Rosin for Dancers

hookedonpole started this discussion · 8/12/2010

Has anyone heard of Rosin For Dancers http://www.bunheads.com/studio/RockRosin.html onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I saw it at a dancewear shop when purchasing shorts for poling. I mentioned to the store gal why I was curious about it. She thought it might work, but can only return if not opened. I'm asking around before I open it so I can take it back if I don't want to try it. HOWEVER, after I got home and read the back, " Avoid contact with skin, etc. Seek medical attention if irritation of eyes or skin occurs." I didn't even read that part before buying it, obviously!!! This particuplar rosin is used for dancers to sprinkle into rosin box, then crunch on tips and soles of shoes to prevent slipping on dance floor. So probably not good idea for hands or on the pole to come in contact with skin. Online it also states good for gymnastics, not sure in what capacity 🤔 Any comments? Thanks.

15 replies

yogabeachbabe · 8/12/2010
One time in a ballet class, my slippers were feeling particularly slippery on the wood floor (usually not an issue on marley floors), so I tentatively trod into the rosin box on demi-pointe. Boy, was that a mistake! I came pretty close to twisting my knee and my ankle during the rest of the class. It was so sticky that my body went one way and my foot stayed exactly where it was. I'm pretty sure that if you were to use that kind of rosin on your hand, it would rip your skin off (and you'd probably see it stuck on the pole--ugh). I've heard of using rock climbing chalk for poling, but have never tried it myself. Maybe gymnasts use it for the parallel bars AFTER they've taped up their hands or use those hand guards???
chemgoddess1 · 8/12/2010
I have used bowlers rosin poling before but I am sure that it is less tacky that the stuff you are speaking of.
SissyBuns · 8/13/2010
I'd be concerned with getting it off of the pole too. If it says not to put it on your skin....I probably wouldn't try it. There are so many other grip aides formulated for pole/skin contact, I'd exhaust those options first. But that's just me. Have you tried anything else? What type of grip problems are you having?
Prncsopowr · 8/13/2010
As a ballerina, I use a lot of this kind of rosin. I am consistently putting it on my new pointe shoes and sometimes even my old pointe shoes depending on what I am trying to do and if the little kids have been doing a lot of butt scooting on the wood floor. First off, Bunheads rosin does not come in a powder form (its crystals) - you have to crush it with your pointe shoe to make it into a powder, so this in itself does not lend itself to pole dancing. I would also be incredibly concerned with getting it off of the pole - when I put fresh rosin on my pointe shoes and then do a passe', the rosin then gets on my tights - it transfers to other surfaces easily, but doesn't always wash off so easily. Even after wearing my pointe shoes until I break the box or shank, the rosin I put on at the beginning is still there (I just checked a few pairs of shoes 😉 ) - this is normally about 25 hours of dancing on wood and marley surfaces. My other concern with using rosin on the pole is similar to what someone else mentioned - that it really has a lot of stick - if I have too much rosin on my shoes, I squeak, I stick, I basically just make my life waaaay too hard. Yeah, so all in all, I think I would probably avoid using rosin on a pole, now if you want to take up ballet....
hookedonpole · 8/13/2010
Thanks for everyone's input. I pretty much decided to take it back. As I said, I didn't see the line about no skin contact 😢 I guess I'm desparate like a lot of other polers. I use Lil mynx stainless steel and struggle with slipperiness. There are good days when weather/temperature allows for good practice, then other frustrating days when can't hold a grip or anything. I have Dry Hands, Tite Grip and samples of ITac Level 2 & 4. Haven't really practiced with the Itac yet. I go back and forth with Tite Grip and Dry Hands. I'm running low on both and don't know which one I'd buy again, probably both! I seriously consider investing in an xpole titanium gold, but just not sure yet.
Prncsopowr · 8/13/2010
I know this sounds bizarre, but I use a product called Ocean Salt made by Lush Cosmetics. It is a face and body wash that has ocean salt in it. The natural ocean salt along with the lime in it help to naturally remove some of the oils from my hands to dry them out. So basically I use it to wash my face in the morning that I am going to be going to pole class. Not only do my hands become a bit dryer, but my face is exfoliated too!
MilienElayne · 8/13/2010
I rub my hands in it many times a week! Sounds like what I used in ballet on my slippers as a kid and now in pole class and in aerial circus classes. All the aerialists here use it daily on their hands for trapeze, hoop, chinese pole, ropes and silks... The pole dancers here use all sorts of stuff. It's yellow rock rosin? We have it in crystals, it gets crushed and put in trays, we rub our hands in the powder left over. It might be different stuff here: different quality, different source, different stickiness? It gets super tacky in summer when everything is hot and sweat abounds, sometimes I can't static spin at all and have to rub it off with metho and a towel (what I have to hand in a pole class, the bathroom would mean I miss something!)... but now in winter I sometimes have to reapply. I don't really need it now that I have good grip and pole experience, but I still like it for peace of mind. I find it comes off my hands onto the pole a little through class, and it doesn't rip my skin at all. If it's still there, I wash it off with soap and water. It and any other grip product come off metal poles easily with whatever metho concoction they use at the studio or at home I use windex. What I find rips me to pieces and gets stuck on things is iTac. Some people love it though. If rosin is toxic, I am screwed. Often I forget it's on my hands and I'll eat between or after pole classes and that means I'm basically ingesting it too.
chemgoddess1 · 8/13/2010
Just to be clear about the "toxicity", rosin is pine tar. If you have ever gotten sticky from a pine cone or a freshly cut conifer this is what you got on you.
MilienElayne · 8/14/2010
Just because it's 'natural' doesn't mean it's not toxic. Many poisons are. Plants secrete resin and it puts off herbivores because it is toxic to them. Resins are used to make turpentine, varnish, glues and it's used in cement... Thankyou, Wikipedia...🙂
chemgoddess1 · 8/14/2010
You do realize that you are talking to a chemist, right?
MilienElayne · 8/14/2010
Ok, I talk out of my ass as in my own personal Psych grad style, I've forgotten all of my biology, physiology and anatomy since I left school 😂 . I can't find any studies on the effects of such grip aids or their ingredients on the body. And, I should say I wouldn't stop using them if there were. Are you a biochemist, perchance? 😀
chemgoddess1 · 8/14/2010
Used to work in pharma prior to now. Most of the MSDS's I found did not have LD50 data. I did find a few from the UK that stated 3mg/kg as LD50 ingested, which would qualify it as being toxic by OSHA standards, but for someone my weight (150 lbs) I would have to ingest 2tsp at one sitting.
MilienElayne · 8/14/2010
Thankyou. My dietician future sister-in-law (when discussing my pole diet fads and grip vs. beauty product phases) was a little concerned I carried thermoplastics (mighty grip powder) in my purse to use on my skin and spent a lot of time in a studio rolling around in pine tar (girls are messy... all over the floor, the poles, me)... Also, my employers (parents of the kids I nanny for) are obsessed with BPA free and other related baby stuff. Gets me thinking.
hookedonpole · 8/14/2010
This will teach me to to READ as much about the product info before buying. I will be taking this back. I'm desperate but not that desperate. Actually I've been able to accomplish more than I thought possible for my unflexible age and on ss, in spite of the discouraging slippery days. Good thing the sales clerk said I could take it back unopened. Thanks for everyone's input, etc.!!!
chemgoddess1 · 8/14/2010
Also, my employers (parents of the kids I nanny for) are obsessed with BPA free and other related baby stuff. Gets me thinking. If it gets you thinking then good. If it gets you researching things on your own instead of all of the media hype and scaremongers, even better! I cannot stand when people form opinions of things because some group said this or that and have not done the research themselves. Bisphenol A cracks me up because there was one flawed study that got all sorts of attention but every single controlled study that has come afterward has been called a "cover up" because it does not support the original flawed data. But I digress....