Kids and water go together like summer and ice cream. Whether it's early morning squad training, Saturday morning lessons, surf club on the weekends, or just endless hours at the local pool, Australia's young swimmers spend a lot of time in the water.
Which is brilliant, until you start noticing that their hair is getting dry and tangled, their skin is itchy after every session, and no matter how many times you wash it, there's a faint chemical smell that lingers.
Sound familiar? Here's what's going on, and what actually helps.
Why Kids Are More Affected Than Adults
Children's skin is genuinely more sensitive than adult skin. The protective barrier — the outer layer of skin that keeps moisture in and irritants out, is thinner and less developed in young skin, which means chlorine, saltwater, and hard water minerals can cause more irritation and penetrate more easily.
Young hair is similarly vulnerable. Children's hair tends to be finer and more porous than adult hair, which means it absorbs pool chemicals more readily and loses moisture faster after repeated exposure.
If your child is swimming multiple times per week, which many kids in squads or lessons absolutely are, the cumulative exposure adds up quickly. It's not that any single session is damaging. It's the consistent, repeated exposure over weeks and months without proper care in between.
The Specific Problems to Watch For
Dry, itchy skin. Chlorine strips the natural oils from skin, disrupting the moisture barrier. Kids who swim regularly often develop a low-level itch that they associate with being a "normal" part of swimming. It isn't, it's a sign the skin needs more attention after sessions.
Dry, brittle, or tangled hair. Pool chemicals deposit on the hair shaft and, over time, cause it to become rough, dry, and prone to tangles and breakage. Children with longer hair, or hair that's naturally fine or curly, tend to notice this more acutely.
Lingering pool smell. That distinctive chlorine odour doesn't come from chlorine itself, it comes from chloramines, compounds that form when chlorine reacts with body oils, sweat, and organic matter in the pool. These chloramines bind to skin and hair and don't wash out with regular shampoo and body wash.
Green tint in light-coloured hair. If your child has blonde, light brown, or colour-treated hair and swims regularly, they may notice a greenish tinge developing over time. Contrary to popular belief, this isn't caused by chlorine directly, it comes from copper compounds in pool water bonding to the hair shaft. Regular TRISWIM use removes this buildup before it can discolour the hair.
What Doesn't Work (And Why)
Regular supermarket shampoo and body wash are formulated to clean hair and skin, but they're not designed to neutralise or remove chlorine, saltwater, or the mineral compounds that pool water leaves behind. They clean the surface, but the chemical residue that's bonded to the hair shaft and skin stays put.
A lot of parents try washing their child's hair more frequently to combat the problem and then find it seems to make the dryness worse. That's because over-washing with the wrong products strips more of the natural oils without removing the underlying chlorine, creating a cycle of dryness that's hard to break.
The solution isn't washing more. It's washing smarter, with products that are actually designed for the job.
TRISWIM Kids: What Makes It Different
TRISWIM Kids is formulated specifically for young swimmers, with a gentle, tear-free formula that's tough enough to remove chlorine, saltwater, bromine, and hard water minerals, while being kind to sensitive young skin and hair.
It's free from harsh sulfates and formulated with gentle, nourishing ingredients - aloe vera, ProVitamin B5, and natural botanicals, that remove chemical residue while moisturising and protecting rather than stripping further.
The Kids range includes shampoo and conditioner designed to work together: the shampoo removes the chlorine and mineral buildup from the hair shaft, and the conditioner replenishes moisture and helps with detangling, which, if you've ever tried to comb the hair of a tired six-year-old who's just finished squad, you know is an important feature.
Building a Simple Post-Swim Routine for Kids
The best post-swim routine for a child is one they'll actually do, which means keeping it simple, consistent, and not too time-consuming.
Rinse immediately after leaving the water. A quick fresh water rinse before they even get changed removes the bulk of surface chlorine and salt. Most aquatic centres have outdoor showers for exactly this reason. Make it habit.
TRISWIM Kids Shampoo. Work it through wet hair, leave it for 30-60 seconds if possible, and rinse. This doesn't need to be a long, complicated process, a minute in the shower does the job.
TRISWIM Kids Conditioner. This step is especially important for kids with longer hair or hair that tangles easily. The conditioner restores moisture and makes detangling much easier, which means less breakage and less protest at the bathroom door.
Moisturise if needed. For children with sensitive or eczema-prone skin, following up with a gentle moisturiser after washing helps lock in hydration and protect the skin barrier. The TRISWIM Lotion works well here.
A Note for Swimming Parents
If your child is training in a club or squad environment, they're likely spending considerably more time in chlorinated water than the average recreational swimmer. Multiple sessions per week, year-round, that's a significant and consistent chemical exposure for young skin and hair.
It's worth talking to other swim parents about what they use post-session. In most swimming families, there's a quiet understanding that regular supermarket products don't cut it when your child is in the pool four times a week. Products designed specifically for swimmers, particularly kids' formulas like TRISWIM Kids make a real difference to how their skin and hair feel and hold up over a long season.
Start the routine early, keep it consistent, and it becomes second nature for both of you. Within a few weeks, the itch should ease, the tangles should improve, and that pool smell? Gone.