01 / How it works
Barriär stops chafing by keeping the skin surface dry — enabled by Upsalite®.
Upsalite® is a patented porous mineral that soaks up sweat and oils from the skin inside its pores, so the film stays dry and the skin glides. Chafing and blisters are friction injuries: damp skin grips and drags, and under load and thousands of steps the shear separates its layers. The answer is not to cover the skin but to keep it dry for the whole march.
Barriär leaves a film on the skin, which stays longer due to the unique properties of Upsalite®. Each Upsalite particle is a sponge at the nanoscale, and because the uptake happens inside it, the film keeps working long after a powder would be saturated or a lubricant worn off.
Upsalite® is a porous form of magnesium carbonate, the first ever made after a century in which chemists had called it impossible. That is where the sweat goes: into pores ten thousand times narrower than a hair.
Upsalite® was invented at Uppsala University in 2012.
- 01Sweat makes the skin surface grip instead of glide
- 02Load and repetition turn that grip into shear inside the skin
- 03Shear separates the skin layers — a blister, or a raw chafe
- 04Upsalite®’s pores absorb the sweat, so the skin keeps gliding
02 / Questions
Common questions.
- Is it safe on skin?
Upsalite® is dermatologically tested, non-irritating and non-sensitising in independent HRIPT testing, with tolerability documented in peer-reviewed research (PubMed 33038019).
- Does the film wash off?
Yes, with water and soap.
- Does Barriär contain adhesives?
No. Nothing is stuck to the skin; the film reduces friction by keeping the surface dry. That is the difference from medical tape, which caused contact allergy in 77% of investigated conscripts after days of continuous wear.
- Who makes Upsalite®?
Disruptive Materials AB in Uppsala, Sweden — the company behind Barriär, which holds the patents and is the only producer of the material. More at disruptivematerials.com.