Women’s Gym Gloves: 7 Best Options to Save Your Hands

Love hitting the weights, but hate how hard it is on your hands? Or maybe you’re having trouble with your grip? Or, maybe you’re like me, and, just have sensitive skin?

Then you might be interested in the best women’s gym gloves.

In this article, we go over why you may benefit from women’s weight lifting gloves and which pair of gloves might be the best choice for you.

We researched over 50 women’s strength training gloves and analyzed hundreds of reviews to bring this comprehensive review below.

Our Top Picks

Our Top Picks for the Best Women’s Weight Lifting Gloves

Below are our top picks for the best workout gloves for women that will suit every skill level and price range.  Our reviews are un-biased (we don’t publish sponsored content!) and a portion of any purchase made will help us keep the lights on around Fit Healthy Best.

1. Trideer Weight Lifting Gloves

We chose Trideer Weight Lifting Gloves as the Best Overall / Best Beginner option because it checks all the boxes for the majority of women.

Related: Calisthenics for Women

2. Pseudois Women’s Gym Gloves

We chose Pseudois Weight Lifting Gloves as the Best Inexpensive option because it’s a solid weight lifting glove at a very low price.

3. Fit Active Ventilated Gloves

We chose Fit Active Ventilated Gloves as the Best for Comfort and Customer Favorite option because it these gloves have all the markers of comfort — open hand and padded palm — and they are an absolute fan favorite for thousands of satisfied users. Nearly 2,000 positive reviews on Amazon!

4. RIMSports Weight Lifting Gloves

We chose RIMSports Weight Lifting Gloves as the Best for Small Hands and Best Leather Option. These gloves are ideal for petite women with small hands or for women who prefer a form-fitting glove without excess bulk. In addition, these are the best leather gloves we found.

If you prefer wrist support, check out the same gloves with wrist support here, reviewed as our #7 choice below.

5. Contraband Micro Women’s Weight Lifting Gloves

Check the Price

We chose Contraband Micro Women’s Weight Lifting Gloves as the Best Bare Hand option that we found. If you’re looking for an extremely minimal glove that simply prevents calluses, this is it!

6. Mava Sports Cross Training Gloves

Check the Price

We chose Mava Sports Cross Training Gloves as the Best Open Hand with Wrist Support. These make look cumbersome at first glance, but these gloves offer extreme comfort, help your grip, and support your wrist. Bonus: they are so good that the design is patented. And they fit so well that you won’t be constantly adjusting them during your workout. A great investment pair!

7. RIMSports Weight Lifting Gloves with Wrist Support

We chose RIMSports Weight Lifting Gloves with Wrist Supports as the Best Closed Hand with Wrist Support option because these RIMSports gloves are a top-notch glove featuring leather and silicone material, with the added bonus of strong wrist support.

Check out the RIMSports gloves without wrist support here (reviewed as our #4 choice above and my personal favorite glove that I use to lift).

What are women’s gym gloves?

Women’s gym gloves are a type of glove that you wear when you strength train or work out to help with a number of things, namely the below:

In general, women’s gym gloves cover your entire palm and are fingerless.

Some gloves come with wrist support, which is helpful as the load you lift becomes heavier or for powerlifters.

Of course, men can use gym gloves, as well, but for our purposes, we will focus on gloves for women.

Determining the Best Women’s Workout Gloves for You

There are a number of qualities about weight lifting gloves that will factor into your decision of choosing the best pair for you. Below we cover all the important qualities of a good lifting glove.

---

Fit

The fit of a women’s gym glove is much different than gloves for men.

Women’s frames, in general, are smaller, especially their hands.

For this reason, you’ll want to consider these two things when choosing a glove:

I personally have extremely small hands and there is no way I could lift in gym gloves that are made for men.

Material

More than anything, you’ll want a glove that is comfortable to work out in. This means you’ll want breathable material.

These days, most gloves do a good job of this, so it comes down to personal preference. If you’re very sensitive to sweaty hands, you might want to avoid leather options. In addition, you may be more interested in the bare palm options or open hand options.

In my personal experience, I am much more bothered by wrist sweat than palm sweat. That is why I prefer to use gloves without wrist support.

Padding

Most gloves do not have a ton of padding or cushioning. The material of the glove itself is generally enough padding for most people.

However, there are some people who are specifically looking for extra padding during a lift. This could be for several reasons, including sensitive hands or skin.

Finger Length

Some women’s workout gloves will have a space for a woman’s wedding ring.

Most gloves are half-finger length. You’ll see some that are the entire length of your finger. Most women prefer the half-finger length to allow for better grip and flexibility.

Wrist Support

The older we get, the more our joints may suffer during workouts. And if you’re practicing poor form — even some of the time — you’ll feel it in your wrists.

Wrist support on gym gloves can be a great addition for women who have joint pain or older women. A wrist support can also be great for any age group simply looking to support their wrists.

Grip & Traction

Some people will argue that gloves adjust your max strength, but that’s not the case. Gloves can give you the traction you need to have a strong lift during heavy exercises like deadlifts and bench press.

This study shows that grip force does, in fact, increase when someone is wearing cotton gloves. So, if you’re having trouble with your grip, you may want to pick up a set of gym gloves for women.

Skin Protection

Eczema and fungal skin infections are a common complaint among gym-goers. In addition, many people suffer from nickel and heavy metal allergies — both of which can be alleviated by wearing workout gloves.

This study warns about the possible skin irritations of exercise and recommends gloves for the prevention of blisters and other skin irritation.

Allergies

As previously mentioned, some people have allergies to nickel and heavy metal. In addition, some people are severely allergic to some foods.

While gloves won’t prevent contact with these allergens completely, they could provide some protection.

However, it’s important to keep the gloves in a separate space in your gym bag and wash them regularly.

FAQs About Women’s Weight Lifting Gloves

Is there a difference between grips and gloves?

They both accomplish the same thing, but, in general, grips are smaller and usually cover just your knuckles and the top of your palm. They are also referred to as bare hands.

Are closed tops or open tops better?

This is completely dependent on personal preference. After using closed tops women’s gym gloves for so many years, I can see the appeal of open tops.

It is nice to have your knuckles exposed for more flexibility and movement. I think I’ll opt for an open-top for my next pair of gloves.

What exercises will weight lifting gloves help with?

If you’re just looking to protect your skin while lifting, any exercise will be benefitted by wearing women’s gym gloves.

But if you’re looking for gloves to help with grip strength, these exercises, in particular, will benefit most:

Should you choose women’s weight lifting gloves with wrist support?

Again, this depends on your personal preference and health history.

If you’re lifting lighter weights — 40 pounds and under — and you’ve never had any wrist or joint issues, you probably don’t need support.

However, once you start adding more load or if you have joint problems or pain, you may want to opt for wrist support — especially on your heavier lifting days.

What are bare hand gloves?

Barehand gloves are a type of minimalist glove. They simply protect your upper palm during weight lifting.

In general, developing calluses on this area is the most common complaint among people who are shopping for weight lifting gloves. If you don’t want a lot of fluff on your hands while you’re working out, you may be interested in bare hand gloves.

What are the best weight lifting gloves for small hands?

I have very small hands and wrists and my personal favorite gloves are the RIMSports Weight Lifting Gloves. Because they’re made of leather and spandex, they conform and stretch to your hand size. This is perfect for those of us with small hands!

Are thin gloves helpful enough?

Absolutely. Most of the women’s gym gloves on the market don’t have much padding because the grips and the material of the glove itself will offer enough padding for most people. In addition, too much padding may affect your grip, which could be dangerous!

As women, unless we are hardcore, professional lifters, our loads will still be much lighter than men’s weight loads. Therefore, most of the women’s gym gloves listed in this article will provide more than enough protection for most women.

What are the best workout gloves for pull-ups?

Any glove with grips will be great for pull-ups.

Can workout gloves protect your hands from skin conditions?

If you have sensitive skin and work out a commercial gym, wearing women’s gym gloves is probably a good idea. I battled sensitive skin in my twenties and was routinely coming down with fungal infections in the open skin areas on my hands.

My doctor determined that it was due to lifting weights at a commercial gym. I purchased a set of women’s weightlifting gloves (these ones), and my skin issues subsided! Now, I work out at home and still find myself reaching for my gloves for deadlifts.

Along those same lines, this study found that athletes who all lifted weights together were all suffering from the same type of hand warts. The athletes that weren’t suffering from hand warts? You guessed it — they sported weight lifting gloves.

What are the best cute women’s workout gloves?

I was surprised that people are interested in this question, but I’ll answer this the best I can.

Not that appearance matters in how the gloves work, but I understand that some people do care about how they look in the gym, so this is an understandable question for that reason. Luckily, the manufacturers have made most gloves aesthetically pleasing these days!

The Bottom Line: Which Women’s Weight Lifting Gloves are Best For You?

Look, weight lifting gloves may seem a little ridiculous for a beginner or even a regular gym-goer. But, once you give gym gloves a try, it’s easy to see why they are so popular!

I remember being plagued by skin issues from lifting weights before purchasing a pair of women’s gym gloves. I’m so happy I did because I no longer have skin issues and I don’t suffer from calluses. More so, my grip is better than ever when it comes to deadlifts and pull-ups when I have gloves on!

With all the options for women’s gym gloves these days, one of these options is sure to suit your needs. Happy lifting!

References:

• https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071109195546.htm
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10582505
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8543726

Related:

• Dumbbells for Women
• Best Treadmill Under $1000
• Best Workout Shoes for Women
• Best Weightlifting Shoes for Women