if you’ve seen this:
https://www.polefitfreedom.com/pole-dancing-grip-aids-compared/
An anti-antiperspirant like Carpe lotion might work.
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I learned the other day that powder coat finishes are good for climbing whereas metal is better for spins. Good luck!
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Thanks! I haven’t tried carpe or tite grip yet. All of these grip aids are costing a fortune :/ I also bought a bodybuilding one I forget the name.
It sounds like carpe and tite grip are pretty similar. Not sure which one to try.
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Another thing you can try is strength building exercises. They won’t work right away but over time they’ll help you grip the pole even when you’re having a sweaty day.
I usually do an exercise called “stop lights” or “fist flashes.” It’s basically squeezing your hands into fists and then opening your hand really quickly. I usually do 2 sets of this exercises for 45 seconds per set. If you’re doing it right your hands will stiffen/stop working halfway into your first set. Afterwards I always make sure to stretch out my forearms. 🙂
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I had the same problem with sweaty hands. If I am working on a chrome pole I need grip. The one that works best for me is the Lupit grip pad. I do have to reapply it at times, but not as much as the other grips that I had tried.
I sold my chrome Xpole pole and replaced it with a brass Xpole. That was the biggest help of all. -
For me, nothing used to work, only plain powdered chalk. It will really dry you out, and then you just rely on the strength of your hands (which I didn’t have in the beginning either, I was a big mess). But try the regular chalk. Apply as often as you need.
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Hair spray helps me if my legs aren’t sticking enough, and shaving foam is supposed to help as well (doesn’t help me).
Also you can try different temperatures- a colder pole room might suit you better than a warm one or vice versa.
I use Tite Grip, which didn’t seem to work to start with, but then I realised that I wasn’t letting it soak in long enough, and now when I use it I put it on for my warm up so that it has enough time to soak in. -
I appreciate all of the replies. I will try those hand exercises, thanks @StrangeFox.
I don’t really have a problem with my body sticking. I just swipe a bit of dry hands on my inner thighs/back of knee and I’m OK. It’s just my hands, but that causes all the problems of course.
My hands don’t really sweat through the day but as soon as I’m working out it’s like my hands are soaked. It’s quite embarrassing. I can’t do everything at class because of it even though I am able to do the moves (on not-as-bad-sweaty days)
Like I mentioned I’ve been using Drysol each night on my hands. They’re so dried out you can visibly see the flaky skin 🙁 But still, after a few min on the pole they are still sweaty. I just don’t get it.
I’ve seen the Lupit pad but I’m a bit skeptical…what is on it that sticks to the pole?
Yesterday I FINALLY was able to record a new video at home (I’ll post it here when it’s uploaded!) but I had to wear my Mighty Grip gloves the whole time.
Might be a dumb question but where do you buy normal chalk?
Still not sure what product to try next…I don’t have hundreds of dollars to keep trying new ones :/ :/
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I’ve ordered carpe lotion and the lupit pad.
Wish I could sell all my other grips that were only used a couple of times 🙁
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You might be able to via ebay, or ask your friends in class if they want them?
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The Lupit pad is filled with a super fine powder. You don’t need a lot of it so you are not piling it on. Just wipe the pink side of the pad on your hand or the black side of the pad on the pole. It does not build up like other products do. Chrome is super slippery to my sweaty hands. For safety I will wipe the pole down with alcohol/water from time to time just in case and pat my hands on the pad again before resuming. I do best on brass, but in the colder weather I sometimes use the pad for extra grip. My pad is over a year old and I still have plenty of powder in side of it.
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@amelia – Thanks for the ideas 🙂
@tielz – Ok that’s good to know, thank you. They seemed to have mixed reviews so I was hesitant.
Do you find when you wipe the chrome down with alcohol/water it makes it more slippery?
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Wiping with the alcohol/water cleans the oils off of it so it is less slippery. Just put a 50/50 mixture in a spray bottle, mist, and wipe dry.
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I think it all comes down to what grip aid works with your skin and the type of metal. I was going through bottles of the other stuff versus having this same pad for a year now. It helped that I bought a brass pole for home. That solves the sweaty hands thing for me. Brass just works for my hands. It would not be possible for me to do drops on it, but I don’t do those anyhow. I do have to clean and reapply any grip aid on chrome.
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Seconding what tielz says – it’s all about what works with your skin! I would love it if someone did a scientific study on this…
I actually find I stick better to chrome. Brass is always a little slick for me. The first studio I went to only had brass and I had so much trouble with grip I didn’t want to try chrome because I’d heard it was much more slippery. I even bought a brass pole. I was convinced to buy a chrome pole and was shocked at how freaking grippy it was for me. For grip aids, sometimes I use a bit of dry hands, or I’ll use shaving cream and hair spray, or glycerin right after I shower if I’m really dry (I have super dry skin). The body grips I’ve tried just don’t work.
Looking back I’ve wasted so much money on grips that I just can’t use, and now I have a pole I barely use anymore because the metal just doesn’t like my skin. It really sucks that we have to spend so much money trying all of this stuff out just to find what works for us. Let us know how those grips work out for you!
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It’s nice to know I’m not the only one struggling with this, but I still wish there was a common fix! I feel like I’m the only one at pole class struggling. I wore my gloves the last two classes (which feels a tad embarrassing tbh) and I of course stuck no problem. But I don’t want to have to use them forever.
The carpe lotion and lupit pad are on their way so I’ll give those a try and I’ll let you know my results!
Maybe someone else can benefit from finding all these posts at some point 🙂
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Hey guys! I wanted to make sure I posted an update here when I found a solution, so if anyone else comes along at some point it might help them.
@StrangeFox you have saved me! Haha
I have been using Carpe daily (just a little bit each night) and it has done WONDERS at pole class. I haven’t had to wear my gloves ONCE since starting the Carpe lotion. I still apply some dry hands but not very much. I have had SO much grip when I went to slide my hand down it wasn’t going anywhere hahaa
Now I haven’t tried my chrome pole at home in awhile (shameful, I need to get practicing at home again) so I can’t comment on that but once I do I can post another update.
But yes. For very sweaty hands while you’re on the pole, Carpe is it. 🙂 🙂
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That’s awesome. Thanks for the update!
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Woohoo! Glad the Carpe lotion has helped! 🙌 It’s so frustrating when you can’t stick. Happy poling, and let us know how it works on your chrome pole!
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Hey Katie I don’t know if you are doing better with your chrome pole but in case you want it to have better grip have you thought of taking fine grit sandpaper to it? I’ve heard so many girls say they do that to new poles. It’s not enough to scratch the pole, it’s just a fine grit that takes off the top coat that is on new poles and makes it a little more worn in?? I’ve never tried it, I have no idea about if it’s bad for the pole or anything but like I’ve said I’ve seen it in a lot of pole discussions elsewhere that it helps so just wanted to pass it along to anyone looking for some tips for less grippy poles.
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I’ve never done the sandpapering, but I would be concerned it would ruin your pole or shorten its lifespan (maybe make it more likely to rust…?) X-Pole swears up and down there’s no coating on their poles, but myself and many others have experienced new pole slippery-ness! It is frustrating but it wears off fairly quickly. Veena has a video on here for steam cleaning poles that might be helpful to remove the coating. 😊
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Brittanyshanah, yes, I’ve heard of that as well. In fact back in the day we would get comments here to sand your pole. Though I’m guessing it was more for stainless steel as that and brass were the main finish when pole first became popular. I would not sand a chrome pole.
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