Hair removal and girls - how young is too young?
Filed under: Big Kids, Tweens, Development/Milestones: Babies, Life & Style, In The News, Playground Bureau
Whether it's from improvements in nutrition or chemicals in the food, the fact is many children are physically maturing at a much earlier age. While menstruation used to start around age 12, girls are reaching that developmental milestone much earlier, which is one of the reason salons are seeing the age of hair removal clients getting younger and younger.
"It's not uncommon for girls to get their period at 9 or 10 years old, and with that development comes increased hair growth," said Dr. Doris Pastor, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Taking an early developer's feelings into consideration and getting hair removal at a young age to prevent or curb teasing is one thing, but salon workers see more than just motherly concern from some women. Many pre-teen hair removal appointments are for girls accompanied by women who appear to be trying to make their daughters look perfect.
"I had a mother who brought her daughter in, pulled up her shirt and asked us to wax the girl's back. The hair didn't seem to be bothering the little girl, but the mom was embarrassed and wanted it done," said Diane Fisher, owner of Eclips Salon and Eclips Kids Day Spa in McLean and Ashburn, Va. "I told the mom to wait until the child wanted it, but she refused." That little girl was just six years old.
Humans aren't supposed to be completely hairless save for the top of their head and eyebrows, but it seems like the new ideal is to look like a life-size Bratz doll. That there are mothers so invested in the appearance of their kindergartner's backs that they're willing to pay to have hot wax applied and the hair yanked off appalls me.
What is going on with the adults?!
| I'd do at any age if they were being teased. | |
|---|---|
| I'd do it if they were 10 or older and being teased. | |
| I'd do it at any age if it bothered her. | |
| I'd do it after age 10 if it bothered her. | |
| I'd use a different hair removal technique than waxing. | |
| I think it's my job to help her realize appearance isn't everything. |












ReaderComments (Page 5 of 7)
8-16-2008 @ 10:33PM
toni said...My daughter Taylor is 12 and I started allowing her to accompany myself to the salon, this yr , where we both enjoy a day of beauty. Call me crazy but she gets it all done Waxing, nails manicure & polish, pedicure, parafin dip. We spend the day relaxing and bonding. Tay takes after my lovely unibrow so she asked for a wax. and she had sum hair above her lip so she asked for a wax. She shaves her legs and under arms. Its all about hygiene and impressing yourself. She does this because she likes it. I think if its something your child wants and its not harming her go ahead indulge We all love a day to pamper ourselves. I actually look forward to our beauty days we have some of our best Mom to daughter heart to heart talks. But I waited for her to ask me if she could do it I wouldn't force it on her. Thanks for letting me share!
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8-16-2008 @ 10:42PM
SailorLeo33 said...Having your child shave their underarms is one thing, or even facial hair.
Still, no mother should force their child to have a wax. They are painful, and it's not fair to force someone to do it, not to mention that by forcing them, no matter how well-intentioned it may be, you are telling your child that they are ugly without it. That your child is NATURALLY ugly, or that at the very least that others think that he/she is ugly.
I think people should teach their children to be strong, not to give in to peer pressure or bullying.
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8-16-2008 @ 10:45PM
rdh said...If my kid was bothered by body hair, and was willing to withstand a little "ouchie" then I'd do it. Hell, people get their kids ears pierced, don't they? I wouldn't subject my child to waxing because of my own preferences, but if my kid asked to have it done, I'd be fine with it. It's only hair, it grows back. If it hurt so bad after the first strip was yanked, she could stop at any time. I just got my legs, bikini area, and armpits waxed so I wouldn't have to shave while I was on vacation, & I barely flinched.
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8-16-2008 @ 10:45PM
cyberma777 said...What did the child want? Even at 6, a child is capable of making a decision like that. It's not permanent, but it is painful. As a parent, I would try to persuade my child that there was nothing wrong, but if the child really wanted it, I see nothing wrong with it. I saved "no" for boys spending the night, drugs, alchohol, and smoking. "No" has more impact when it is not overused. "Why" is a much better response.
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8-16-2008 @ 10:49PM
Karenjean said...I was hairy as an ape at age 10 but my idiot mother thought I was too young to shave or wear deodorant. My pit hair was so long you could have braided it and of course they hung on to every sweat bead so my B.O. was unbearable.
Even my breasts had long hairs sprouting out of them. My mom caught me using an eyebrow tweaser to pluck my boob hairs and beat the daylights out of me.
I couldn't go swimming and it would be 100 degrees in the shade and I couldn't wear a tank top or shorts because of all my pit and leg hair.
Phys ed class was downright humiliating; every girl saw my hair in the locker room and was disgusted and just get a whiff of me after running around the gym! Even I couldn't stand my own smell but there was nothing I could do about it.
My mom did not let me shave until I was 13 because that was the fixed number she had in her empty head so I went like that for 3 years despite notes from teachers, nurses, the principal and comments from neighbors and relatives who told my mother I stunk and looked like an animal to no avail.
If they are old enough to grow it then they are old enough to have it removed any which way.
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8-16-2008 @ 10:56PM
D said...I started waxing my dtr when she was 8, I don't understand the big deal, it's not as painful as people make it out to be (less so than plucking) and lasts a lot longer than shaving.
For those who think it is wrong.....don't do it on your children, crisis solved.
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8-16-2008 @ 10:53PM
Holly said...I think that it is absolutely rediculous for any girl under the age of 16 or 17 to be waxing-and even then I feel that they should just be shaving their legs and underarms. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but thats just my opinioin. Lets nurture our young women, not make them feel inferior.
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8-16-2008 @ 10:52PM
D said...I started waxing my dtr when she was 8, I don't understand the big deal, it's not as painful as people make it out to be (less so than plucking) and lasts a lot longer than shaving.
For those who think it is wrong.....don't do it on your children, crisis solved.
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8-16-2008 @ 10:52PM
freethinker91 said...Parents out there - stop judging other parents and take a look at yourselves. People judge others as a form of defense so that they can focus on someone else's faults instead of trying to fix their own. If you vocalize someone else's problems, it not only reassures you that you are not alone in having faults, but allows you to ignore your own for a short while. You are questioning why children judge or criticize others --- it's for the same reasons you feel you have the right to comment on the parents in this story. You are setting their example. So before you start thinking about this world's youth and saying, "What is this world coming to? When i was younger..." because the problem lies in all of us. We cannot fix the world until we fix ourselves, and we cannot fix ourselves until we stop trying to fix others.
age 17
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8-16-2008 @ 10:56PM
Janet said...Well, lemme tell ya... kids are gonna tease, harass and bully any other kid they have a mind to. Hey, in the 50's I was SKINNY.. which was NOT in vogue at all. "Voluptuous" was in with MM, Jane Mansfield and so I was OUT. (Bony THEN, but would hav been envied now) Even sales women (They used to follow you into the darned changing room) would suggest in that patronizing tone "Honey.. why don't you wear a padded bra?".. I WAS already wearing one!! LOL.
Tell ya what... NOW, I'm heavy. Think that bothers me? Nope.
Please.. everyone, teach your children to embrace their own personalities, their bodies .. and love themselves, no matter what.
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8-16-2008 @ 11:01PM
Ann Ponzi said...I advise Mom to take her to the doctor for an exam. Hair on back could be a result of an endocrine (harmone) disorder. Needs to be assessed and treated.
ann
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8-16-2008 @ 11:02PM
maria said...If my daughter asked me to have her eyebrows waxed or even her legs because she was being teased then I would have it done for her. She is going on 8 and is getting very hairy. She has brought this up to me already. Not that she is being made fun of, but because she is aware of the way her friends look and then herself.
I would try to push it off as much as possible, but if she starts thinking poorly of herself then I would have her eyebrows done and her legs later. That goes with earings as well. She must be the only girl that doesn't have at least one set of earings and doesn't care to have them yet. I'm sad, but I'm not going to force her either.
Moms and Dads listen to your kids and don't sweat the small stuff, as long as their healthy and happy that's all that counts.
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8-16-2008 @ 11:02PM
brandy said...My daughter is 8 years old and ws born one hairy little monkey, but the hair on her ears has since fallen off and she has very, very hairy legs and tellus all the time but knows she is too young to shave and understands and she has fine hair on her back and it doesn't bother her.. It's all in the mothers.. they think their children are little dress up dolls and must be perfect... my daughter is very beautiful she is hispanic and korean and has very thick brown straight har and almond shaped eyes and will very a very gorgeous woman.. but for right now she is just another child who doesn't care if she has a little hair... all she is worried about is her sports and school work and making good grades, and having fun with her friends and family.. these mothers need to let their kids be kids and know that one day they will grow and shave and wax.. but let them do it at their own pace...
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8-16-2008 @ 11:47PM
IrishEyesMama said...When my daughter was born. She had a fused labia. We had to apply hormone cream to get it to seperate. One of the side effects of hormone cream is excessive body hair. It started growing really thick and dark on her back, she was just a baby. When she didn't need the cream anymore. The hair lightened and thinned considerably but it's still there. I just grow her hair long and that covers it, I would never consider waxing her back, she's 6 too. Her best friend has a unibrow. How ignorant that Mother must be to allow her young daughter to feel imperfect.
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8-16-2008 @ 11:14PM
Me. said...Dang, the poll didnt have a "What the crap" answer...
Well I say, that mom ought to read a parenting book on SANITY
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8-16-2008 @ 11:15PM
VINCE said...Can the poor child understand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if not its way to young, If they can and they dont want to shame on the parents. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ that has taken over moralitry and that is a shame
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8-16-2008 @ 11:20PM
c6745 said...If you read the article carefully, it says the mother lifted the little girl's shirt in order for the hair to even be seen. Thus, experiences of girls with hairy legs, mustaches or whatever that is clearly visible don't apply in this case.
The mother shold be investigated for child abuse, period.
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8-16-2008 @ 11:31PM
audg said...I worked for an esthetician from Colombian who told me that they do start waxing a lot younger in that country. I think it is CRAZY to say that waxing is FATAL (!). That sounds like fear of the unknown to me. and as for stretch marks and lines? no way. that is a myth or someone is making some horrible mistakes when waxing. my 8 yr old daughter is dark haired and I will definitely consider waxing her legs when and if she wants to. Reason--because the earlier you start the less you have to do it as you get older.
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8-16-2008 @ 11:35PM
tammy said...first of all, those parents who do that to their children need their kids taken away from them....i mean come on, thats child abuse of some sort...second of all its called BABY HAIR..DUH!!!...THEY WILL GROW OUT OF IT. and last but not least, the parents of those poor kids need to be psychologically examened.
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8-16-2008 @ 11:24PM
Keshira said...I chose "at any age if the child is being teased." As a child I was heavily teased because I had more than the usual hair on my upper lip. I cannot reiterate HOW painful it is for a little child to be continually mocked and ostracized by her classmates for something that can be so easily remedied. It took a year to persuade my mom to let me wax my upper lip, and that year was NOT worth whatever "moral lesson" she was trying to impart. Would YOU keep embarrassing hair just to teach yourself that appearances don't matter? Children do care less about appearances, but they are also more blunt and cruel to one another than adults, which makes up for the difference.
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