What to do for kids faces that sting when sunscreen applied after swimming in chlorine?

Question

hi, I have 3 boys, ages 14,11 and 9. When they are in chlorinated pools for an extended period of time...ie when on vacation, their skin on their face and neck, sometimes on their arms becomes very red and blotchy and when I apply sunscreen it stings!!!!! This usually happens on about day 2 or 3 of our vacation after prolonged exposure to the pool water. Any suggestions for any barriers that could be applied to their skin to prevent the initial problem from happening or any suggestions at all!!! thanks.

I have always applied a water resistant sunscreen to their faces prior to getting in the pool and I do reapply when they have been out of the water for awhile however I have not washed their faces with regular water in between. So washing off the chlorine before reapplying the new layer of sunscreen may work. I was also wondering if anyone knew if putting a layer of petroleum jelly ie. vaseline on their faces under the sunscreen may prevent the chlorine from initially burning their skin. My only fear with this is that it will prevent the sunscreen from working to protect the skin as it should....anyone shed some light on this??? thanks

Answer 1

the petroleum jelly will interfere with the effectiveness of the sunscreen. And remember the spf refers to Minutes of sun protection, so spf 30 means just 30 minutes of protection. Consider limiting their time in the pool under the sun.