Oh Yeahhh!

A lot of the cycling shorts being sold today at reasonable prices have artificial chamois or other materials. The true use of chamois butter isn't needed on those. Only directly on a real "leather" material that stiffens up after washing. Real chamois is just too expensive for my tastes.

I use chamois butter all the time on my skin. It definately helps with the chafing and on hot, long rides. The better butters (hey I like that) have lanolin and vitamin E and other type of lubricants. I've heard that the original Bag Balm is really good for saddle sores too. Hard to find in the city and easier to source in a Farm Supply store. I've seen other brands in the local pharmacy store too, but they are not as thick in consistency. Performance used to sell some that looked like bear grease (not that I've ever really seen bear grease and smelled sweet, but I think they discontinued it. It was funny that it would wear through the shorts and made my leather saddle all shiny and smooth. It did double-duty in that way.

If you don't need it, consider yourself fortunate. One thing for sure is that after a long ride, get the he** out of those damp shorts, take a shower and put on dry, clean clothes. That will cut down on the chances of saddle sores.