Q: Since the area will be sensitive and could be sweaty, it's important to wash the area with a mild, unscented soap. Wash and rinse using warm or cool water, making sure to completely rinse off the soap. Extra residual soap could irritate your skin even more. Consider using a plant-based oil soap. Look for a soap made from a vegetable oil (like olive, palm, or soy), vegetable glycerin, or plant butters (like coconut or shea). Be sure to bathe immediately after sweating a lot. This prevents moisture from becoming trapped in the rash area. Once your skin is clean and dried, you can lightly apply a powder to prevent moisture from accumulating between your skin. Choose an unscented baby powder, but check to see if it contains talcum powder (which you should only use in small amounts). If the baby powder you use contains talcum powder, use it sparingly. Some studies have linked talc to an increased risk of ovarian cancer in women. Avoid applying cornstarch since bacteria and fungi can actually feed off of it, causing skin infection. Keep your legs moisturized so they don't chafe against each other. Use a natural lubricant like almond oil, castor oil, lanolin, or calendula oil. Make sure your skin is clean and dry before you apply the lubricant. Consider placing clean gauze over the rash to protect the skin. Apply lubricant at least twice a day or more often if you notice the rash is still rubbing on your clothing or skin. While lubricating your skin is important, you can also apply herbal essential oils that have healing properties. You can also add medicinal honey for its antibacterial and antifungal properties. To use the herbs, add 1 to 2 drops of any of the following oils to 4 tablespoons of your lubricant: Calendula oil: the oil from this flower can heal skin wounds and acts as an anti-inflammatory. St John's wort: is usually used to treat depression and anxiety, but it is traditionally used to heal skin irritation. Children or women who are pregnant or nursing shouldn't use St John's wort. Arnica oil: More studies are needed to understand the healing properties of this herbal oil that's made from flowerheads. Children or women who are pregnant or nursing shouldn't use arnica oil. Yarrow oil: this essential oil from the yarrow plant has anti-inflammatory properties and supports healing. Neem oil: has anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties. It's also been used with success in children with burns. Since your skin is already sensitive, you should determine if the herbal oil mixture will cause an allergic reaction. Dip a cotton ball in your mixture and dab a small amount on the inside of your elbow. Place a bandage over it and wait 10 to 15 minutes. If you don't notice a reaction (like a rash, stinging, or itching), you can safely use the mixture throughout the day. Try to apply it at least 3 or 4 times to ensure that the rash is always being treated. These herbal mixtures should not be used in children under 5 years old. Pour 1 to 2 cups of rolled, steel cut oats into a nylon knee-high stocking. Knot the stocking so that no oats can spill out and tie it to the bathtub's tap. Run lukewarm water so that the water runs through the oats as it fills the tub. Soak for 15 to 20 minutes and pat your skin dry. Do this once a day. A soothing bath is especially helpful if the area of chafing is large.
A: Clean the rash area. Apply a drying powder. Lubricate your skin. Add an essential oil to lubricant. Test the mixture on your skin. Take an oat bath.

Q: Before you get out on the ice, you need to put on your skates. Don't worry about buying your own gear right away. You can rent your gear until you're sure you want to figure skate for a long time. Remember to dress warmly! Gloves and scarves are good. Make sure you rent skates that fit. They should feel very snug but you should be able to wiggle your toes, just not too much and you don't want your skates to hurt your feet or make them tingle. You'll also want to be sure you lace them tight enough. You should not be able to roll your ankle. Your skates should fit like a glove. The very first thing you should learn as a figure skater is how to fall. You will fall a lot and it's important to know how to fall so that you don't hurt yourself. Practice falling. If you feel like you're about to fall, squat down so that when you land, your bottom or sides absorb the shock of the fall instead of something that can break or be seriously injured. Do not land with your hands out. Doing this can cause damage to your wrist, as well as let an unaware skater skate over your fingers. You should also learn how to get up or at least get out of the way quickly. You don't want other people to run in to you. The next thing that you should practice as a figure skater is how to keep your knees nice and loose. When you're new to skating, you'll be unstable on your legs and your muscles will be weak, so you'll naturally want to keep your knees locked and stiff. However, loose knees that can move easily are very important for figure skating, not just allowing you to move but also keeping your legs from getting sore. Practice letting your muscles relax and shake your leg around. You can also get your knees loose by crouching just a very small amount. Now that you can stand on skates comfortably and safely, you can learn how to move forward on skates. With one leg pointed forward, push your other leg back and out to the side very gently, with your toes angled away from your body just a little bit. This back leg should push you along the ice. Bring the back leg back down and then make the same push but with the other leg. Though the way you balance is different, you might want to learn this basic motion on street rollerblades before learning it on the ice. It is easier and can help keep you from hurting yourself. Of course, once you move forward, eventually you're going to want to stop. You can't just run into the wall forever! The most basic stop is done by bending your knees just a little and the leaning your body to the side, so that both of your blades are angled away from the direction you're moving in. You can also do a T stop, which is done by turning one of your blades into a T shape with the other blade and angling it away from the direction you're moving in. With those basic motions under your belt, you'll want to learn how to do a basic forward stroke. Stroking is when you do the same motions for moving forward, but longer and more gracefully. Do a more dramatic push off with your leg and hold that leg out behind you for longer before switching to the other leg. Practice this to get to a point where it looks graceful and natural. This will be the basic movement between all of the tricks and movements you will do when figure skating, so you want to do it well.
A:
Gear up. Learn how to fall. Loosen your knees. Learn how to move forward. Learn how to stop. Learn how to stroke.