Summer seems to be knocking on our door already, and that means many of us are in the pool every chance we get. And let’s be honest — swimming is the best kind of chaos. But like many parents, there’s one thing we've always worried about: chlorine. It can be so harsh on skin, hair, and especially little ones with sensitive skin.
Over time, we started noticing the dryness, the itchiness, the weird “pool smell” that doesn’t wash off — sound familiar? Living in Dubai we frequent the pool a lot, so we started digging into how to neutralize chlorine naturally, and came across something simple and amazing: Vitamin C spray.
It sounds too easy to be true, but there’s actual science behind this!
Vitamin C — particularly in the form of sodium ascorbate or ascorbic acid — can break down chlorine and chloramines (those even more irritating byproducts that form when chlorine reacts with sweat and skin). So instead of just rinsing off and hoping for the best, you can actually help deactivate the chlorine sitting on our skin and hair.
✨ How to Make Your Own Chlorine-Neutralizing Spray
This has become a total game-changer in our house. We keep a little bottle of this spray in our pool bag and use it before and after swimming.
Here's how to make it:
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1 cup distilled water
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1 teaspoon sodium ascorbate powder (gentler than ascorbic acid) like this one
Just mix it up, pour into a dark spray bottle (it helps keep the Vitamin C stable, and one of our empty 100ml spray bottles is perfect for this), and give it a good shake before using. Keep it in a cool spot and aim to use it up within 2 weeks.
💦 How to Use It
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Before swimming: Rinse off in the shower, then spray generously all over — hair, skin, everywhere. Let it sit for a bit.
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After swimming: Rinse again, reapply the spray, and gently towel off.
That's it! With just a little prep, we can protect our kids' skin (and our own!) from the harsh side of chlorine. This Vitamin C spray is such a simple, science-back hack that actually works.