I have a SS at home, and being that home is the only place I dance, I know what it's like when it just won't co-operate! Stainless steel can be bitchy sometimes.
Some of my little tips would be:
-Make sure you're not dry. Yes, moisturizer is bad when polling because it can introduce oils, which immedaitely get onto your pole and make it SLICK AS HECK. But, if you are too dry, you won't stick! Make sure to drink lots of water, and try to moisturize on days or at times you won't be poling a while- such as at night, or just after poling.
-Warm up both you and your pole! The pole won't be sticky when it's cold. Seriously, you gotta dance on it to make it warm! This is partly why my warm up is dancing- it helps me get warm, and my pole gets warm, too! Just warming it with your hands, spinning (the friction) and such is enough.
-Clean your pole, and sometimes your hands. I use windex, it doesn't do anything bad for me, sometimes can make my pole slightly more grippy (since the sweat from my hands is coming off the pole, I imagine), and water cleaning off your hands will work wonders! But, these are both only for a short time- brief moments of grip to help you get to that wonderful warmed-up pole state.
Otherwise... yeah, grip aids work. I'd rather use them for moves that I seriously CANNOT grip otherwise, no matter how hard I try. Like using 4wheel drive when off-roading in a jeep- you don't want to use it all the time, get stuck, and then not have anything to fall back on! Use it when you actually get stuck in "normal" to get yourself out.
My skin is naturally smooth and dry, so I feel your pain, hon. Keep at it! I love my pole, and I wouldn't trade it in for the world. Even if it does come off all jerk-face now and then ;)
