Can't find Lanacane anti-chafing gel? The closest alternatives in the UK

Updated 5 October 2026. We make Flissie women's bamboo boxer shorts, which are one of the alternatives below, so we have an interest, and ours is marked as ours in every list and table. We are not connected to Lanacane or to any other brand here. Every stock check, price and ingredient list comes from the shop's or brand's own website, checked on 4 and 5 October 2026. This is general information, not medical advice.

If Lanacane anti-chafing gel was the thing that kept your thighs, feet or bra line from rubbing raw, you have probably noticed it has gone. We checked every UK shop we could find that used to sell it, read its label to see what it was made of, and lined up the closest replacements by what is in them, not by what the packaging promises.

Why is Lanacane no longer available in the UK?

Nobody has said. We could not find a statement from the brand, and the UK Lanacane website, lanacane.co.uk, no longer loads.

What we could check was stock. On 4 October 2026 we read the Lanacane anti-chafing gel page at every UK shop we could find that listed it:

On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Three we could not settle. Boots' and Amazon UK's pages would not load for our checking tool, so check them yourself before you make a trip. Weldricks showed a dispatch time but no price or stock status, so it was unclear.

On eBay UK, one listing was live: a private seller in Manchester asking about £94 for a single 28g tube, roughly 12 times the £7.99 Superdrug last listed it at. A business seller in Leicester had sold its last tube at £14.99 on 20 September.

Shoppers noticed months ago. A Mumsnet thread started on 9 May 2026 asked for replacements because “They seem to have discontinued it”, and a later reply said Boots staff had told them it had been discontinued. That is hearsay rather than an announcement, but with every shop we could read out of stock, we would not plan around finding it.

In the UK, Tesco's listing gives Reckitt Benckiser as the company to contact, and we found nothing about the gel on Reckitt's website. The same four ingredients are still listed on the US Lanacane website, under the name Lanacane Anti-Friction Gel, but we found no UK shop selling it.

What is in Lanacane anti-chafing gel?

Four ingredients: cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone crosspolymer, dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer and corn starch. Those are the Lanacane anti-chafing gel ingredients on both Superdrug's and Tesco's listings.

In plain English, it is a silicone gel. Cyclopentasiloxane is a light silicone that evaporates from the skin, which is why the gel felt dry within seconds. The two crosspolymers are silicones that leave a thin, slippery film behind, and the corn starch soaks up moisture. Superdrug described it as drying on contact and “Non-greasy, non-staining, fragrance free”.

That matters when you choose a replacement. Most anti-chafing sticks are waxes and oils, most creams are water and oil, and petroleum jelly is petroleum jelly. If what you liked was the dry, silky finish, look for silicones near the top of the ingredient list.

Lanacane cream is a different product. The cream still sold in the UK, Lanacane Anti-Itch Cream (£4 for 30g at Morrisons when we checked), contains 3% benzocaine, a local anaesthetic for itching, and is licensed as a medicine. It is not a swap for the gel. A couple of pharmacy listings we found give benzocaine as the gel's ingredient too, which looks like a mix-up: the gel's label lists none.

Anti-chafing creams, gels and sticks compared

Eleven alternatives you can buy in the UK, checked on each shop's or brand's own website on 4 October 2026. Ours is first because it is our pick for thighs; the rest run from the closest to Lanacane's silicone formula to the least like it. Prices change often.

On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Main ingredients are the first few on each label, summarised. Two of these, Megababe Thigh Rescue and Body Glide For Her, are marketed as chafing cream for women; their ingredient lists are waxes and oils like the rest. If you react to fragrance, Glamza's cream and Cuticura's powder list parfum, and Megababe's scented stick lists fragrance oils, so Megababe's unscented version is the one to look at.

The 11 alternatives, one by one

1. Flissie women's bamboo boxer shorts (ours, our pick for thighs)

We are Phillippa and Matthew, and we run Flissie from Derbyshire. These are our boxer shorts, sold as underwear, so read this section with that in mind. A gel works by making skin slippery; a long leg works by keeping skin off skin. If you used Lanacane as a thigh chafing cream, that is the job these do. Of our 336 reviews, 38 mention chafing or chub rub.

“Very comfy and has solved chafing issues. Don't ride up like other boxers even in tighter trousers. Would love more colours!”

Georgia, United Kingdom

“They have really been put to the test with this stinking hot summer and I'm not sweaty or chaffing.”

Mardi, United Kingdom

Why it is our pick for thighs: it does not wear off. A gel, cream or stick sits on your skin until sweat and movement rub it away: Lanacane's own label said to repeat as needed, and so do Monistat's, Megababe's, Squirrel's Nut Butter's and Glamza's. A pair of shorts stays where it is, you wash it instead of using it up, and at £20 it costs about the same as two and a half tubes of Lanacane did at £7.99.

Where it is not the best choice: it only helps where the leg reaches, so it does nothing for feet, underarms or a bra line. Under a very short or sheer dress, a thigh band shows less. The waistband is mid-high rather than high, and sizes start at UK 8. And a fitted boxer short only works if it stays put; as Chrissy from the United Kingdom wrote, “once you get the right size they do not rise up”, which is why the size swap on your whole first order is free.

Shop Flissie women's bamboo boxer shorts

2. Monistat Complete Care Chafing Relief Powder Gel

Monistat chafing gel is a US product and almost all silicone. Its active ingredient is dimethicone 1.2%, and its inactive ingredients include cyclomethicone 5, the same kind of light, evaporating silicone as the cyclopentasiloxane Lanacane listed first. It is not on the UK high street. Healthwords, a UK online pharmacy, listed the 1.5 oz tube as in stock on 4 October 2026, though its price showed to us in dollars, and eBay UK sellers listed a 42g tube at £16.99 to £19.99 with free postage. The label is the US one: its directions say “Apply as needed” and its warnings give a US poison centre number.

3. pjur 2SKIN Full Body Anti-Chafing Gel

pjur, a German brand, sells this as an anti-chafing gel with a short ingredient list: dimethicone, dimethiconol, polymethylsilsesquioxane, argan oil and vitamin E. Like Lanacane, it is silicone first. pjur calls it long lasting and water and sweat resistant, says it leaves no stains, and tells you to apply a thin layer. It comes in 20ml and 100ml, from €12.95 on pjur's own website, which mentions European shipping but not UK delivery. Listings for it appear on Amazon UK, but we could not read their prices.

4. Megababe Thigh Rescue

Megababe Thigh Rescue is an anti-chafing stick: oils and waxes first, then zinc oxide and dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, one of the silicones in Lanacane, further down. Cult Beauty had the 23g stick at £8 and an unscented 60g at £14, both in stock on 4 October 2026. The directions say to swipe it on “as needed throughout the day”, and the unscented page notes that it can transfer to clothing and is not recommended with silk.

5. Body Glide For Her

Body Glide For Her is an anti-chafing balm in a stick, made with plant-derived waxes and oils and no silicones in its ingredient list. Body Glide's UK site had the 22g at £11.99 and the 42g at £14.99, both in stock on 4 October 2026. You apply it before you dress, “on inner thighs, under arms, around (sports) bra”, and Body Glide claims all-day protection. One label detail worth knowing: the page says “Allergen free”, but the ingredients include sweet almond oil and coconut oil, so if you have a nut allergy, check with a pharmacist first.

6. Decathlon anti-chafing cream stick

Decathlon's 25g stick is £5.99 and rated 4.5 from 1,453 reviews on its website. It is mineral oil, petroleum jelly and waxes, with no silicone. Decathlon says to apply a thick layer before activity and not to rub it in, that it is water and perspiration resistant, and that it “also supports you during your swim”. Use it on healthy skin only.

7. Squirrel's Nut Butter Anti-Chafe Stick

Squirrel's Nut Butter makes its stick from four things: coconut oil, cocoa butter, beeswax and vitamin E. Its UK stockist, XMiles, had three sizes on 4 October 2026: 14g £9.95, 48g £14.95 and 76g £19.95, with free UK shipping over £30. The directions say to apply it before activity “to any skin prone to chafing or blisters”, including thighs, feet and under bra or pack straps, and to re-apply as needed.

8. Glamza Chub Rub Anti-Chafing Cream

Glamza's cream is water and mineral oil with aloe vera, and it contains fragrance. Glamza's site had it at £9.99 on 4 October 2026; the listing names 50ml, 100ml and 150ml, but only one size was on sale. Glamza says to apply it before walking, exercise or running, let it settle into the skin before you dress, and reapply when required, and not to use it on broken or severely irritated skin.

A note on Calmocane: it turns up on Amazon UK among Lanacane alternatives, perhaps because the names sound alike. It is a Spanish anti-chafe cream, water and propylene glycol first, that you massage in until it is absorbed, so it is not a dry silicone gel either. We could not read its Amazon UK price.

9. Vaseline Original Petroleum Jelly

A 50ml tub of Vaseline Original was £1.80 at Tesco on 4 October 2026, and its ingredients are petroleum jelly with a little BHT and vitamin E. Tesco's listing does not mention chafing, but Vaseline's own UK advice on inner thigh chafing says its jelly “can act as a lubricant to reduce friction when you walk or run”.

10. Cuticura Mildly Medicated Body Powder

Cuticura's body powder came up in the Mumsnet thread as a Lanacane replacement. Chemist Direct had the 150g at £2.89, in stock, on 4 October 2026. It is corn starch first, like the starch in Lanacane's gel, with zinc oxide and fragrance, and there is no talc in its ingredient list. Chemist Direct's listing says it helps to “relieve and soothe skin discomforts caused by excess sweating, chafing and rubbing”.

11. Bandelettes thigh bands

Bandelettes are lace or stretch bands with silicone grips that sit at the top of each thigh. Mish had them at £17.99 to £18.99 a pair on 4 October 2026, with many sizes in stock. They are sized by thigh measurement, from A (21 to 22 inches) to F (31 to 32 inches), and Mish advises sizing up if you are between sizes, because bands that are too tight are likely to roll.

If you would rather have shorts but not ours, Snag's Stay Cool Chub Rub Shorts were £9.99, on sale at £5.00, when we checked, in UK 4 to 36 on its product pages. Our guide to long-leg underwear for anti-chafing compares five more, and shorts for under dresses covers what disappears under a light dress.

Which alternative for which job

On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see every column.

For how to soothe skin that is already sore, and when to see a pharmacist or GP, read our chub rub guide. If you run, our guide to anti-chafing underwear for running covers fabrics by distance.

What we will not tell you

We will not tell you that any of these, Flissie women's bamboo boxer shorts included, heals chafed skin. Creams, gels, sticks and shorts are for stopping the rubbing, not for treating a rash, and Lanacane's own label said to see a doctor if pain or soreness lasted longer than 7 days. We will not call any product here hypoallergenic, even where a listing does: a word on a label is not a promise about your skin. And we will not repeat any reason for Lanacane disappearing as fact, because no one has given one.

Where we are not the answer

• Chafing on your feet, underarms or bra line. Shorts only cover your thighs. A silicone gel such as pjur 2SKIN, or a stick such as Squirrel's Nut Butter, goes anywhere.
• Swimming. Decathlon's stick says it is water resistant; underwear under a swimsuit is not the answer.
• You want Lanacane exactly. The same formula is still listed on the US Lanacane website as Lanacane Anti-Friction Gel, but we found no UK shop selling it. Monistat's gel is the nearest formula we found on sale to UK buyers.
• You are buying for a man. Our boxer shorts are cut for women; the gels and sticks above are not.

Lanacane anti-chafing gel: your questions

Why is Lanacane no longer available in the UK?

Lanacane has not said. When we checked on 4 October 2026, Lanacane anti-chafing gel was out of stock or no longer sold online at all 11 UK shops whose websites we could read, including Superdrug and Tesco, and the UK Lanacane website no longer loaded. The same formula is still listed on the US Lanacane website as Lanacane Anti-Friction Gel.

Has Lanacane anti-chafing gel been discontinued?

There has been no announcement, so we cannot say for certain. But Superdrug's page says it is no longer available online, every other UK shop we could read showed it out of stock on 4 October 2026, and shoppers on Mumsnet were reporting it gone from May 2026. Plan as though it has been.

Can you still buy Lanacane anti-chafing gel at Boots?

We could not check, because Boots' website would not load for us on 4 October 2026. One Mumsnet user said Boots staff told them it had been discontinued, and every other UK shop we could read showed it out of stock or no longer sold online, so ask in store before you make a trip.

Where can I buy Lanacane anti-chafing gel?

Only from resellers, as far as we could find. On 4 October 2026 the one live UK listing was on eBay, from a private seller asking about £94 for a single 28g tube, against the £7.99 Superdrug last listed it at. A replacement costs far less.

What is in Lanacane anti-chafing gel?

Four ingredients: cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone crosspolymer, dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer and corn starch. It is a silicone gel, which is why it dried on contact and did not feel greasy. It contains no benzocaine; that is in Lanacane cream, a different product.

What is the closest alternative to Lanacane anti-chafing gel?

Another silicone gel. Monistat Complete Care Chafing Relief Powder Gel, a US product sold to UK buyers online, is almost all silicone, including the same kind of evaporating silicone Lanacane used, and pjur 2SKIN Full Body Anti-Chafing Gel is silicone first. For thighs, Flissie women's bamboo boxer shorts (we make them) replace the gel with a 6 inch leg, at £20 a pair.

What is the best anti-chafing cream?

The best anti-chafing cream depends on where you rub and how long it needs to last. For thighs, our pick is Flissie women's bamboo boxer shorts (we make them), because a 6 inch leg does not wear off. For a stick you can carry, Megababe Thigh Rescue is £8 for 23g; for no silicone or petroleum, Body Glide For Her is £11.99 for 22g; and for the lowest cost, Vaseline is £1.80 for 50ml.

What is the best cream for chafing inner thighs?

A stick you can carry and reapply is easiest for inner thighs, such as Megababe Thigh Rescue (£8 for 23g) or Body Glide For Her (£11.99 for 22g). If you would rather not reapply at all, Flissie women's bamboo boxer shorts (we make them) put a 6 inch leg between your thighs, in UK 8 to 30, at £20 a pair.

Is Lanacane cream the same as the anti-chafing gel?

No. Lanacane cream, sold as Lanacane Anti-Itch Cream, contains 3% benzocaine, a local anaesthetic for itching, and is a licensed medicine. The anti-chafing gel is a silicone gel with no benzocaine. Morrisons still had the cream at £4 for 30g on 4 October 2026.

Is Vaseline or Sudocrem better for chafing?

They do different jobs. Vaseline is petroleum jelly, and Vaseline's UK advice says it can act as a lubricant to reduce friction when you walk or run, so it goes on before the rubbing starts. Sudocrem is sold as an antiseptic healing cream, and its UK website lists chafing among the conditions it is for. If your skin is broken, or still sore after a few days, see a pharmacist.

Does chafing cream work?

Chafing cream makes skin slippery so it rubs less, until sweat and movement wear it off, which is why labels such as Lanacane's said to apply it before activity and repeat as needed. Cleveland Clinic suggests applying anti-chafing products before you are active and choosing moisture-wicking fabrics over cotton.

Is Monistat chafing gel sold in the UK?

Not on the high street. Monistat is a US brand, but on 4 October 2026 its Chafing Relief Powder Gel was listed as in stock at Healthwords, a UK online pharmacy, and eBay UK sellers had it at £16.99 to £19.99. It is the closest formula to Lanacane we found.

Are shorts better than anti-chafing cream?

For inner thighs, shorts last longer: a long leg keeps skin off skin all day, where a cream wears off and needs reapplying. Flissie women's bamboo boxer shorts (we make them) have a 6 inch leg, come in UK 8 to 30 and cost £20 a pair, or about £13 a pair in a 7 pack. For feet, underarms or a bra line, a cream, gel or stick is still the answer.

Sources

• Lanacane Anti-Chafing Gel listings: Superdrug, Tesco 28g, Tesco 30g, Chemist4U, Medino, Chemist Direct, 121 Pharmacy, VSM Pharmacy, Healthwords, ExpressChemist, Dock Pharmacy, Hannworld and Weldricks
• eBay UK: live listing and sold-out listing
• Lanacane US: Lanacane Anti-Friction Gel; Morrisons: Lanacane Anti-Itch Cream
• Mumsnet: Lanacane Anti Chafing Replacement Recommendations, 9 May 2026
• Monistat Chafing Relief Powder Gel at Healthwords; pjur 2SKIN Full Body Anti-Chafing Gel
• Megababe at Cult Beauty: Thigh Rescue and Unscented Thigh Rescue 60g
• Body Glide For Her; Decathlon anti-chafing cream stick; Squirrel's Nut Butter at XMiles; Glamza Chub Rub Anti-Chafing Cream
• Vaseline: Original Petroleum Jelly at Tesco and how to deal with inner thigh chafing
• Cuticura Mildly Medicated Body Powder at Chemist Direct; Bandelettes at Mish; Snag Stay Cool Chub Rub Shorts; Sudocrem
• Cleveland Clinic: Chafing, last reviewed 29 August 2025

Checked on 4 October 2026, except Weldricks and Sudocrem, checked on 5 October 2026. Prices and stock change often, so check each shop before you buy.

Related reading

• Chub rub: every fix compared, and how to soothe sore skin
• Long-leg underwear for anti-chafing: 5 compared
• Shorts for under dresses: 7 UK options compared
• Anti-chafing underwear for running
• Flissie anti-chafing shorts