newbie with sunscreen questions

[glitter&guns]

I had never given any thought to how our very liberal use of sunscreen might be a pool problem, but reading through old posts here, I see that I have been remiss. This will be my first season with a pool and I have been blessed with a daughter who has a fine Irish complexion. We live in Texas so it is 100 SPF all the time. I could cut her sunscreen back some by insisting on rash guard in the pool, but her face is extra sensitive due to acne meds. I am also pretty fair and will need quite a bit of protection. Somehow my other daughter got the magic ability to tan.

So when it comes to pools are all sunscreens created equally? Any help in working with an abundance of sunscreen in a pool?

Thank you all so much for being a resource to me while I am new at this. I want to start out doing it right from the beginning and my mean parents would never get me a pool (or for that matter a horse or a sports car) as a kid, so I am having to learn this now. :-D

 

[Melt In The Sun]

I think the less greasy the better, so the spray types would probably be best. That being said, having a little goo from sunscreen isn't a huge problem. If it doesn't bother you, don't worry about it.

 

[ping]

The main thing to abide by is to wait 15-20 minutes after applying before entering the water. If you don't wait, most of the sunscreen will be washed off before it has a chance to be absorbed. Most sunscreens will state something to that degree in their directions.

My dermatologist recommended for me to stay away from the sprays, and I switched to the Neutrogena brands.

 

[techgirl]

With water make sure what you're using on her face doesn't sting (when it gets wet it runs so double check for gentle on the eyes!) It's worth investing in a good quality face sunscreen then go for bulk for the body (especially if she's working on her acne ).

 

[CB]

"Thank you all so much for being a resource to me while I am new at this. I want to start out doing it right from the beginning and my mean parents would never get me a pool (or for that matter a horse or a sports car) as a kid, so I am having to learn this now."

I would have just asked for a money tree. :lol:

 

[Christian]

A great trick I learned to keep some of it out of your filtration system is to float a few tennis balls in the pool and a handful in each skimmer. The green fuzz on the tennis balls will soak up quite a bit of the sunscreen. Then when they start getting slimy just thoroughly wash or replace them!

 

[4knights]

The main thing to abide by is to wait 15-20 minutes after applying before entering the water. If you don't wait, most of the sunscreen will be washed off before it has a chance to be absorbed. Most sunscreens will state something to that degree in their directions.

My dermatologist recommended for me to stay away from the sprays, and I switched to the Neutrogena brands.

X2 for Neutrogena brands! We also use the Neutragena sesame seed oil after showers in the summer to help nourish the skin.

 

[glitter&guns]

Thank you everyone! I am especially interested in the idea of the tennis balls! Never in a million years would I have thought of that! I am sure we will have to live with a bit of sludge in the pool, but I will be following y'all's suggestions!

 

[Christian]

Yeah the tennis ball trick is pretty cool! I just learned it recently myself.

 

[Safetybob]

X2 on the waiting 15-20 minutes after application before hitting the water. After awhile they will need to reapply the sunscreen so yes, see how it goes. With extreamly fair skin (and that was me in my teen years) you may have to rig an umbrella in the area for her to keep in the shade and still be in the pool.

We have a very, very fair skinned 5 year old that in the thick of the summer has to have sunscreen. I would say that until we did the apply and wait, nothing was working very well. We are also fortunate to have a huge tree that shades the pool around 3:30PM during the summer and that helps a lot.

Bob E.